draing a washer that sets outside the house

Hello all, I am new to this site. I was looking around the web for an answer to a question I have and found the site. As you might be able to tell, we live in Hawaii...just moved here a month ago, and where we live alot of the people drain their gray water out into drums to use for watering the plant life. I have just hooked up our washer which sets outside the house on a slab and at the present does not have a drain. I have attached a hose to the drain for the washer that drains into a 55 gal. drum we will use for watering plants. The problem I have run into is that is the hose from the washer is hanging down and hooked to the drain hose into the tank, I find when I try to fill the washer with water, it runs out the hose. For the time being I have draped the hose up over the washer and this seems to work...but I know my wife will want it fixed the proper way. Do any of you experts have an idea??? By the way, I see this site comes from Washington...we just moved here from Western Washington

Thanks in advance,
Hawaii Lad

The drain for a washer is basically connected right to the bottom of the tank. If you dip the end of the hose lower than the water level in the tank, it will gravity drain. The hose must rise up higher than the level of water in the tank.

Now, I know Hawaii is "different" but in most places running gray wash water into the garden is illegal. A true gray water system is much more complicated . The water must be filtered and cannot be applied on the surface.

I used to live in Eva Beach; even out there I don't remember that water was such a problem that we needed to worry about saving the wash water.

Many people collect rainwater for plants, and I have heard of folks saving plants during a sever drought with wash water, but not as a regular practice.

Where we live we have water catchment systems...that is a large tank (ours is 18,000 gallons) and we either catch the rain run off from the roof, which we do, or call the water truck for a delivery when we do not receive much rain. The part of Hawaii I live in does not receive much rain at all, so we try to use all the so call run off water that we can. Even the bath and kitchen sink is set up to run into a tank and we use it for watering plants. Beleive me there are many others that do the same. We do run it all into tanks and then use it for watering the plants.

Back to the question I was wondering about. I understand how it would work in a house or garage, but since I am not running the water into a drain, I am wondering what I will need to do. At the present when the washer fills, I must raise the extra drain hose about the same level as the washer and when it drains I have to lower is. I would like to hook up some type of pipe system so I do not have to stand there each time we wash to change the location of the long drain hose I am using.

Thanks in advance for all your help...I knew when I ask this question I would receive a few coments in regarding to running off the gray water, but please understand, we are not just running it onto the ground...we store and use every bit of it.

Hawaii Lad

I must be missing something. You have to drop the hose to water the plants then lift it to prevent water escaping during the wash cycle? I thought you were pumping it up into the top of a tank. I use a plastic garbage container set on a platform to re-use wash water. The washer hose pumps wash water into the top of the container. It then drains by gravity into the washer from a hose hooked to the bottom. I don't have to move anything for this to work.

The bottom line is that the hose end must be higher than the top of the tub. Where you go with it from there is immaterial. But if you lower the hose all the water will run out. You just have to deal with that.

I know you love it out there in paradise, but there are reasons why gray water systems are regulated. There are significant health hazards involved in using bath and kitchen water without treatment ( filters, underground disbursement, etc).

I like the idea of running the wash water into a tank, trash can or the drums first and then conect a drain in the bottom of that so we can fill our water jugs we use to water the trees and plants. At the present I am not keeping the hose that is conected to the washer higher than the wash tub (unless I hold it that high). Where the washer and dryer are located, the tanks I run it into is about 4 feet lower (our house is on post and pier). Why is it sometimes the smallest detail escapes us???

I thank all of you for the information...

Hawaii Lad

washer drain

Add an normal standpipe behind the washer and extend it down into the tank....maybe add a P-trap to keep out bugs.......Insert the Washer drain hose into this open riser..............

If you raise your GrayWater tanks a couple feet you could use a simple hose to "drip" irrigate instead of carrying the jugs........