Hello. We just moved here a few months ago and just started to have major plumbing issues. Two nights ago I smelled something bad. Went to the basement and there was 6" of water in the basement. The pump never started. I pushed the plunger down and the water drained. I noticed a sound in the other basement and the water the pump was draining was shooting out of the vent right before the pipe entered the floor.

Now the two bathroom sinks and the standpipe by the washing machine gurgle and the sump pump runs every 10 minutes or so, the water pours out of the vent and the cycle repeats. My washing machine water also backs up from this vent or whatever it is.

I didn't have a single problem until this sump pump came on and now I have water everywhere.

Please be a little clearer as to what the pump is connected to. In particular I'm not understanding what you mean by this:


...the water the pump was draining was shooting out of the vent right before the pipe entered the floor

What vent are you talking about? Specifically - what is the output of the sump pump connected to? Ideally it should have an outlet pipe that runs up and out through the foundation wall to the outside, so that the water outside the house. It should not be connected to any of the plumbing inside the house - it should not share the drains with sinks or the washing machine.

The pipe runs above our heads, into the old coal cellar, down the wall and then. Connects to a big pipe that runs horizontally out of the basement. Right where the small pipe connects to the big pipe there is a smaller uncapped pipe sticking up. I assumed this was a vent of some sort. We covered it to see what would happen and water shot out of the downstairs bathroom sink so we uncovered it again.

I should note that when the sump pump kicks on we see a small trickle of water where one pipe connects to the other and then it comes pouring out pretty tremendously.

Sounds like you are talking about a sewage ejector pump not a sump pump. Also sounds like you have a blockage and some really weird plumbing.

Sorry but time to call a plumber, a good one.

Sounds like a vent pipe. How many pipes come from the sump pit? Not sure about your system but there shouldn't be any open piping. Post a picture if you can.