I am doing some other work on a client’s home and she mentioned that she is having problems with suds backing up from her basement laundry floor drain. Apparently, this only happens when she does large loads. Nevertheless, she wants this corrected.
She also told me that she recently did have two different plumbers come out to snake the drain and no obstructions were found.
The current setup is as follows:
The washing machine drain hose discharges directly into the laundry tub. The laundry tub’s 1-1/2†PVC drain line then empties into the existing 3†floor drain. The trap for the floor drain appears to be approximately 18†below the floor level of the concrete slab. I assume that this drop is causing the water and suds to churn and create more bubbles, thus backing up onto the floor area.
MY QUESTION IS THIS:
Is there anything that can be done to correct this problem short of 1.) cutting the concrete slab, 2.) cutting into the existing horizontal 3†drain line, 3.) adding a wye downstream of the floor drain trap, and 4.) installing a dedicated DWV line for the washing machine to drain into?
Thank you for any input you may be able to give. I will pass it along to my client.
And, NO, she does not use as much laundry detergent as the kids did in that infamous episode of the Brady Bunch.
– Steve Mohler
Replies
Is this something it's always done, or is it something that's recently changed?
Q. How do you know when you're really ugly?
A. Dogs hump your leg with their eyes closed.
Apparently she has just put up with this since she moved in approximately two years ago. Hasn't done any damage to speak of since the floor is just concrete.
Any thoughts?
Any thoughts? What, me - Think ???
I don't have any great suggestions - Just curious as to whether it was a new problem or not. That might help the plumbers come up with a solution.
From my (very) limited plumbing experience, it just seems like a lousy setup which probaby can not be made to work well. I think the best thing to do is hook up the laundry tub with its own drain, and keep the washer dumping into it.
Or - If you've gone that far - Might as well put in a dedicated drain for the washer too.Reality bites, and I have the teeth marks to prove it
soap builds up over time
how old is the house
may need line cleaning
In answer to wain's question: The home is approximately 20 years old. The main drain line is cast iron.
How far were the lines snaked? We had a similar problem, which turned out to be caused by tree roots growing into the waste lines out by the street.
"A completed home is a listed home."
Maybe you could install a one way check valve after the floor drain. Or replace the floor drain with one that has a check ball built in it.
How much soap is added to each load? Laundry detergent boxes over reccomend the amount to be used......results in lots of bubbles and more sales.
I find that our dishwasher, clotheswasher, toothbrush, hair shampoo works best with 1/2 the amount that is listed on the bottle or shown on TV.
Try it..................................Iron Helix