Beginner (be patient): Need to extend washer drain line - vent??

[plumbed]

Hi Guys,

I have two questions which are somewhat related. I just purchased an older home.

Background info:
There is an open sewer line in my basement. It has the toilet flange on top and sits right where the main sewer line exits the house against the basement wall. It stinks up the whole house. There are also two other open drains in the basement. One is for a makeshift shower that the previous tenant rigged up which appears to function fine (I would be happy to cap this thing as it will have no use to me and is walled off from the main floor). Another is in a different section and appears clogged and has standing water in it (should I just cap it?). How to cap it?

My problem is that I want to move the laundry area which requires me to extend a washing machine drain line about 20ft and empty into the toilet flange open sewer pipe. Previously they must have just dangled the washer drain into the flange. It would be very difficult, for me, to tie into an existing vent line at an appropriate spot using an appropriate method. Does it actually need vented since there is a pump and it is pumping into an empty main sewer line?

So what I will need to do is remove the flange. Then somehow (how?) extend the pipe up about 3ft to help prevent any sewage backup. Then run a washing machine drain line into the new 3ft vertical. Can this all be sealed? Would it be possible to have some sort of one way valve in it somewhere to prevent odors and backup?

Any comments or suggestions would be very much appreciated. Thanks so much. Please let me know if you want me to clarify any details.

[Terry]

Toilets are not plumbed with traps.

The trap is in the bowl. After a flush, the fill valve "refills" the bowl, thus creating a seal against sewer gas coming into the home.

If you pipe to this untrapped drain, you will need to add a trap, and a vent. It's that simple.
For a washer p-trap, you will need to vent it within five feet.
Dangling a pipe over an open waste line is not the correct solution. That is why your house smells now.

If you have standing water in drains, those will need clearing.
If you need to cap off unused drains, they sell those are hardware stores. It may need a cap, or a plug.

[kreemoweet]

If you have the bucks to purchase a house, then you can afford to hire a plumber to clean up the mess you have now and
put in an appropriate washer drain. Forget the hokey, illegal, do-it-yerself stuff.

[Hammerlane]

If you have the bucks to purchase a house, then you can afford to hire a plumber.

That was helpful advice and jumping to a conclusion. If you buy a house you have money for a plumber??? Never saw that written anywhere.

[plumbed]

If you have the bucks to purchase a house, then you can afford to hire a plumber to clean up the mess you have now and
put in an appropriate washer drain. Forget the hokey, illegal, do-it-yerself stuff.

I have the bucks but this is an easy DIY project. I came here for advice on the easiest way to tackle the problem. I should have done more research on my own first. I think I figured it out on my own after reading Terry's post.

That was helpful advice and jumping to a conclusion. If you buy a house you have money for a plumber??? Never saw that written anywhere.

Agreed.

Toilets are not plumbed with traps.

The trap is in the bowl. After a flush, the fill valve "refills" the bowl, thus creating a seal against sewer gas coming into the home.

If you pipe to this untrapped drain, you will need to add a trap, and a vent. It's that simple.
For a washer p-trap, you will need to vent it within five feet.
Dangling a pipe over an open waste line is not the correct solution. That is why your house smells now.

If you have standing water in drains, those will need clearing.
If you need to cap off unused drains, they sell those are hardware stores. It may need a cap, or a plug.

Thanks.


I found this picture. This is what I would like to do now that Terry straightened me out. I didn't realize it was this easy to vent and trap. I had something much more complex in my mind, haha. If I am correct running the washer drain hose into an open stand pipe solves venting issues and the P trap will suffice for odor issues. Then I would simply run pvc/abs to a new stack on my old toilet flange drain hole.



Questions. How much drop should I use on the ~20' horizontal run to the main line(will require 1 90 degree)? What do you recommend as far as pipe sizes?

Is this safe against sewer backup? If not, how can I make it safer? Also what is the best way to put a stand pipe on the existing toilet flange hole???

In addition, any further comments or suggestions for improvements are very welcome. Thanks so much!

[plumbed]

my previous post

I think I read that diagram wrong. I dont think I can run that 20' section without a vent of some kind. Else it would pull the water out of the trap, right? How would you do this?

For a washer p-trap, you will need to vent it within five feet.

I need a vent after the trap right? Would it be up to code to vent out the side of the house next to the dryer vent?

[Terry]

I need a vent after the trap right? Would it be up to code to vent out the side of the house next to the dryer vent?

The vent should go up through the roof, not out the side of the home.

UPC 906.1
Each vent pipe or stack shall extend through its flashing and shall terminate vertically not less then six inches above the roof nor less then one foot from any vertical surface.

906.2d
Each vent shall terminate not less than ten feet from, or not less than three feet above any openable window, door, opening, air intake, or vent shaft, or less then three feet in every direction from any lot line, and street excepted.

The plumbing code is concerned with dispersal of the sewer gas.

[jimbo]

The vent takes off very close to the trap. That is the dotted line going up in your diagram. The vent prevents the trap from being siphoned dry. No further venting is necessary, just slope ( min. 1/4" per foot). The trap and standpipe must be 2". The drain should eventually enter a 3" main with no other fixtures connected on the 2" line. But there is no practical limitation on the length of that 2" line, as long as it slopes!!