pk.diy
New Member
When I moved into this house, the kitchen had a high(-ish) loop and no air gap.
After the kitchen drain is a long horizontal run to a shower, and then eventually to a septic tank. This run sometimes gets clogged.
During the first instance of a clog, the sink filled and we eventually had a backflow into the dishwasher. I was assuming that the mid-sink water level of the sink went above the not-that-high loop and thus backflowed.
At this point I got a longer dishwasher outlet hose and went as high as I could with the loop. It's now touching the underside of the countertop.
Yesterday the drain clogged again. The sink filled slightly but well below the level of the high loop. It stayed in the sink for maybe 20 minutes. Then the dishwasher started dripping; the sink water level dropped and it all came out the dishwasher.
I'm trying to understand how/why this happened. It seemed impossible due to the high loop being higher than the sink water level. I then saw some references online to the dishwasher's outlet/trap being below the sink's trap, as you can see in the picture below. Could that cause the issue?
Can someone explain the physics/hydrology of how this happens?
I know I can install an air gap. I may do that. Is there another fix for the high loop? Should I drain the dishwasher into the same trap as the sink?
Dishwasher outlet enters from DW at bottom right. High loops up to right side of sink. Extra slack. Goes into its own p-trap BELOW the level of the sink p-trap. Item at far left is a water heater, not a garbage disposal.
After the kitchen drain is a long horizontal run to a shower, and then eventually to a septic tank. This run sometimes gets clogged.
During the first instance of a clog, the sink filled and we eventually had a backflow into the dishwasher. I was assuming that the mid-sink water level of the sink went above the not-that-high loop and thus backflowed.
At this point I got a longer dishwasher outlet hose and went as high as I could with the loop. It's now touching the underside of the countertop.
Yesterday the drain clogged again. The sink filled slightly but well below the level of the high loop. It stayed in the sink for maybe 20 minutes. Then the dishwasher started dripping; the sink water level dropped and it all came out the dishwasher.
I'm trying to understand how/why this happened. It seemed impossible due to the high loop being higher than the sink water level. I then saw some references online to the dishwasher's outlet/trap being below the sink's trap, as you can see in the picture below. Could that cause the issue?
Can someone explain the physics/hydrology of how this happens?
I know I can install an air gap. I may do that. Is there another fix for the high loop? Should I drain the dishwasher into the same trap as the sink?
Dishwasher outlet enters from DW at bottom right. High loops up to right side of sink. Extra slack. Goes into its own p-trap BELOW the level of the sink p-trap. Item at far left is a water heater, not a garbage disposal.
