Depending on how heavy the usage is, sump pumps that are more than ten years are already prone to damages and defect. Unfortunately, you cannot see these defects until it manifest on your basement floor getting wet or flooded again. Moreover sump pumps run on electricity, and so in the event of power outage, you may be back to getting flooded basements. In both scenarios, you may need to have a sump pump backup installed to make sure water is prevented from flooding your home despite the primary sump pump conking out. Backup systems usually run on batteries or generators so that in the event of power failure, they can still run and do their job up until power is restored. Reliable sump pump backup can also serve as an alternate to the primary sump pump in cases of long heavy downpour; with both primary and backup working overtime, you make sure your basement floor remains clean and dry despite being cold and snowed under outside.