Washer Drain Line

[fchafey]

The phone rings at 530 last night and my daughter askes my why water would be coming out of the wall, specifically the wall behind the washer. I told her, it could be the water valve, a hose, a pipe or a clog in the drain. I run over there and sure enough the drain after 33 years had gotten full of crap and goo and when the rinse or spin cycle came on water pumped at a faster velocity than wash and it cause a back up. . This is especially true when one does a lot of cold water washing, the liquid soap and the cold water make for a slop that will clog a pipe. A bottle of Drano and a pitcher or two of steaming hot water and all is well.

I started doing some reading online and found that is a pretty common occurrence over time, especially with hard water and liquid soap. Just thought I would share as a lot of us have been in our homes for a long time, and to me this was the first time for something like this. And fixing this certainly saved a service call.....

[sojourner truth]

Muriatic acid cleans just about anything out of a plugged drain.

Most swimming pool stores sell it in gallon jugs. That, or use a snake, and that is no rock solid solution.

[Ludwig]

Muriatic acid cleans just about anything out of a plugged drain.

Most swimming pool stores sell it in gallon jugs. That, or use a snake, and that is no rock solid solution.

There is not a "snake" available to the average homeowner that is long enough to do the job. Many homes, like mine, have a shared line for their kitchen sink/garbage disposal, and dishwasher. This greatly compounds the problem with goop.

Before you use Muriatic Acid, which is available at Walmart, Lowe's, and Home Depot, please read this article: https://www.doityourself.com/stry/using-muriatic-acid-to-clean-drains. Your plumbing, not to mention your body, will appreciate it.

[kantwin]

Probably not a good idea for me to use Muriatic acid on a septic . . .

[Grasshopperglock]

Draino is a base. Super alkaline. Sodium Hydroxide.

Muriatic acid is Hydrochloric and salt. It'll eat concrete like Styrofoam dunked in gasoline if it's poured in strength.



If I was using it. After the drain is cleared. I'd dump a couple boxes of baking soda down the drain to neutralize the acid and call it a day. There should be nothing but plastic pipes. It'll dilute to nothing in a concrete septic tank. Unless you go wild and pour gallons down the drain.

[mac]

A bottle of Drano and a pitcher or two of steaming hot water and all is well.

Fred: How do you get that Drano mixture introduced (quickly) into your pipes?.....mac

[mac]

Draino is a base. Super alkaline. Sodium Hydroxide.

Muriatic acid is Hydrochloric and salt. It'll eat concrete like Styrofoam dunked in gasoline if it's poured in strength.



If I was using it. After the drain is cleared. I'd dump a couple boxes of baking soda down the drain to neutralize the acid and call it a day. There should be nothing but plastic pipes. It'll dilute to nothing in a concrete septic tank. Unless you go wild and pour gallons down the drain.

and, it'll do the same thing, in spades, to toilet stools, sinks, and bathtubs...........mac

[fchafey]

Fred: How do you get that Drano mixture introduced (quickly) into your pipes?.....mac

I used a funnel with a plastic tube attached to the narrow end. I poured the liquid, not gel Drano slowly into the funnel and it went down the drain pipe no problem. I was able to "quick pour" the hot water without the funnel. She has been washing all day today and no issues. This method seemd to have solved the problem . I asked her to do more hot water washing.

[mac]

I used a funnel with a plastic tube attached to the narrow end. I poured the liquid, not gel Drano slowly into the funnel and it went down the drain pipe no problem. I was able to "quick pour" the hot water without the funnel. She has been washing all day today and no issues. This method seemd to have solved the problem . I asked her to do more hot water washing.

'ppreciate it. yeow, that's the way I do it to, thought their might be a better way...............mac

[sojourner truth]

Reminds me of AC unit drainage lines. For some reason, in the hot humid summer months, they get algae and fungus up in them and plug up. The last time this happened to me (this past summer) it flooded inside the house and I had to call an AC repairman to come and replace a section of the drainage pipe. He told me my problem was in the "P" trap, which was plugged, and that the trap was only required by code in homes that have natural gas in them. I don't, so he cut out the plugged section and put in another straight piece.

Since then, about once a month, I will run bleach of CLR down the pipe and it has, so far, worked fine. Now, for my dryer exhaust vent line.....

Muriatic acid is what I used to use for plugged up urinals at the airport and for cleaning my pools painted surfaces prior to repainting them. It works well in those roles. Not sure about all the other stuff that everyone else is reporting here, but so far, I haven't had problems with using it in small applications. Never a whole gallon jug, mind you.

[Grasshopperglock]

Reminds me of AC unit drainage lines. For some reason, in the hot humid summer months, they get algae and fungus up in them and plug up. The last time this happened to me (this past summer) it flooded inside the house and I had to call an AC repairman to come and replace a section of the drainage pipe. He told me my problem was in the "P" trap, which was plugged, and that the trap was only required by code in homes that have natural gas in them. I don't, so he cut out the plugged section and put in another straight piece.

Since then, about once a month, I will run bleach of CLR down the pipe and it has, so far, worked fine. Now, for my dryer exhaust vent line.....

Muriatic acid is what I used to use for plugged up urinals at the airport and for cleaning my pools painted surfaces prior to repainting them. It works well in those roles. Not sure about all the other stuff that everyone else is reporting here, but so far, I haven't had problems with using it in small applications. Never a whole gallon jug, mind you.

Bleach in the drain line at every filter change. Consider it as required maintenance.

Keep a small bottle of regular strength and a funnel in the A.C. Closet.

If the drain is in the attic. Once a month you'll have to climb up there. There's no way around it. It has to have bleach poured down the drain. Or else, things get funky, water backs up. Screws something up.


Bleach.

[sojourner truth]

Mine is not in the attic. Runs from the inside unit to the outside of the house in standard PVC pipes.

I already have the bleach and funnel in the AC closet. Saves time trying to hunt them down later. Only roof climbing I may have to do is for the dryer vent. And my chimney sweep does that for a very modest fee. I still need him to come and do my chimney this year. What I really need to do is replace the inside of the fireplace, and I think he does that but it has been a while since I called him, so I am not even sure he is still above ground or not. The inside is made for Rudy poo fire logs and not the oak I use all the time. The fake brick inside is starting to crack a bit and I do not want a chimney fire either. That and the pipes need cleaning, but I can probably do that myself if I get energetic enough. And any more, that's a big if.:)

[Gramps]

Reminds me of AC unit drainage lines. For some reason, in the hot humid summer months, they get algae and fungus up in them and plug up.
A couple of years ago I had to call the AC repairman out for a clogged drainage line (and pay the ultra high Saturday service call fee) the repairman told me that next time the line plugged to connect my wet vac to the line and suck the crud out to avoid the service call. Tried that when the line clogged last summer and it worked like a charm.

[fchafey]

The wet vac is the answer. I make a seal with my hand and it works really well.

[mac]

Mine is not in the attic. Runs from the inside unit to the outside of the house in standard PVC pipes.

I already have the bleach and funnel in the AC closet. Saves time trying to hunt them down later. Only roof climbing I may have to do is for the dryer vent. And my chimney sweep does that for a very modest fee. I still need him to come and do my chimney this year. What I really need to do is replace the inside of the fireplace, and I think he does that but it has been a while since I called him, so I am not even sure he is still above ground or not. The inside is made for Rudy poo fire logs and not the oak I use all the time. The fake brick inside is starting to crack a bit and I do not want a chimney fire either. That and the pipes need cleaning, but I can probably do that myself if I get energetic enough. And any more, that's a big if.:)



glad you mentioned that, I need to get him out here too, for the same reason plus to re-crown the chimney and put on a new cap/spark arrestor. It'll be a good year for him at my place this time around......mac

[sojourner truth]

I use a shop vac too... But last time it didn't work because the mold or whatever the gunk in the line was had hardened. I have a friend who owns his own AC/Electrical company swing by and he even back flushed it with a hose to no avail. We had to replace the drain pan on the unit, and that didn't work. That was when he sent one of his techs over and the hard clog was discovered. It cost me about $250 for the repair, but I learned something about clogged PVC so it was almost worth it.

[CenTexDave]

CLR or plain old bleach.

[Grasshopperglock]

CLR or plain old bleach.

You'd think it would kill the grass around the drain. Nope. The drain for my a.c. comes out by the compressor. It doesn't faze anything. I have some Texas toads that occupy the front porch. The only other moist place besides the potted plants is the drain pipe area.

They don't mind it either. At least, the best I can tell. The weeds definitely don't mind.

[mac]

CLR or plain old bleach.

how much CLR, Dave? One can or more?....mac

[CenTexDave]

I use bleach. One cup a month when I change the filter.

[kantwin]

So, tagging on this thread -
We recently had our septic tank pumped (2 months ago).
When the washing machine is run, the toilet in the hall 1/2 bath on the other side of the house will not flush normally. It will eventually drain, but not "flush".
The tub in the master bedroom will gurgle when that hall bath toilet is flushed - but only if the washing machine is run. Otherwise, there is no gurgling on any drains.
When the washing machine is not running, that hall bath toilet flushes fine.
Other toilets in the house flush just fine.
There are 4 plumbing vents coming through the roof.

Research online points to a vent problem, or a clog in the drain line.
Not helpful. . .

I plan on getting a "watering wand" from Lowes that has an adjustable head to try to put water in the vent lines to try and clear them of any clog. It's a 14/12 pitch roof, so I don't want to get too far up the roof, and a 70" watering wand will help with that.

The house has a crawl space, and I also plan on getting under there to open up some of the cleanouts and see if there is any standing water in there. If that's the case, I wonder if the outlet on the septic tank may be partially plugged.

Anyone have any ideas?

[Grasshopperglock]

So, tagging on this thread -
We recently had our septic tank pumped (2 months ago).
When the washing machine is run, the toilet in the hall 1/2 bath on the other side of the house will not flush normally. It will eventually drain, but not "flush".
The tub in the master bedroom will gurgle when that hall bath toilet is flushed - but only if the washing machine is run. Otherwise, there is no gurgling on any drains.
When the washing machine is not running, that hall bath toilet flushes fine.
Other toilets in the house flush just fine.
There are 4 plumbing vents coming through the roof.

Research online points to a vent problem, or a clog in the drain line.
Not helpful. . .

I plan on getting a "watering wand" from Lowes that has an adjustable head to try to put water in the vent lines to try and clear them of any clog. It's a 14/12 pitch roof, so I don't want to get too far up the roof, and a 70" watering wand will help with that.

The house has a crawl space, and I also plan on getting under there to open up some of the cleanouts and see if there is any standing water in there. If that's the case, I wonder if the outlet on the septic tank may be partially plugged.

Anyone have any ideas?

Action Pawn on Fort Hood street has a pressure drain unblocker. It's a small tank the size of a 2ltr coke bottle. With a hose that has the expandable rubber plug. The plug seals the pipe and shoots air/water out the end.

It's not something you want to own forever. Before you buy it. Ask what the pawn will buy it back for. What's the pawn value. After you use it, take it back.

AKA, "Pawn Rental" . I think they want $50-$60 bucks for it. It'll probably cost $40 to 'rent'. Although, they have a 15% restocking fee if you outright take it back. Whichever is the cheapest.

......


If you have an air tank laying around. You can use that. Rig it up to where you can blow air through the suspected pipe using a blow gun and a rag to seal it. Don't pressurise it past 45psi or you'll likely blow a pipe off.


.....


Third option is a chemical cleaner...with an air flush.

[Grasshopperglock]

If you don't have an air tank. They also have a few of them. $25-$39 bucks.

[fchafey]

So, tagging on this thread -
We recently had our septic tank pumped (2 months ago).
When the washing machine is run, the toilet in the hall 1/2 bath on the other side of the house will not flush normally. It will eventually drain, but not "flush".
The tub in the master bedroom will gurgle when that hall bath toilet is flushed - but only if the washing machine is run. Otherwise, there is no gurgling on any drains.
When the washing machine is not running, that hall bath toilet flushes fine.
Other toilets in the house flush just fine.
There are 4 plumbing vents coming through the roof.

Research online points to a vent problem, or a clog in the drain line.
Not helpful. . .

I plan on getting a "watering wand" from Lowes that has an adjustable head to try to put water in the vent lines to try and clear them of any clog. It's a 14/12 pitch roof, so I don't want to get too far up the roof, and a 70" watering wand will help with that.

The house has a crawl space, and I also plan on getting under there to open up some of the cleanouts and see if there is any standing water in there. If that's the case, I wonder if the outlet on the septic tank may be partially plugged.

Anyone have any ideas?

My mother's house in Jersey was configured so that the washer was to the right of the bathroom tub. The bathroom being on an outside wall and the drain receptacle for clogs and such was outside of the bathroom. When her washer drained it would pump water into the tub and then drain when the washer started refilling. The house was on a sewer system, no septic. The vents weren't obstructed either. Anyway, the pipes were fine it was the pumps pressure on the washer that caused the back up.


Maybe your wash room is close to the bathroom....and you have a good washing machine...

[mac]

I plan on getting a "watering wand" from Lowes that has an adjustable head to try to put water in the vent lines to try and clear them of any clog.

So.......you're gonna run water from your roof into your vent tubes to unplug a drain line?.....mac

[kantwin]

The washer is on the other side of the house.

Several “fix it” sites suggest that a method to unclog vent is to run a garden hose down the vent pipe that goes through the roof.

My first order of business is to open all the clean outs in the crawl space and check for clogs in the drain. There are at least 6 or 7 that I’ve seen.

[kantwin]

I opened up all the cleanouts under the house - they all looked good. Shine a flashlight down them, and I can't see any clogs.
I removed the toilet and replaced the wax ring. I'm not really sure what that would accomplish, though, but I did it anyway.
I got up on the roof and put a bunch of water down the vent pipe for that bathroom. At least I'm reasonably sure that was the one - I can pretty much point to the other 6 vents on the roof and know what plumbing fixtures they support.
When I shut off the water going down the vent, I could hear it draining reasonably well.

If all that doesn't solve the problem, I'm digging up the access covers for the septic tank, and seeing if either baffle for the inlet is causing issues, or the outlet is plugged and not draining fast enough. Although, with a 1000 gallon septic, you'd think a washer load would not cause it to back up into 40 feet of the main drain, and not let a toilet flush.

[kantwin]

Mama did some laundry today, and there was gurgling from the hall toilet. So, I took the access panel off the deck, where the septic tank is, and there was some standing water that had a whiff of septic water. So, I dug up the drain side access covers, and the thing was full. Could not even see the drain outlet. After a while, I could see it, and ran a 20 foot plumbing snake into the pipe, and encountered no resistance.
Looks like I'll be calling a septic plumber out on Monday to either snake it further, or diagnose why the septic tank isn't draining quickly.
We had several inches of rain a few days ago, but with the sandy soil I have, ( I was able to dig a post hole for a 4x4 with just my hand ) it should drain rapidly.
My guess now is that either there is a clog further down, or the field has failed.

[kantwin]

I went on a probing mission looking for the distribution box, to no avail.
Found plenty of drain pipes, and a few scrap pieces of pipe. All about 20” down.
I gave up looking, and called the company that pumped the tank back in December. They said that in this region, they don’t use a distribution box.
Sorta explains why I could not find it .....
Looks line I’ll need a new drain. Line put in.