Source
r/HomeImprovement•
JakeBake

Washing machine drain pipe overflowed twice in the past couple weeks. Looking for opinions and advice (Pic included)

Pic of setup. You can see all the lines connecting to the drain pipe. One comes from the shower (including other things as well? Not sure), the dirty one is from my air exchanger (gross-looking, I know). The orange-capped pipe is for the washer drain: http://imgur.com/a/LY6vP8U

Hi all,

My washing machine drain pipe has overflowed twice in the past couple of weeks. Before I call someone in, I'm curious if anyone here has any thoughts. I'm a complete noob with any handyman tasks. This might be a bit long but I understand more information is usually better. I'm putting a TLDR at the bottom but please allow me to explain as best as I can, in case the details matter:

A couple weeks back, the washing machine drain pipe began overflowing during a load when I wasn't home. My girlfriend called me up and I raced home to try to do something about it. I shut off the water, learned on the spot how to disconnect everything, towel'd up the mess and got a fan blowing on the area ASAP because the water was sitting on the baseboards for a bit before I got home. As soon as I got home, I could see water sitting close to the tip of the drain pipe. When I checked back a few minutes later, the drain had cleared (as far as I could see).

To test a potential blockage, my girlfriend and I took turns pouring large jugs of water down the drain to see if it would back up... Nothing happened - the water was flowing and no backing up. I also tried snaking the washing machine drain pipe with a metal snake. I hit what felt like a hard point that required force to pass, and felt uncomfortable forcing anything out of fear I'd damage something. If you look at the picture I uploaded, there's a clear drain line that comes from the shower (possibly other drains upstairs as well? I don't know...) and connects to the same pipe as my washer drain. We decided to pour some drain cleaning product down the shower in case it would clear up anything where the drains all meet.

We decided to try to set up the washing machine again, since the drain seemed to have cleared and was flowing fine as far as we could tell. After being forced to learn how to install a washer/ dryer (the only good thing that came out of this situation), we decided to let it rip and watch what happens. We sat watching it and chatting for multiple cycles. No back-up, nothing sounded or looked off. We called a plumber and asked if it was still wise to have it looked at and they said it sounded like a blockage may have cleared and to save my money for now. We used the machine many times in the following two weeks with no issues.

Now fast-forward two weeks to last night. Friday night, finally time to settle down after a rough work week. Throw a load in the washer, sit down to relax. I'm sitting with headphones on and suddenly hear the sound of rushing water. Water is absolutely pouring out of the drain pipe. I immediately jump up along with my girlfriend and we shut everything down, pull out the machines, clean the area, throw a fan on, etc etc (much more efficiently than last time due to our new-found experience)...

Now I'm left wondering wtf is going on. Does this sound like a potential blockage, or something more complicated? I find it strange that the first time it happened, the water was sitting at the top of the pipe, indicating, to me, some sort of blockage, only to clear itself and be fine very shortly after. Did the drain cleaner temporarily dislodge something enough to give it a couple weeks of proper functioning? I showered right before using the washer - could this have accumulated enough water to the point where the washer was too much? It wasn't an issue for the past couple weeks so I have to wonder. Maybe my drain lines are positioned improperly? My washer drain line was pretty deep down the pipe - could that be an issue? I want to call someone in to take care of this because I'm so lost with this stuff and afraid to break things, but of course it has to happen on a Friday night and I'm sure all the plumbers near me are charging a lot on weekends (will look into it).

TL;DR: washing machine drain overflowed a couple weeks back. After a useless snake attempt and some drain cleaning product, things seemed to be working fine. Two weeks of functioning like normal only to happen again, seemingly out of the blue, last night.

So what do you all think? Simple blockage? Something else? Any advice or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you and have a great weekend.

Posted Apr 10, 2021, 3:56 PM UTC

427
distantreplay•

Is there a drain there? Is it behind all the supply spaghetti? I can't see it.

Your washer discharge stand pipe should be 2". It it is smaller than that then you will need a basin.

3
bubbablake•

I believe it’s the pipe coming out of the wall at an angle with the orange cap. It looks like the orange cap has a cut in it to allow the drain hose to get pushed into it.

2
JakeBakeOP•

Correct - I explained this in the OP but I understand it's a long post that not everyone feels like reading through.

1
JakeBakeOP•

Could the drain pipe be the issue considering it's a problem that only just started happening?

1
distantreplay•

I realize you don't want to hear this, but I think you should rebuild the whole thing. You could install the additional supply valves you are missing as well as a real WMOB with drain and ensure that the trap and vent are present and correctly sized. And you could air gap the condensate drain. It's not great to have an indoor air handling device connected directly to your sewage.

3
JakeBakeOP•

Thanks for your advice.

That's a lot of stuff I'm going to have to educate myself on if I look into it.

As for my original question though, does a structural issue make sense as the source if it's just started happening out of the blue? We went 10 months with zero problems. My common sense/ lack of knowledge on the topic tells me that something built up, otherwise I don't see how an issue with the setup would be causing this all of a sudden, but if you can help me to understand I'd appreciate it. Thanks again.

1
CoolKicks•

I spent a year fighting with the exact situation. Washing machine would overflow, I’d snake and dump a ton of boiling water and it would get better for a short period, then it would happen again.

Long story short, I called a plumber and it was a clog further than my snake could reach. He cleared it out and it’s been fine since.

3
JakeBakeOP•

Cool. I've got a drain company coming Monday, hopefully they can resolve it for good. Thanks for sharing your experience.

I'm curious, what tool did they end up using?

2
CoolKicks•

They used an auger to clear it, just a longer one than mine. We didn’t measure, but estimate it was 35 to 40 feet down pipe from the clean out right next to the WM drain.

1
JakeBakeOP•

Do you remember if they were able to go straight through the drain where the washer drain hose is inserted, or did they need to remove the trap and go from there?

My trap is behind the wall, and one plumber said they'd have to remove some wall to remove the trap and go from there. I'm curious if I can expect it to be done straight from the drain opening to avoid that..

Thanks

2
CoolKicks•

I had a clean out near the drain that we went through, which was ideal. If you have a clean out nearby, they will almost certainly use that instead of ripping up a wall. A trap is a lot of bend for a snake/auger which is when cleanouts are usually located nearby.

If I were in your position, I’d look at all fixtures BEFORE the washing machine drain for a clean out, and point your plumber at there. Their snakes will be 80+ feet long, so moving 10 feet up pipe from the WM is nothing.

Worst case, if you have to cut the wall open, ask the plumber to add a clean out for you. It will add to the cost, but cleanouts are a god send when you need one, and will make cleaning the next clog so much easier.

1
Snake_Bait_2134•

This is the way to go, or hire a company that specifically snakes and clears drains, they can run a blade through several lines and directly to the main city line, it is not that expensive. Sounds like something has a partial blockage down the line from the washer and only overflows if the drainage lines are already full of water. Good luck

2
JakeBakeOP•

Sounds like a good assumption.

I actually just spoke to a plumber who told me that they'd have to access the pipe behind the wall where the plumbing is located and clear the blockage from there. He was completely dismissive of the possibility that we would be able to clear the drain without accessing the portion of the plumbing after the trap, which would require a cut in the wall since there's currently no way to access that. He seemed very sure of himself and came across pretty down to earth, for whatever it's worth, but I'm naturally hesitant to jump straight to cutting walls.

Does it make sense that I wouldn't be able to clear it without accessing the pipes behind the wall? Curious what people think of this opinion I just got.

1
Snake_Bait_2134•

I have never had to open walls to clear drainage issues.... a snake with blades has always done the trick. The only time I’ve had to take out walls was when a tenant used an excessive amount of industrial “draino” it heated and cracked the abs glue at a joint and I had to cut it out and replace it as it was leaking not overflowing. I would be hesitant to start cutting walls. I’m up in Canada and usually use “router rooter” for the previously mentioned snaking and blading.

2
JakeBakeOP•

Damn. This is all so frustrating as someone who has no knowledge of their own to draw from. No matter who I talk to online or on the phone, I get a different opinion. I don't understand why this guy would be so eager to cut the walls otherwise. He's charging even less to do it than the drain company was gonna charge to try to unclog with their snake and/ or jet (although the drain company hasn't seen the layout, maybe they'd tell me it won't work once they take a look). Sigh.

There's no problem getting past a trap in the drain with a snake or something? I just don't get why this guy is so dismissive of it if it's a realistic option.

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it.

1
euclitorous•

If it is clogged, you should use a bladder. That worked for me.

2
Critical-Test-4446•

Sorry, I've never seen a setup like yours. What's with the clear plastic tube coming from above? That doesn't look right.

0
JakeBakeOP•

It's for the air exchanger. When the unit does a self-defrost, water drips down the tubes into the drain pipe. (I mentioned in the OP but maybe I wasn't clear.)

3
Critical-Test-4446•

I must have missed that. Makes sense now.

1
asterios_polyp•

I use draino once per year.

0
JakeBakeOP•

Ever have any issues with the pipes? Seems like there are some mixed opinions on whether the products are good to use or not. Do you pour it down the washing machine drain?

1