Help! My basement washer is connected to abs piping that (I think) runs under the concrete floor and to some huge drain hole in the floor. This is a 1911 2 story house. I finally managed to get a washer in the basement for a test run and had this hole fill up with water and take several days to drain. Is it draining to the sewer or what? Should I connect the washer drain to the main stack? How can I fix this problem without going broker? I'm at wit's end! Thanks for any help, most appreciated. RR
Hmmm..sounds like you may be suffering from back pressure problems. here's what you try first
take about a 5 gallon bucket, and fill it up with water. then let it flow down the drain hole, and then quickly refill the bucket. you are looking for what happens when you have about 25 gallons in 2 minutes going into that hole. If it doesn't go right through, then you might want to have that pipe cored out(in an older home, that's not unusual).
try that first.
well..each cycle of the washer runs between 20 and 40 US gallons each, and the run of the pipe is usually 40 to 100 feet, depending on how far you are from the street, or sewer connection, or septic tank.
the fact that you have four 5 gallons in the drain, and the last one backs up, says that the drain ain't getting it done. so you can imagine what a full cycle will do to that.
try a little acid wash or if you're ecological, some baking soda with vinegar, and cold water, in around 5 gallons of water..that should dislodge the organic matter well.
With old pipes, using a high speed borer is not recommended. the hand turned ones are more forgiving on the inside of the older pipes.
DO NOT let one of those commercial guys sink one of the high speed machines down your pipes, otherwise you're looking at a major plumbing headache
try the organic dissolving technique first, and then use a garden hose to edge down the pipe, and see if that backs up or not.
ahh..yes..I also recommend a nice red wine with this effort.
hope this helps you enough to rate this solution
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Hey man thanks for the lightning fast response, I didn't really expect one on a Saturday night. So I emptied out the dog kibble I normally keep in the 5 gallon (20 litre) pail, and ran four full cold pails through, and for good measure, one final hot pail full of water. The water seems to go right through, except for the last bit of it, which seems to just sit there. Should this water go straight through with nothing left in the drain? I think I might be able to handle the reboring of this hole if need be. THANKS AGAIN! RR
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