Help with washer drain.

[Anthony D Wilson]

About once a month I have to pour an entire bottle of liquid plumber down the washer drain. It over flows before the rinse cycle. I have used lye, root killer, and a snake I bought from Lowes. I still have to use liquid plumber about once a month. This has been going on for about 1 1/2 years. Thank you for your help.

 

[Reach4]

Do you rent?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Anthony D Wilson]

Nope

 

[Reach4]

OK. So doing more is not a waste.

I can imagine Liquid Plumber overflowing from a standpipe. That stuff is powerful and nasty. Or maybe the washer discharges into a laundry sink.

Is there a lower drain than the standpipe or laundry sink, such as a shower, and does that get backups when you do laundry?

 

[Anthony D Wilson]

No other backups that I have noticed. the washer is in the basement so there are no lower pipes that I can see. i have tried looking for a clean-out pipe in the yard but i cant find one.

 

[Reach4]

Septic or sewer?
Standpipe for the washer, or dump into the laundry sink? I suspect standpipe.

 

[Anthony D Wilson]

standpipe

 

[Reach4]

standpipe

If septic, how long since you got your septic pumped?

If sewer, have others in your neighborhood had clay sewer pipes replaced with PVC? You can often spot that through the front yards in the summer for years.

And one more I should have asked earlier: is there ever a backup when you are not doing washing?

 

[Anthony D Wilson]

Its a sewer system. The only backups are from washing clothes. We've only lived here for about 2 years but within that time I have not seen any pipes being replaced.

 

[Reach4]

No other backups that I have noticed. the washer is in the basement so there are no lower pipes that I can see.

So no floor drain that feeds the sewer.

Its a sewer system. The only backups are from washing clothes. We've only lived here for about 2 years but within that time I have not seen any pipes being replaced.

If the backup is only suds, that could have one kind of solution. The Amana 40008101 or Whirlpool 40008101 is intended to suppress suds backup from a 1-1/2 laundry standpipe. If that is the solution, then the Liquid Plumber probably would not have helped as long as it did.


What would probably be best is to do a mechanical cleaning of the drain. If there is no cleanout currently, you could maybe install one if the pipes at the standpipe area are visible. Perhaps post a photo that includes the pipes on the output of the standpipe trap.

You might even be able to clean through the standpipe. While not the best, I used
RIDGID PowerSpin Plus Model# 57043 through a trap. I was expecting to disassemble the trap, but I tried through the trap just in case it worked. Yes, the head is much smaller than you would like. Something bigger would be better.

 

[Anthony D Wilson]

I will give that a try. Thank you for your help.