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    derekwwp's Avatar
    derekwwp Posts: 12, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Jul 10, 2007, 12:14 AM
    Allowable backwash line discharge for a water softner
    My city has adopted the 2003 edition of the International Building Code which I cannot locate online. I had a contractor install a water softner in my garage for which they ran a backwash line into my attic and ran it into my 2nd bathroom vent pipe (securing with electrical tape- see attached picture). I am wondering whether using a vent pipe running through the attic for a water discharge is consistent with plumbing code. The vent pipe leaked and has damaged my home, so the answer may help me decide whether I or the contractor is responsible for the damage. I would greatly appreciate a response.

    Derek
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    iamgrowler's Avatar
    iamgrowler Posts: 1,421, Reputation: 110
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    #2

    Jul 10, 2007, 06:11 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by derekwwp
    My city has adopted the 2003 edition of the International Building Code which I cannot locate online.
    It can be purchased from Amazon.

    I had a contractor install a water softner in my garage for which they ran a backwash line into my attic and ran it into my 2nd bathroom vent pipe (securing with electrical tape- see attached picture).
    Yeah, not a very pretty picture.

    I am wondering whether using a vent pipe running through the attic for a water discharge is consistent with plumbing code.
    No, it isn't consistent with Plumbing code -- It should have been run to a floor drain, a floor sink, an evaporator pan or an indirect drain.

    The vent pipe leaked and has damaged my home, so the answer may help me decide whether I or the contractor is responsible for the damage. I would greatly appreciate a response.
    Well, I have to ask -- Did the installer offer any of the above mentioned options for the discharge, and if so, did you turn down those options because of the increased cost it would add to the installation?

    Was the installer a licensed Plumber or an accredited installer for the softener manufacturer?
    derekwwp's Avatar
    derekwwp Posts: 12, Reputation: 1
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    #3

    Jul 11, 2007, 12:24 AM
    I didn't think it was up to code. No, no options were offered. I didn't even realize that they installed the drain in that manner. I had not been in the attic since the install, and, probably in poor judgment, assumed that it had been run into some appropriate drain.

    The installer is a licensed plumber and is an accredited installer for the sotner. They were subcontracted by Lowe's where I purchased the softner, so Lowe's is contractually on the hook for damages caused by an installation that is not performed "in a good or workmanlike manner." Do you have the code, and if so, could you tell me what provision the installation violated?

    Thank you very much for your help and feedback.
    adlowe's Avatar
    adlowe Posts: 28, Reputation: 2
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    #4

    Jul 11, 2007, 10:04 AM
    Is it even legal to discharge the softener's backwash into the sewage line?
    speedball1's Avatar
    speedball1 Posts: 29,301, Reputation: 1939
    Eternal Plumber
    		  
    #5

    Jul 11, 2007, 11:09 AM
    Quote Originally Posted by adlowe
    Is it even legal to discharge the softener's backwash into the sewage line?
    Not in my area. In my area it's illegal to discharge rainwater run off, AC condensate, sump pump discharge, pool backwash or water softener backwash into the public sewer system.
    The reason being that the utility has to process the water the same as sewerage and that raises utility bills and the extra input puts a strain on the system. Your hookup would be red tagged by my inspectors.
    Regards, Tom
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