Draining Washers

[autowasherfreak]

For those of you who have multiple washers, how do you drain them?

I have one standpipe, and one floor drain, and two washers.

 

[panthera]

we have three going into one standpipe

Since all three connections are air-tight, I added an anti-airlock valve at the top.
Made sure the trap was clear and open.
Laid out the run with as much pitch as possible and as few curves and joints as possible.
So far (two years constant use), no problems.

I would not have gone this route, had it been avoidable.

Have seen many multiple installations which have the washers empty into a rather largish basin. This takes care of the overflow which would otherwise occur should several drain at once and also eliminates the air-lock/siphon problem which can occur (I took care to use European multi-drain tailpipes which are anti-siphon, never seen them in the US).

 

[Unimatic1140]

I have 28 washers hooked up, 16 stand pipes and one very well roto-rootered floor drain.

 

[yogitunes]

Unimatic, like me, has them all hooked up and running

for the doubled up machines....I have a 2 inch stand pipe, which at floor level, I cut the plastic pipe and put on a 2 inch to 4 inch adapter and then installed a 40 inch piece of 4 inch pipe...this handles 2 machines very well

I also have a double laundry tub in the basement, which I have a machine on each side draining into each side, which these have a colander under each to catch the lint...this is pumped into a sewage ejection...have to keep heavy lint and strings under control to avoid clog, easier to clean than those little filter traps that you have to replace often

and I also have two machines that have their own 1 1/2 inch stand pipe

never had a backup problem ever...but just made sure the main drain pipes were roto-rooted first to avoid any problems, better safe than sorry, you can do this yourself!

 

[pulsator]

I have all 10 washer draining into one line of 2 inch standpipe! I can run up to 7 at a time without blowing the breaker and have them all draining at the same time with no problems. And the way I have the utility sink plumbed into the mix, should a problem arise and the stand pipes begin to fill up, the utility sink will fill up before the standpipes over flow onto the cement floor equipped with an additional floor drain. And lets face it, if I have more than one washer running, of course I'm down there!!! lol

 

[frigilux]

Damn! I can't even drain my two Frigidaire washers at one time. Each machine has its own standpipe, but I've been told I have 1-1/2" pipes, which won't take two washers at once.

I only run both washers at the same time in the summer, when I'm line drying and there's no waiting for the dryer. On the rare occasion my timing is off and both washers drain simultaneously, water comes shooting out, geyserlike, from one of the standpipes.

 

[autowasherfreak]

Is there a way to make a "Y" adapter that will fit into the standpipe to handle both hoses?

 

[yogitunes]

autowasherfreek

yes there's always a way...depends on how big the pipe is in the first place...If it's 1 1/2 inch...just add on a "Y" connector to the top and with a few short lengths of pipe and maybe a 45degree fitting to make them both straight...and your set....provided you have plastic pipe already...if its metal you just need a rubber sleeve with clamps to make it fit(all this can be found at Lowes)

if it's a 2 inch pipe, do the same except add a piece of pipe to the bottom of the "Y" and slide it into the pipe...or use all "2" inch pieces....like I did was get a reducer fitting...2inch to 4inch...turn it upside down...and put a 4 inch pipe about 40 inches high from the ground...you can fit about 4 hoses in there at one time if needed...I saw this in a laundromat...

 

[gansky1]

I have 3" pvc lines running around each room that handle all the water from the washers. I can't run them all at once, but don't have the circuits to do that anyway. A couple of them drain into the laundry sink in the "North Laundry Room" but from when I was a kid, I love seeing and hearing the water running into the sink from the washer. How else will you know if you've rinsed well enough?

 

[swestoyz]

Right now I have three stacks running into a 1.5" drain. Once the basement is done there will be provisions for 17 washers using a 3" pvc line along the floor. But like Greg, I won't have the juice to run everything at once!

Ben

 

[Unimatic1140]

I use 3" pipe and 3" standpipes so 3 or 4 hoses will fit in each standpipe.

 

[autowasherfreak]

I took this from one of the pictures in Jetcone's collection. Making something like this should be rather easy I'd assume. I don't need a third opening at the moment, but you never know what washer might pop up in the future.