Need Some Advice for Washing Machine Drain

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jfon0604

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Hey guys! I have a unique situation and I'll do my best to describe it. I have an older Cape style home, when we moved in 3 years ago, the washer hookups were on one side of the basement and the dryer is on the other. I would like to put them together side by side. But to do so, I need to move the washer over to the dryer because that will be in the utility room once the basement is refinished. Now the questions:

I have town sewer and the outlet pipe does not go under the slab, it exists about 3-ft above the slab through the foundation wall. Since the washer drain already existed, I just want to extend the pipe 15 ft along the wall. When I do this, I will be at 4.5 feet about the floor to where I need the washer to be. Washer manual says its needs a 1.5 discharge pipe and a max height of 5-ft. Given that, how am I suppose to construct a standpipe? I certainly can't make the 18-inch number that I think the code says.

That being said, if I remove the p trap, do I still need to vent that line? Do I really need the p-trap (I assume I do for plumbing code) I can install the vent basically 2-ft downstream of the p trap via a tee and I can then run through the floor joist and connect to the stack.

I don't have to worry about siphoning, but I am concerned about this standpipe. Another thing the washing machine instructions state is to not seal the pipe that the hose connects into? If I don't do that, water will surely dump out of the short stand pipe that is there now.

Sorry for the long post, I just tried my best describe everything. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks in advance!

Joey
 

Terry

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An unvented washer drain can cause problems for other fixtures.
In my brothers cabin, it caused the kitchen sink to back up with nice gooey stuff.

I have also seen washer hoses that were sealed to the drain.
To get it to drain right, I had to drill some holes in the plug.
They are right, don't seal it. They even make a fitting with small holes that clamp a hose to the drain for just that reason, you need some air movement.

You do need a trap, and a vent for it.
This isn't really new stuff here anymore. It's how it's done.

If you need more height, you can go with a basin and pump.
The washer has a pump, it would be adding one more to get the water up higher.

Here is a link on washer drains
 
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jfon0604

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Terry said:
An unvented washer drain can cause problems for other fixtures.
In my brothers cabin, it caused the kitchen sink to back up with nice gooey stuff.

I have also seen washer hoses that were sealed to the drain.
To get it to drain right, I had to drill some holes in the plug.
They are right, don't seal it. They even make a fitting with small holes that clamp a hose to the drain for just that reason, you need some air movement.

You do need a trap, and a vent for it.
This isn't really new stuff here anymore. It's how it's done.

If you need more height, you can go with a basin and pump.
The washer has a pump, it would be adding one more to get the water up higher.

Terry,

Thanks for the reply. I really appreciate your advice. I think I can still make it work. I looked at it again this morning, I can probably get the standpipe to about 15-inches, and be right at the max for the washing pump. If need be, I could always make a platform for it and raise it up a bit.

Another noob question, the existing vent line is currently routed in between the floor joists and connects into the vent stack. The line is pretty flat and I am wondering if the vent line also needs a pitch to it or can it be flat. It almost looks like it may have a slight negative slope before it hits the stack.

Joey
 

jfon0604

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Gary Swart said:
Sorry, submitted last post to quickly. Drain lines need at least 1/4" per foot slope.

Thanks for the info. My drain line has the correct pitch. I can make the vent work. Thanks.

Joey
 
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