[berniecharest]

When water drain from the washer machine it backups and over flows on the floor. I have run a garden hose through the clean out and the water flows through the main pipe OK.
Have gone up on the roof and try to run garden hose down through but hose only goes down about 4 feet. Should I try running water thur the roof vent?

[massplumber2008]

Hi Bernie...

I am going to assume that the washing machine is the lowest fixture in the basement... yes?

Hard as it to believe, running a hose down the drain line may not actually be a good enough test to determine that the drain line is slowly clogging up.

I can't say for sure, of course, but when I was just starting I can remember a few times that I did the same hose test you did and could not get the drain to back up in any way. Then I would run the washing machine itself to double check and lo and behold after a minute or two or maybe even 3 minutes, say toward the end of the drain cycle those washing machine drains always backed up.'

And that's my point... the main drain lines were only partially clogged and were not an issue for a toilet, a sink, a shower, or even a hose, but when I ran anything with a large VOLUME of water like a washing machine or a filled tub... it always backed up and out the washing machine. When we snaked the drain we almost always found roots in these cases. Please DO NOT take that to mean you have a root issue with your drain line... just the case most of the time.

Anyway, at this point try draining a few full tubs and see if any water backs out the cleanout. If so, the main drain line is partially clogged.

My guess is that you have a partial blockage occurring and you will need to snake the main drain line. You can't rent an electric cable machine at any rental store. Pick up some goggles and leather gloves if you plan to do this yourself.

Back to you...

MARK