washing machine drains into bathroom sink?
when our washing machine drains during the spin cycle water backs up into the bathroom sink which is 4 feet away. however when you use the sink faucet, water doesn’t back-up. we had a plumber snake the drain pipe to the main drain pipe of the house and the back-up still occurred. he also inserted the washing machine cold water hose directly into the machine drain pipe at full force and there was oddly enough no back-up. it only happens when the plastic drain hose from the washing machine is in the drain pipe.the plumber recommended pouring a strong residential use liquid draino type product into the drain and let it sit over night as a possible solution, assuming there is some sort of partial blockage in the main pipe which will allow lower water volumes to drain and not the heavier volume from the washing machine. FYI washing machine is 5 yrs old problem started around a year ago.
October 20th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
What in the world kind of plumber did you hire that advised you to pour Drano into the drain? That is just totally wrong,it wont work and if another plumber comes to clean the drain properly,it will corrode his cable.Not only that,using faucet water (probably 2 gallons a minute) is not going to come anywhere close to the volume put out by a washing machine pump.
The first thing you should do is demand your money back and report that guy to the local licensing board and his boss.He needs to be in a different business.
Then call a licensed plumber and ask him to clean your drain.Its an easy solution though not always cheap.I doubt seriously this has anything to do with the vent.
October 20th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
Try to go on the roof of your house , find where the vent is to the sink, hook up a water hose to the vent and try to wash out, the vent it could have leaves or stuff in the pipe.
October 20th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
When your washer drains from it’s tub it is inserting a much higher volume of water into the drain than you are probably getting from any of the faucettes or the water inlet line to the washer.
I suspect that you have a blockage of the waste vent line.
When the higher volume of water is being thrust down the drain by the washer, there is an equal increase in the demand for air to displace the water from the waste stack vent line.
Your plumber should have checked the vent where it passes through the roof to see if a bird has built a nest on it or anything else is blocking it.
October 20th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
It definitely sounds like you have a partial blockage. My washing machine used to drain into my kitchen sink due to a partial blockage and it will get worse if not taken care of. I had a plumber unblock it for me only to have it happen about a year later. This time, I bought a snake and worked it out myself.
Recommendations: you can put a lint trap on the end of your drain hose. You will be amazed at how much lint comes out with the drain water. An inexpensive way to do this is to use a piece of nylon (like pantyhose). Cut a piece big enough to form a pouch to catch the lint. Secure it to the hose with a hose clamp or some other sort of item. Rubber band, etc. Tight enough so it does not slip off and into the drain.
Get a bottle of Drano gel, (like 32 oz) add the bottle into the drain. Let it sit overnight, then flush the next day with hot water, even boiling water if you want. You may have to do this twice. I did but it may not be necessary since you do have some drainage.
You may want to do the Drano thing about once a year as a preventative but see how the lint trap thing goes.