Proper Drainage Of My Water Softener

[sledro1]

Hello all…I'm in need of some good advice.

My home was built with the sewer line half-way up the basement wall, which means I have no floor drains in my basement that goes to the sewer. The floor drains I have empty into a french drain under my slab.

When we moved into this house the water softener drained into this drywell when it recharged. But after flooding my basement a couple of times I decided I'd rather have hard water than a wet basement. I'm not sure what the previous owners did but it's obvious there had been water problems in the past.

Anyways, I bypassed the water softener and am now trying to figure out how to drain to the sewer for a permanent fix.

Please take a look at the drawing I've done. This is the closest to the water softner. (And it's not to scale of course).

My first thought is to put a stand pipe, with a P trap, on the end with the P trap dumping into the top of a new Sani-T which will then be the cleanout.

The vent is around four feet above where the new trap will be. Is this a problem? Should I have a T for a vent after the P trap?

Does anyone have a better way of doing this?

Thanks for your help…I appreciate it.

 

[Mialynette2003]

I'm not a master plumber so I'm not sure if it meets code or not, but it will work. Not sure the room you have between the wall and the cleanout. You would be using about 12"-15". I would attach the tee on the kitchen vent pipe instead so not to put the cleanout too close to the wall.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Bannerman]

In addition to Mialynette's recomendations, depending on the distance from the softener, it is also advisable to increase the diameter of the softener's drain line to ensure optimum drain flow over the length.

 

[sledro1]

I'm not a master plumber so I'm not sure if it meets code or not, but it will work. Not sure the room you have between the wall and the cleanout. You would be using about 12"-15". I would attach the tee on the kitchen vent pipe instead so not to put the cleanout too close to the wall.

Thanks for replying to this. I never thought about installing a T on the vertical drain. That would make sense. Then the clean out would be pretty far enough from the wall for easy access.

As for code...I can't imagine why it wouldn't meet it. I'll have a trap and a vent. And I'll have an air gap. It's the same thing as a floor level drain. Just moved 4 feet up the wall.

I will say it won't be pretty. But it will drain nicely.

 

[sledro1]

In addition to Mialynette's recomendations, depending on the distance from the softener, it is also advisable to increase the diameter of the softener's drain line to ensure optimum drain flow over the distance.

Okay...such as increasing from the fitting at the softener of 1/2" to maybe a full inch at the air gap to the stand pipe?

 

[Bannerman]

Likely 3/4" would be adequate, again, depending on the run length.

 

[sledro1]

Likely 3/4" would be adequate, again, depending on the run length.

Ok...that sounds like a good idea. I appreciate your response and help.

 

[ditttohead]

That's a nice drawing!
Looks good. Codes vary by municipality, but I would say it looks good. The standpipe in many municipalities must be >18".

 

[Reach4]

The vent is around four feet above where the new trap will be. Is this a problem? Should I have a T for a vent after the P trap?

A P trap needs a vent before the vent turns back down. (so that you don't have an "s trap") This could be done with an AAV. If you teed into the horizontal line that you drew, you should transition from vertical to horizontal with a long sweep. That long sweep seems overkill for a softener drain (no solids), but that would be the rule if I understand correctly.

Where is the standpipe for your clothes washer? You might be able to run the tubing to the upper floor and share that standpipe.

A french drain under the slab can serve as a way out for water or a way in for water. Do any neighbors ever get basement flooding after a big rain or due to high ground water? You might want to consider a more extensive action. If you wanted a toilet or shower in the basement, that could be incorporated into the work. There would be a sealed pit with an ejector pump raising the sewage up to the sewer.

 

[sledro1]

A P trap needs a vent before the vent turns back down. (so that you don't have an "s trap") This could be done with an AAV. If you teed into the horizontal line that you drew, you should transition from vertical to horizontal with a long sweep. That long sweep seems overkill for a softener drain (no solids), but that would be the rule if I understand correctly.

Where is the standpipe for your clothes washer? You might be able to run the tubing to the upper floor and share that standpipe.

A french drain under the slab can serve as a way out for water or a way in for water. Do any neighbors ever get basement flooding after a big rain or due to high ground water? You might want to consider a more extensive action. If you wanted a toilet or shower in the basement, that could be incorporated into the work. There would be a sealed pit with an ejector pump raising the sewage up to the sewer.

Excellent...I didn't know an AAV existed. That solves my main concern of venting the trap. And means that I can move it further down the line. Thanks for your input. I'll go with a long sweep too.

The laundry standpipe is on the first floor and about 25 feet away. I figured that was a bit far to run a softener line.

Thanks for your drawing. It really helps.