Washer in basement-drain

[jmailer]

I bought a house with the washer standpipe in the basement at a height of 6' above the floor. Washer drain hose is 5' and will not reach. I tried to use existing hose with a pvc connector into another hose and clamp them both, but one still leaks. Any one have any ideas?

Should I run 1" pvc up to the standpipe and glue on the washer end?

[jimbo]

Hard to tell why they installed it that way, but 6' above the floor does not pass code for a washing machine standpipe.

[TedL]

You might be able to trim the pipe, but that depends:

At what height off the floor does the main drain exit the building?
At what height off the floor is the trap on the washer stand pipe?

Picture would help.


You can use some permatex on the connectors, or buy a longer drain hose.

[Gary Swart]

First, since the standpipe is too high, why not shorten it and get it up (or down) to code. This means venting and trapping as well as shortening. If you feel you must have a longer hose, just buy one that is the correct length. They are standard size. The drain end must be open where the hose enters the pipe, that's why a washer drain hose has a U shaped end. You should not need any kind of sealant on the washer end, just a good clamp.

[FloridaOrange]

I got the impression that the horizontal piping was 6' above the floor height.



At what height off the floor does the main drain exit the building?


That's the question that needs to be answered.

[Gary Swart]

Matt, you may be correct on that point, but he did say the "standpipe" was 6' off the floor. Of course, terms are not always used correctly. If he is trying to pump 6' up and into a horizontal pipe, he has real problems. It would require a solid connection, preclude a trap and vent. Other than that, there wouldn't be many other codes he could violate. I'd be interested in knowing how he'd keep sewage from drain back into the washer.:eek:

[nhmaster]

Get a longer washing machine drain hose, Sears sells them

[Rich B]

2 Washers in basement of duplex....standpipe is about 6ft off the ground. Works fine no issues. I did all the pvc...original galvanized plumbing was not even close to being correct. Main waste pipe exits about 3ft off the floor...http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/RichB88/000_0445.jpg http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/RichB88/000_0447.jpg

[nhmaster]

The upper picture is showing what is essentially a crown vented, S trap. Illegal.

[BeanAnimal]

The upper picture is showing what is essentially a crown vented, S trap. Illegal.

Does simply increasing the horizontal distance between the trap and the vent solve the problem as in the lower photo?

[FloridaOrange]

I believe it's because there is a combo instead of a sanitary tee.

[BeanAnimal]

I believe it's because there is a combo instead of a sanitary tee.

I don't see it... (honestly, not being flip)

Both photos appear about the same to me, though the pipe at the bottom of the trap in the first photo appears to be going uphill!

[FloridaOrange]

http://www.homerepairforum.com/images/uploads/2004-11-17_sanitary%20fittings_w550.JPG

Instead of a tee before his horizontal to the trap he's got a combination wye.

[Rich B]

Maybe the pictures are not clear.........There is NO combo fitting other than the horizontal 4x2's that connect to the orginal cast iron. Both sides are sanitary tees from the trap arms after the p-traps and standpipes. Maybe the one side trap arm is too short or should be a little lower to suit nhmaster and that is whay he says its an s-trap. The original plumbing was 1-1/2" galvanized. both sides connected to ONE straight tee into the 4"C.I. Both sides had little short standpipes with p-traps...and NO vents..... all done by a plumber ehh? I do my laundry a couple times a week on the side nhmaster says is illegal. It works great especailly compared to the old stuff. I would often see soap residue on the floor with the old piping....now it works very well and I have stood at the main piping as the washer ejects the water and I feel it washes the poorly done santee at the main drain exit......and the vents are as of right now not yet connected up in the attic. That will be completed shortly.....

[hj]

There is no "crown vent" shown in those two pictures, (but I do not know what the reference to "top" and "bottom" pictures means), and there are many installations done which could be considered crown vents in the classical sense, but are legal installations.

[jmailer]

Thanks to everyone for the ideas. I glued a 1-1/4" pvc fitting to pvc pipe, up 6' with 2-90 degree fittings to create U into the standpipe. It works great! GE washer pump is supposed to be good up to 8' I hope the pump holds out.

[SewerRatz]

Makes me sad to see people do washer drains like that on overhead sewers. Kind of defeats the advantage of not flooding into the basement when the city sewer backs up.

[Rich B]

How else would one drain a washer in a basement into a main waste line 2-3 feet off the floor? My home has been connected to the town sewer line since 1972. There has never been any sort of problem. I have seen what can happen when a town system backs up. We had a hurricane type storm in my area a few years ago that flooded many towns. One sewer pumping station was at the bottom of a long grade. Water was 5 feet high in that pumping station and pushed up thru the homes in the area right thru the toilets......My company services backup generators and the one in that pump house was under water up to the air filter. We removed it and I repaired it. The tranfer switch was also under.......

[SewerRatz]

How else would one drain a washer in a basement into a main waste line 2-3 feet off the floor? My home has been connected to the town sewer line since 1972. There has never been any sort of problem. I have seen what can happen when a town system backs up. We had a hurricane type storm in my area a few years ago that flooded many towns. One sewer pumping station was at the bottom of a long grade. Water was 5 feet high in that pumping station and pushed up thru the homes in the area right thru the toilets......My company services backup generators and the one in that pump house was under water up to the air filter. We removed it and I repaired it. The tranfer switch was also under.......

They make a pump system that is supposed to be used, which has a check valve between the pump and the sanitary sewer.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y292/SewerRatz/Plumbing%20pics/pack118.jpg

Here give this a read. http://www.valleyadvocate.com/blogs/home.cfm?aid=9762 The home owner is blaming everyone but himself and his plumbing system for all the water damage he had gotten due to the city sewer backing up though his stand pipe, here is a picture that he had drawn in the yellow lines himself to show the path of how the water entered his basement. Now if he had installed the pump with the check valve and ran the washing machine to the pump his basement would have been dry still.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y292/SewerRatz/Plumbing%20pics/Sewageflow1.jpg

[hj]

An overhead sewer means that EVERYTHING on the below grade level SHOULD be pumped out. Without a pump, how do you remove water from the basement?

[Rich B]

I have no other fixtures in my basement other than the washers and have no need for a pump. How about adding some sort of check valves to the 2" PVC washer drains after the traps? When is a back water valve used on a sewer line? My town expanded it's sewer facility around 1972. I immediately had my house hooked to it. I was not home when that line was done. I assume it was just a pipe laid in the ground and connected from my house to the towns line at the street. There is some sort of access box in one of my driveways. Don't know whats down in there. I got a drawing not long ago showing the location of that access to the sewer line and dug down and found what appeared to be a piece of diamond plate. 4-6" down. So my point is.....when or why are backwater valves installed in a sewer line like my and wouldn't that prevent a sewage backup into a home?