I am truly desperate for some suggestions or reassurance concerning a plumbing issue we are having. Our home is 50 years old and the washing machine drain overflows each time we do a load of laundry. I have read your suggestions for a utility sink to act as a resivour tank but my husband doesn't think it would be the right way to fix the issue. We are planning on selling the house in the next few years and certainly want everything up to code. We have had the drains snaked and have no other drain issues.

The 2"galvanized steel pipe coming up from the basement floor is rusting and will soon fail. The concrete around it is not in the best of shape either. We also have a separate cylinder shaped hole about a foot from the drain pipe that is connected because it fills up during the draining process. Originally the house was set up to a septic tank but converted to sewer prior to our purchase. We have no idea if the washer drain was ever connected to the sewer or was drained out to the yard, which I am told was a common practice at the time.

Any ideas of how we can find out? The original owner/builder has passed on and his wife could not remember. The city says they have no plans on file. My husband wants to remove the concrete area around the drain (about a 4'x3' area) and replace the pipe, fill in the second hole and replace the concrete... by ourselves. He literally wants to chisel out the concrete, not even rent a saw or jackhammer. Beyond the tremendous work invloved is my concern we are going to do serious damage to the foundation of our home as this drain sits right uo against the exterior wall.

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. Hopefully I have attached a picture of the issue.

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Let's do a few tests. I want you to stick a broom handle down to the base of the galvanized pipe. You should come back with a few inches of wet on it. Dry it off and stick it down in the open hole. Let me know what you find. There should be water at the base of each one. What's that I see down in the hole. Could you send a better picture? Good luck, tom

Is that wall an outside wall?

PS: If the time comes renat an electric jackhammer. Chiseling cement is like sweeping the floor with a toothbrush.

There is about 2" of water in the actual drain pipe, the extra hole completely drains but remains damp since we snaked it a few months ago. Until then it had standing water in it all the time. We actually had to wet vac out the water in order to get pieces of concrete and other debris before it could be snaked. I have attached the other pics I have on hand.

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Yes, it is an outside wall. And yes even after discusssing this for days I am still stunned that my husband would undertake such a task without power tools. (& a professional) I will admit we are the worlds worst homeowners, we clearly struggle with each project making it a much bigger issue than it should have ever been. My fear here is doing serious damage to the foundation not to mention the idea of weeks on end spending time together with chisels and hammers!

Foundatiions are normally poured separately. What surprises me is the lack of a gap (around 1-1.5") between the wall and the floor.

It almost looks like a cleanout with the metal ears. In any event, if this is open it needs a trap and be sealed. As you said, it may be a greywater discharge and not sewer.

If we discover this is just running off into the yard, I'm guessing we would be required to run new pipe and connect to the city sewer? I've read the code, it's clear as mud.

I'll bet it's OK to run this into a dry well.

If the septic system is still partially functioning, the leach field should still be OK.

Washer lint is really tough to get rid of. There is one filter that will do it. The new washers empty with such a large force that the code has been changed for the size of the discharge pipe.

Thanks a ton. I will take this home tonight and discuss it with my husband, at least we funally have a jumping off point.

If you add a Utility sink it could fix the problem, giving that the pipe is 2" in the ground and the drain for a utility sink is 1 1/4" (I think it's that or 1.5") the rate of flow will be greatly reduced, because your washer will fill the tub and only drain at the rate of the Tub, instead of the rate of the washer, which is overpowering your pipe there.

Also its cheaper and easier than busting up that concrete. If it doesn't work then at least you know you have to bust up the concrete, and you can always return the sink, just run some piping to move it over from the washer.

One note, you will be there for months using a hammer and chisel, I'm wondering if your husband was joking about that, haha. Anyway if he really doesn't want to use power tools, a 10lb sledge will do just fine.

It looks to me like the pipe for the washer is coming out of a floor drain. Is there another plug in the floor drain. If there is, take it out and auger it from that point on. Use an expansion plug to seal the other hole. This setup is by no means up to code. You should have a p trap and vent above the floor.

First off, if sewage comes out of any of your basement floor drains when waste water is generated from any point in the house, it's a good bet that you have blockage in your main sewer line, probably tree roots. Second, any decent professional "Rooter" company (Roto-Rooter, Rescue-Rooter, etc.) has a gizmo that they can put on the end of their snake that can be "sensed" by another piece of their equipment. This allows them to "map" the routes that the sewer lines take (under concrete slabs and earth) and even pinpoint the location of blockage. They also can mount a small lighted video camera on the end of their snake to show the homeowner what the lines and any blockage look like. These procedures are usually not cheap however. Most of these companies charge about $450 for these services.

I wouldn't run the washer directly into the septic tank. If you do the lint will clog the drainage pipes in your drain field and then you'll have a expensive replacement. If you're planning on connecting to the septic tank first install a grease trap,(see image).
Since you already have a open line to the outside a dry well, (see image) would work just dandy. Would you like instructions on how to build a dry well? Regards, Tom