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Thread: Washer Drain Line

  1. #21
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    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?

  2. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by kantwin View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    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.
    Last edited by Grasshopperglock; February 23rd, 2020 at 9:09 AM.

  3. #23
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    If you don't have an air tank. They also have a few of them. $25-$39 bucks.

  4. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by kantwin View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    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...
    Last edited by fchafey; February 23rd, 2020 at 12:11 PM.
    "The difference between golf and government is that in golf you cant improve your lie"
    John Daly

  5. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by kantwin View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    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
    Live as if you were living a second time, and as though you had acted wrongly the first time.

  6. #26
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    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.

  7. #27
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    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.

  8. #28
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    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.

  9. Saddened by fchafey, shawnricheson is saddened by this post
  10. #29
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    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.

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