Sump Pumps Case Studies: Iron Bacteria (Iron Ochre) In Wet Crawlspaces

Tuesday, October 10th, 2017 by Peter Mendez

Challenge

This home's sump pump has not been serviced in 3 years and the homeowner called to report that their sump pump was not working. Our crew came in to assess and diagnosis and the problem were was glaringly obvious.

Solution

Iron Bacteria (Iron Ochre) in Wet Crawlspaces and Basements

It is common that we at John’s Waterproofing have customers who have found a rust colored gelatinous sludge in their basement or crawlspace.

The same substance also regularly shows up around sink faucets, toilet water tanks, and other plumbing or drainage fixtures.

This is called iron ochre and is secreted by iron bacteria. It creates a sticky, slimy gel that is normally red but can be yellow, brown or gray as well. It is the byproduct of iron oxidizing. It can be very thick and it could result in clogging and narrowing of drainage lines and sump pump systems. It presents a special challenge to waterproofing.

Our crew member Micheal Hitch and our Service Manager Zezar Gonzalez recently went to a job in which the sump pump had not been serviced for several years. The iron bacteria had completely clogged the drainage lines and caused the water to back up into the CleanSpace Encapsulation. Together, they went through and took apart the sump pump and connected drain lines. From here they scrubbed and rinsed all the various components to remove this build up and make the pump usable again.

Protect your investment by making sure that you are getting your annual services completed as scheduled.