AshortVideo
New Member
Hello!
First of all, thank you for your help. I want to try to solve this problem myself but I need some ideas on how to proceed.
We bought our house in 2014, it was built in 1954 (fort lauderdale, FL) but has been updated to PVC plumbing at some point. I have no basement. There use to be a septic tank in the back yard (Or so I am told), but at some point (way before us) the house was hooked up to city sewage.
The house came with a newer LG frontloading washing machine. For more than a year we had no problem with the drain backing up. It worked fine. I've spoken with the old owner, and he never had a problem. He was the one that purchased the frontloading washer.
One day, it started backing up from the washing machine outlet box. It is 1.5" PVC pipe. I used a drill mounted 3/16th snake to try to snake the drain, but it felt like it got stuck eventually. It felt like it was stuck at a corner, not a blockage.
I tried drain-o type products. I tried boiling water.
I tried full force garden hose with a pressure nozzle.... it would take water for about 10 seconds before backing up. Once I shut off the water, it will drain after 7 seconds or so, with a gargle sound.
I rented a 1/2" snake from home depot and snaked the vent pipe from the roof. No issues. I snaked the other vent pipe while I was at it. No issues. The snake was too big to snake from the outlet box.
I located my clean out drain near my house. It's on the opposite side of the house from the washer. There is another clean out by the street on the same side as the clean out by the house. I opened the one near the house and it seems to flow fine.
No other drains in the house back up or causes problems. Right near the washer we have a full bathroom, and the air conditioning closet which has a drain. No issues at all with any of these drains.
I opened up the wall today. I wanted to expose the PVC and see if there was something obvious, and to check those pipes for blockage. Since all the other drains are fine, I figured the problem had to be in those pipes right near the washer. I'll attach some pictures, but it doesn't look bad.
I'm planning to replace the pipe in the house to 2" while I have the wall open, so I cut open the PVC and didn't find any clog.
The pipe comes down from the outlet box and comes to a metal pipe that goes through the wall to the outside. The only part that is metal is the part that goes through the wall. On the outside, the metal pipe transitions into 1.5" PVC again. The PVC goes straight down to ground level, and then runs right under ground level towards the back yard where the septic tank use to be. I can only follow it until it comes to a concrete walk way.
I suspect the 1.5" pipe runs all the way to the septic tank, but when they switched to city sewage, the pipe was re-routed to the main line to the street, somewhere in the back yard near the septic tank. But shouldn't this line from the washing machine be connected to a roof vent at some point???
Once I cut the pipe, I tried snaking the pipe, from the inside, towards the street, with my 3/16" but again it seemed to get stuck fairly soon. Perhaps my snake is bent too much? I tried to separate the threaded metal pipe from the pvc pipe on the outside, so I could try to snake it from there, but it won't budge. I soaked it with PB Blaster and I'm letting that penetrate.
I don't really know how to proceed. It seems like this washer is on it's own drain pipe as it heads towards the backyard. It doesn't hit a main line near the house. This makes sense because all the other drains are fine. I certainly don't want to start digging up the back yard trying to follow and replace this 1.5" pipe.
What would you do next?
Thank you!!!
Andy
First of all, thank you for your help. I want to try to solve this problem myself but I need some ideas on how to proceed.
We bought our house in 2014, it was built in 1954 (fort lauderdale, FL) but has been updated to PVC plumbing at some point. I have no basement. There use to be a septic tank in the back yard (Or so I am told), but at some point (way before us) the house was hooked up to city sewage.
The house came with a newer LG frontloading washing machine. For more than a year we had no problem with the drain backing up. It worked fine. I've spoken with the old owner, and he never had a problem. He was the one that purchased the frontloading washer.
One day, it started backing up from the washing machine outlet box. It is 1.5" PVC pipe. I used a drill mounted 3/16th snake to try to snake the drain, but it felt like it got stuck eventually. It felt like it was stuck at a corner, not a blockage.
I tried drain-o type products. I tried boiling water.
I tried full force garden hose with a pressure nozzle.... it would take water for about 10 seconds before backing up. Once I shut off the water, it will drain after 7 seconds or so, with a gargle sound.
I rented a 1/2" snake from home depot and snaked the vent pipe from the roof. No issues. I snaked the other vent pipe while I was at it. No issues. The snake was too big to snake from the outlet box.
I located my clean out drain near my house. It's on the opposite side of the house from the washer. There is another clean out by the street on the same side as the clean out by the house. I opened the one near the house and it seems to flow fine.
No other drains in the house back up or causes problems. Right near the washer we have a full bathroom, and the air conditioning closet which has a drain. No issues at all with any of these drains.
I opened up the wall today. I wanted to expose the PVC and see if there was something obvious, and to check those pipes for blockage. Since all the other drains are fine, I figured the problem had to be in those pipes right near the washer. I'll attach some pictures, but it doesn't look bad.
I'm planning to replace the pipe in the house to 2" while I have the wall open, so I cut open the PVC and didn't find any clog.
The pipe comes down from the outlet box and comes to a metal pipe that goes through the wall to the outside. The only part that is metal is the part that goes through the wall. On the outside, the metal pipe transitions into 1.5" PVC again. The PVC goes straight down to ground level, and then runs right under ground level towards the back yard where the septic tank use to be. I can only follow it until it comes to a concrete walk way.
I suspect the 1.5" pipe runs all the way to the septic tank, but when they switched to city sewage, the pipe was re-routed to the main line to the street, somewhere in the back yard near the septic tank. But shouldn't this line from the washing machine be connected to a roof vent at some point???
Once I cut the pipe, I tried snaking the pipe, from the inside, towards the street, with my 3/16" but again it seemed to get stuck fairly soon. Perhaps my snake is bent too much? I tried to separate the threaded metal pipe from the pvc pipe on the outside, so I could try to snake it from there, but it won't budge. I soaked it with PB Blaster and I'm letting that penetrate.
I don't really know how to proceed. It seems like this washer is on it's own drain pipe as it heads towards the backyard. It doesn't hit a main line near the house. This makes sense because all the other drains are fine. I certainly don't want to start digging up the back yard trying to follow and replace this 1.5" pipe.
What would you do next?
Thank you!!!
Andy