Plumbing question re washer drain pipe

[retropia]

I tried a google search on this but couldn't find anything; maybe I wasn't using the right search terms. The washer drain needed to be snaked, as it was overflowing at the top of the white PVC pipe. I wasn't getting anywhere running the snake from the top of the PVC pipe, so I decided to remove it.

The pipe just "fits" into the iron floor drain, as in the photo. However, it wasn't coming out by hand, so I used a pipe wrench to turn it back and forth to get it loose. That worked fine, and the snaking was successful.

However, now that I've put it back together, I'm getting a little water coming out where the PVC pipe goes into the iron opening. I can probably get the PVC pipe a little tighter into the opening by tapping on the PVC pipe from above, by placing a wood block on top and then tapping it with a hammer.

My question: should I do something else, like place a bead of plumber's putty around the PVC pipe, maybe around the bottom opening? It's a fairly tight fit along the sides of the pipe, so I don't think anything will work there.

I don't know what is "normal" for this type of drain setup. Thanks in advance!

 

[mattl]

Well, that's not really a normal setup.  Is the fitting the PVC set into threaded?  If so I'd add a short piece of what appears to be 2" galvanized pipe then a Fernco coupler to the PVC.  If you don't want to go to that trouble I guess you could pull the PVC out put a heavy bead of silicone around the pipe and reset it.  Not the ideal solution but workable.

 

[retropia]

The fitting isn't threaded; the PVC pipe just slips into it. It was like this when I bought the house, so perhaps the previous owner changed it from normal to non-normal.

I could try a bead of silicone caulk around the visible edge where the PVC meets the iron. That way, I could cut it away the next time I need to snake the drain. I don't want to do anything too permanent, so that I can disconnect the PVC pipe relatively easily in the future.

At my previous house, I never paid any attention to how the washer drain pipe was installed, because it never backed up. Of course, I never had pets at that house, unlike now, which I'm sure has NOTHING to do with why the washer drain gets clogged at this house.

It's times like this when I think that a Filter-Flo would be handy to have. . . .

 

[mattl]

One other thought, is the a trap in the drain line? If not you could be getting sewer gases in the house.  You can pick up the PVC fitting for a few $$ and work it into the line.

 

[tomturbomatic]

You can still buy the little metal mesh socks that tie over the end of the drain hose that will catch the animal hair and lint that you feel are clogging your drain line. If you are putting that much fur down the drain, it will take a great deal of maintenance, but will save you from having to deal with snaking the line.

 

[yogitunes]

First.....you can't use a "sock" over a drain hose into a standpipe, must be a laundry tub......but there are alternatives......we can go over that later.....

second, what type of snake did you use on the pipe....for these older homes, like mine, with these types of pipes, and knowing they haven't been cleared in years, its usually best to use a straight pistol style sprayer on the end of a garden hose, and with high pressure water, slide this back and forth down the pipe to clear it of all debris...

now, leave your pipe in place, and use silicone to seal around your fitting......

about 4 inches above that you want to cut it off, and install a "Y" or "T" of any configuration, with a capped fitting....for servicing later......and then making sure as mentioned, to install a "trap" and raised pipe for the washer.......

at this point you could add a laundry tub for using the "sock" method(we have other ideas also), or use a reducing fitting in reverse(usually a 2 to 4 inch), as I do, to allow up to four machines to drain into one pipe, with these sock screens in place........

if pics would help, let me know........

and plastic pipe is inexpensive, and easy to cut and glue, in a matter of minutes.....a simple fix...for now, and the future......

actually plastic pipe is now available in CLEAR, right after I just finished re-piping my basement for 8 machines.....dammit!

let us know how we can help.....

 

[retropia]

The snake I use, which I guess is more correctly called a drain auger, is like the one in the photo below. It generally works ok, but the longer the distance, it can get hung up.

There isn't any standing water visible when I look down this pipe, so I don't think there is a trap there. However, I think it drains into the floor drain nearby, where there is always standing water, thus a trap is there. Sometimes when I use a sudsy detergent, I'll see billowing bubbles coming up from the floor drain, which is why I think the laundry drain goes into it.

Adding a Y to the PVC drain pipe for cleanout purposes sounds like a good idea. That way I could more-or-less permanently seal the PVC drain pipe to the iron fitting, and still have easy access when I need to snake the drain. I've worked with cutting-and-gluing PVC drain pipe before, so it shouldn't be too complicated.

Down the road, a laundry tub with some type of filter to catch the pet hair would probably be best. It would definitely be easier to clean an easy-to-access filter than snake the drain. Currently there's an old metal sink next to the washer, but it is too shallow to use for draining the washer water. My plan is to eventually replace that with a proper laundry tub.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[tolivac]

the snake shown in the picture is a sink drain auger.It is not large enough for proper cleaning of main drains.you will need to buy or rent a powered drain auger-preferbly with the blades-arrowhead and scraper-the arrowhead blade cuts thru the obstruction-the scraper blades cut it away further-and scrape the pipe walls clean.The auger should have a 1/2" cable for main drain cleaning-like for the washer.forget hand powered snakes for this.Powered ones have the torque needed to turn the cable thru the pipes-and the drain auger should have a cable 50-100' long.I am going to have to face this soon.Or you could have a plumber come do it-lots of bucks there.For what the plumber charges-you could easily buy ythee powered snake.Lowes,HD and Harbor Freight have these large main line powered augers.the small drain augers often have a shaft on them so you could turn it with a drill.

 

[retropia]

When we had an old maple tree in the front yard, we had problems with the roots getting into the main sewer drain, and called in the pros for that job. I know they used something like you describe, a powered auger with cutting blades. Our main sewer line to the street is the old slip-jointed clay pipe, and I'd rather have a pro deal with that when it is necessary.

The sink drain auger seems to work well for me on the typical clogs I have with pet hair. My biggest problem is that it can hang up on twists and bends in the pipes, especially those further away from my entry point. Thus, if I can enter closer to the clog, like near the floor in this case, the easier it is for me.

 

[toggleswitch]

I think my plumber used a rubber "boot" kind of thing to transition from iron to PVC/plastic.

It had a strap and two "worm" clamps IIRC.
I'll see if I can dig up any old pics as I am not in that house anymore.

 

[cleanteamofny]

Frozen pipe

Augers should be the last line of defense and may cause more damage that can be costly in older homes!
Here is an inexpensive and very effective rubber bladder that will clear your drain line.
My plumber blew my pipes clean using this. Start soft and when it does not work, get hard and aggressive with a power snake!
Just connect with a water hose and stick that rubber deep in the drain hole and blast it nice and hard with water.
Watch how fast that drain will open up after a water flush cleansing.

This bladder can be found in any hardware store![this post was last edited: 12/19/2011-16:55]

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[mattl]

Yep, Toggels, fernco coupler as I mentioned.  Available in just about any hardware store.

Flexible Couplings and Adapters | Fernco - US

Standard Couplings Fernco manufacturers the most complete line of flexible couplings in the industry, from sizes of 3/4" to 27" (19mm to 381mm). Fernco Couplings have earned a reputation for consistent, superior performance, giving you full confidence in their quality and reliability.

www.fernco.com