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Washing Machine draining into wall pipe - 2nd floor of condo building

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Washing Machine draining into wall pipe - 2nd floor of condo building VM 03-12-2008
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Posted by VM on March 12, 2008, 3:02 am
Hello group

We live on the 2nd floor of a 3 floor condo building. The washing machine
is drained by the hose being stuck into a pipe that diagonally sticks out of
the wall about 4-6 inches above the top of the machine. The problem is that
no matter what we try, the water backs up in that pipe and comes pouring out
the top when the machine drains. We've tried clamping sections of the hose
to try and slow the volume of water draining but we almost need to clamp it
off completely otherwise it still overflows. We've tried using lesser and
lesser amounts of detergent thinking maybe it's the suds that are building
up in the pipes and backing the water up but it makes no difference. We've
had several machines in here over the years and the problem happens with
each of them. Every couple of months we're able to compress and tape part
of the machine drain hose and get it set just right so it drains without
overflowing. However it keeps coming back.

Anybody have any ideas that don't involve ripping down walls floors and
ceilings or paying a plumber $500 to dig through the system?



AppliancePartsPros.com, Inc.
Posted by Mikepier on March 12, 2008, 6:19 am

The easiest thing to do first is snake out the line in the event it's
clogged. If you still have problems, it could be a problem in the vent
line going up to the roof. It could be clogged and can be snaked from
the roof.
Another thing you can try to do is extend the drain pipe up about 2
feet. This will do 2 things:
1) Allow more water volume in the drain pipe, decreasing the chance of
overflow.
2) The pump should drain a tad slower because of the added height it
has to push the water up. This should not pose a problem to the
washing machine because most washers can push water up a max height of
8-10 feet.
Just make sure the drain hose is long enough for the added height.
Otherwise you can buy a drain hose extender.

It should be fairly easy to extend the pipe up. You mentioned it comes
out diagonally. Just buy a 45 or 30 degree elbow and a short length of
PVC pipe. Glue it together, then attach it to the existing pipe with a
no-hub coupling. This will make it easy to remove in the event it you
notice it still overflowing. ( If you have PVC coming out of the wall,
do not glue the extension otherwise you cannot remove it, just use the
no-hub coupling.)

Posted by HeyBub on March 12, 2008, 7:52 am
VM wrote:
> Hello group
>
> We live on the 2nd floor of a 3 floor condo building. The washing
> machine is drained by the hose being stuck into a pipe that
> diagonally sticks out of the wall about 4-6 inches above the top of
> the machine. The problem is that no matter what we try, the water
> backs up in that pipe and comes pouring out the top when the machine
> drains. We've tried clamping sections of the hose to try and slow
> the volume of water draining but we almost need to clamp it off
> completely otherwise it still overflows. We've tried using lesser
> and lesser amounts of detergent thinking maybe it's the suds that are
> building up in the pipes and backing the water up but it makes no
> difference. We've had several machines in here over the years and
> the problem happens with each of them. Every couple of months we're
> able to compress and tape part of the machine drain hose and get it
> set just right so it drains without overflowing. However it keeps
> coming back.
> Anybody have any ideas that don't involve ripping down walls floors
> and ceilings or paying a plumber $500 to dig through the system?

Drano?



Posted by hallerb@aol.com on March 12, 2008, 8:20 am
> VM wrote:
> > Hello group
>
> > We live on the 2nd floor of a 3 floor condo building. =EF=BF=BDThe washi=
ng
> > machine is drained by the hose being stuck into a pipe that
> > diagonally sticks out of the wall about 4-6 inches above the top of
> > the machine. =EF=BF=BDThe problem is that no matter what we try, the wat=
er
> > backs up in that pipe and comes pouring out the top when the machine
> > drains. =EF=BF=BDWe've tried clamping sections of the hose to try and sl=
ow
> > the volume of water draining but we almost need to clamp it off
> > completely otherwise it still overflows. =EF=BF=BDWe've tried using less=
er
> > and lesser amounts of detergent thinking maybe it's the suds that are
> > building up in the pipes and backing the water up but it makes no
> > difference. =EF=BF=BDWe've had several machines in here over the years a=
nd
> > the problem happens with each of them. =EF=BF=BDEvery couple of months w=
e're
> > able to compress and tape part of the machine drain hose and get it
> > set just right so it drains without overflowing. =EF=BF=BDHowever it kee=
ps
> > coming back.
> > Anybody have any ideas that don't involve ripping down walls floors
> > and ceilings or paying a plumber $500 to dig through the system?
>
> Drano?- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

i would snake the line, probably a lint clog.

dont muck around a big flood with a patch job in your unit might put
you on the hook if another unit gets water damage.

snake the line.............

Posted by bob kater on March 13, 2008, 12:14 pm

> VM wrote:
> > Hello group
>
> > We live on the 2nd floor of a 3 floor condo building. ?The washing
> > machine is drained by the hose being stuck into a pipe that
> > diagonally sticks out of the wall about 4-6 inches above the top of
> > the machine. ?The problem is that no matter what we try, the water
> > backs up in that pipe and comes pouring out the top when the machine
> > drains. ?We've tried clamping sections of the hose to try and slow
> > the volume of water draining but we almost need to clamp it off
> > completely otherwise it still overflows. ?We've tried using lesser
> > and lesser amounts of detergent thinking maybe it's the suds that are
> > building up in the pipes and backing the water up but it makes no
> > difference. ?We've had several machines in here over the years and
> > the problem happens with each of them. ?Every couple of months we're
> > able to compress and tape part of the machine drain hose and get it
> > set just right so it drains without overflowing. ?However it keeps
> > coming back.
> > Anybody have any ideas that don't involve ripping down walls floors
> > and ceilings or paying a plumber $500 to dig through the system?
>
> Drano?- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

i would snake the line, probably a lint clog.

dont muck around a big flood with a patch job in your unit might put
you on the hook if another unit gets water damage.

snake the line.............


Any unit below yours having an issue????



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