Proper Washing Machine Drain

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tigeraid

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Hey guys, first time poster, just moved to a new house, slowly fixing all the little things we've found.

I'm a little perplexed by the washing machine setup, as I've always had a laundry tub arrangement in the past. In this new house, the laundry room is a finished portion with the unfinished basement, and all the plumbing, directly behind it. Everything is above the main sewer line out EXCEPT the washer and dryer, because the main sewer is maybe 3 feet off the basement floor.

Excuse the awful doodle, but this should get the point across:


index.php



Now, when we originally moved in, the washer drain, using a big long extension, emptied into the 2" PVC pipe as shown in the sketch, which is sloped correctly. It joins a second sloped pipe, which in turn dumps into the main. However, the washer drain (the hook-shaped part) was just sort of shoved into the open end of the pipe, with a rubber sleeve limply holding it in place.

This setup would drip, occasionally. Coincidentally, we had a clog at the main not long after moving in, and the first place it flooded out of was where the dryer outlet sat. After fixing the clog me, being the super smart feller, thought that setup looked halfassed, so I got an adapter to go from the 1" washer drain to the 2" PVC, tightened her all up nicely, and done.

Now I browse around and see that, apparently, the washer drain is SUPPOSED to be loosely hanging in the 2" pipe, rather than tightened up? I'm guessing it's for air flow...

So basically, I'm questioning the setup, and what changes I should make. I wanna stress that everything appears to work GREAT, right now. There's no noticeable backwash in the washing machine, no bad smells, no leaks, and it all appears to drain correctly. But a) I don't have an air vent, at least not on this particular line... There are other ones elsewhere in this system... and b) There doesn't appear to be a P-Trap, which apparently it needs too?

There IS, however, another P-Trap, which I forgot to draw in my sketch, at the point where the kitchen drain and the washer drain meet the the main....

Thoughts? Thanks.
 

Cacher_Chick

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The right thing to do would be to put in a pumped basin. You could do that with a laundry sink too. It is also important that each fixture trap be properly vented so that they will not siphon and allow sewer gas to come back into the house.
 

tigeraid

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So could I pull the washer out from the wall a foot, put 2" pipe with a trap right there?

I don't see how that helps the vent problem though, there's nowhere to put a vent from the basement all the way to the roof....
 

Reach4

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Look up AAV (air admittance valve/vent). Their use is permitted in many areas. There can be variations on the permitted dimensions. For example, in at least one place, the 42 inches in the diagram is limited to 36 inches and in others 30 inches. I don't know what all is permitted to be used as the tee fitting.

I don't know if there is a minimum rise to the AAV.
 

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tigeraid

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Thanks for the diagram. But the drain pipe for the washing machine is actually at the CEILING, so it's 6 ft above the washer itself.

I saw this diagram here...

17970d1237935915-washer-drainage-pipe-too-high-washing-machine-installation.jpg



Which all makes sense, with an AAV in place of "Drain Vent to roof." ... But again, the "Branch Drain" in this diagram is actually 6 feet above the washer, not near the floor like this one. So it seems like the washer would just overflow out the loose connection, since it's lower than the drain pipe.

Would any of these scenarios work? Assuming by some miracle I have enough room up by the ceiling to do any of this....

20151021_114427.jpg





20151021_114419.jpg
 

Reach4

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Would any of these scenarios work? Assuming by some miracle I have enough room up by the ceiling to do any of this....
No for the first, and probably not for the second. All of your drains will have to slope 1/4 inch/ft or more downward. You can have the water drain into a pit that pumps uphill, but a gravity drain must always pass water downward.

If you read in the washer book that it can drive the water up that high with its pump, you could do your second method if you also had sufficient space for the 18 inch tall standpipe, and also note that many washing machines want the standpipe to be taller than that minimum.

You either should get a vented sewer pit with a proper pump or install some new gravity lines if your sewer output is lower than the basement floor.

I am not a plumber, and you would benefit from one.
 
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Cacher_Chick

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We could not legally have a drain like that in the U.S. The only proper way to do it is with a pumped basin.

There is always a way to run a proper vent, it just might not be clear to you how to do it.
 
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