LIFT PUMPS?

What the heck is a lift pump? I learned the hard way just exactly how important a lift pump is this week when mine went out. We bought our home 8 years ago and for the first time had a basement. Wow, how wonderful to have so much extra space and there was even a full bathroom down there. No more kids fighting over who had been in the bathroom too long and who was next. It was sheer bliss until last weekend when I woke up and thought something smelled amiss. After sniffing around to find out where the offending odor was I was dismayed to see a pool of stinky water surrounding a little used area of my basement laundry room. Evidently the bathroom drains into the lift pump hole and is then lifted up through the pump system into the main sewer system and discharged through the sewer line. Well, the lift wasn't lifting anything but rather pooling around the pump area and making a rather strong statement in my basement and up the stairs into the main floor. NASTY! Luckily, the plumber was able to come by on Monday and spent about an hour replacing the old pump. It took another day but finally the house began to smell better and the kids were able to use the bathroom again. Who knew that a little pump could be so important. You can bet I won't take my lift pump for granted anymore. As far as I'm concerned it is one of the most important gadgets in the house.