Strange PVC cylinder on washer drain

[John K.]

Hi,

I've been a fan of this forum for a long time and have gotten great advice via lurking in the past.

This time, though, my web skills are stymied.

I'm having issues with my washer, lousy spin cycles. Machine has auto lint cleaner, so no internal filter to worry about. Seems to spin quite quickly, but some of the laundry is coming out sopping wet. No evidence of residue water in the machine.

While investigating, I found a pvc cylinder on the house dishcharge drain. It's where the trap usually would be. The drain is about 4.5' off the ground. It connects to a 3" main pipe about 12" away. I am on a public sewer system and the problem just surfaced recently after about a year living in my home (same machine).

Is this thing a septic saver lint trap? I don't know if the house was ever on a septic system. I know this is a plumbing forum, not an appliance repair forum, so my question is mainly whether this thing could be clogged. What is it?

I am going to try to discharge into a laundy tub next. It's on the same 1.5" drain pipe, connected to the main drain pipe. It's connected after the weird cylinder.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Forgive me in advance if this is a naive or incomplete question.

Thanks,


John K.

[Mike Swearingen]

There should be a trap at the bottom of your washing machine standpipe drain (and the line should be vented after the trap).
If there isn't, maybe someone has installed a check valve (the PVC cylinder?), and this check valve has gotten clogged with lint.
Hard to guess without seeing it.
Mike

[John K.]

Thanks. I'll take a pic later and post it.

I really appreciate your response.