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Kitchen sink gurgles when the clothes washer drains, suspect improper venting.
Bought home new six years ago, but it was a sped so I didn’t get to see how sink/washer were vented. Observed construction of other homes with same floor plan, in the same sub, by the same builder. In these homes, kitchen sink did not have its own vent but drained straight to a drain shared by the washer. Washer is vented to roof but its drain runs nearly 20 linear feet before it joins with drain from sink. This means that the sink drain runs about 5 feet before tying into the drain from the washer, which runs 20 feet before being vented. Have naked all lines, including vent to roof. Installed 1 1/2-in.-dia. vent fitting on the sewer side of the sink trap… seemed to work for awhile but noise is back (could valve have failed?).
Any ideas that will stop the gurgling, but that don’t require opening walls (or finished basement ceilings)?
Replies
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Dear JC,
You've got a problem that rates right up there with the skyrocketing price of fuel oil.
The infamous gurgling drain.
Put a plug in the drain.
Gabe
*Sink may be gurgling due to water being pushed up in its trap by displaced air instead of being pulled (which is when the in-line valve would work, but probably not well enough) because washer is pumping fast. The archives have lots of entries on this under "gurgling sinks". Unless you yearn to spackle, consider it a free set of Nature sounds and keep food out of the sink.
*Just a long shot, but could there be an obstruction in the vent above? Maybe a dead bird or animal? How's that for nature sounds?Maybe it's just inadequate vent or drain diameter vs flow rate.Pete Draganic
*Pete, he said in the post, and i believe him: "have naked all lines" ; )I'll go to plumbing hell for this, but more in-line vents could be added upstream of washer if make-up air is the prob (pull-gurgles). If it's inadequately-sized lines (push-gurgles), it's back to Nature. Or the basement.
*Spinster, I don't care which hell you go to, just go!There's no argument here. The guy's had gurgling for 6 years and has lived through it. Odd's are, he'll continue living life forever with this gurgling. The average family uses a washing machine once a day for an hour and it will gurgle for 5 minutes, big deal.If the water was backing up and flooding, that would be another matter. BUT IT ISN'T. If it bothers you and him so much go over to his house, rip open the walls and add another vent, damn it, otherwise.....You were caught bullshitting in the tavern and you were called to put up or shut up. You choose to hide for a couple of weeks and not you've poked you head up from under your rock and you think we haven't forgotten, WRONG.BTW seeing this is a family type board, I won't call you a dumb **** I'll just call you DF from now on.Gabe
*I dunno, Gabe, looks like the guy put some effort into it, naked lines and all--guess i'm not as jaded as you, and i'd rather be a conduit than a stopper. Was gone for a couple weeks with my crafty-poo stuff, hitting deer, and mother's triple-bypass --nice of you to keep track, miss me. But what is this about my b-s'ing in the Tavern? Really? That sort of thing goes on there? Wanna leave this guy's thread alone and meet me there? Now here's your treat:Of the G-S-C that's called GabeMy opinion will never be swayed.Though he Grumbles and SqueaksAnd gives me the CreepsI still have to admit he's a babe...
*Can we back the truck up please, I think there must be something missing from the problem explaination. Our washing machine drain is siamesed with our laundry sink, when the machine pumps out the tub it does so with gusto and there's some gurgling heard from the sink. Same with our dishwasher and the kitchen sink. Same with our old house. Same with just about every house I've ever been in with a siamesed drain of any kind: you fill one side of a double sink and then pull the stopper - guess what, the other side of the sink gurgles. The only way I know to supress some of the noise is to run an entirely separate path. Isn't that sound normal ?
*Phill, I had a kitchen sink that used to blow bubbles at me when the washer pumped. Considering what gets washed, it was a little disconcerting. I'd prefer the food only go through my system once...
*I'm sorry, I don't see the connection to a little water noise added to the din from the washing machine.
*Noise wasn't the problem per se in my sinks but that the drains were small enough that washer water backed up a little into the sink. Washers are pratically considered to produce "gray" water, but washing diapers and such makes it actually "waste" water, so e. coli for instance has a chance of ending up in a food area--not that meat eaters aren't at risk already! He claims 25 feet before venting, something that wouldn't be allowed where i live...this is legal somewhere?JC's washer is located some distance from the sink, i'm guessing in a separate room to isolate the din (nice word...), yet if he's throwing a party while doing laundry the washer will be sending him and his guests love letters through the pipes. Telling someone to live with it is like telling them they don't need a second bathroom, just more patience. The sheer volume of typing this topic has engendered makes me think that a homebuilder offering the relatively cheap upgrade of separate drains would be a competitive move.Or else i'm just gonna try some of those less-obnoxious fixtures from Thailand that you're touting, Phill, instead of this local stuff. ;)))
*DF you're talking to yourself and no one cares.Gabe
*JC does seem to indicate that the vent is twenty five feet from the sink. I don't know much about plumbing, but I'm pretty sure this wouldn't pass code in most places.Now whether or not that distance has something to do with the noise I don't know. But if iti doeshave something to do with the noise, would the installation of a Studor vent solve the problem? Of course that might be a code violation too (but ok in the manufactured home down the road!).Do two code wrongs make a right?Rich Beckman
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Thanks for the input. Some clarification...
- I meant to say that I was "naked when I snaked the lines". Sorry for the confusion.
- The washer is in a separate room and I wouldn't even know it was draining if it weren't for the noise from the sink
- When the sink "gurgles", it's damned loud. If I wanted to sell the house, I'd have to make sure a prospective buyer never heard it or we would never sell.
- I mentioned that I had installed a vent fitting on the sewer side of the sink trap and wondered if this had failed, as things seemed to quiet down for awhile after I installed it. I removed and cleaned yesterday and the noise stopped again. This is one of the cheap, spring type vents, but only a few months old. I'll assume that I should have used a Studor vent instead.
- It's hard for me to understand why code would allow a situation like this (at least with new construction). Based on similar posts about this same topic all over the web, I find that I'm not alone with this problem.
JC
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Kitchen sink gurgles when the clothes washer drains, suspect improper venting.
Bought home new six years ago, but it was a sped so I didn't get to see how sink/washer were vented. Observed construction of other homes with same floor plan, in the same sub, by the same builder. In these homes, kitchen sink did not have its own vent but drained straight to a drain shared by the washer. Washer is vented to roof but its drain runs nearly 20 linear feet before it joins with drain from sink. This means that the sink drain runs about 5 feet before tying into the drain from the washer, which runs 20 feet before being vented. Have naked all lines, including vent to roof. Installed 1 1/2-in.-dia. vent fitting on the sewer side of the sink trap... seemed to work for awhile but noise is back (could valve have failed?).
Any ideas that will stop the gurgling, but that don't require opening walls (or finished basement ceilings)?
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A naked, snakey man on the roof, noisily venting????
I'll bet if you keep it up the guys in your subdivision will pass a collection plate to take that junker off your hands in order to get their womenfolk back indoors! In fact, i'd like to help out--just send me your home undress...er...address!