I want to move my washer to the basement and my question regards the drain. It will back up to a wall opposite from the crawl space. (The finished basement does not span the full length of the house.) The crawl space ranges from 5' to 10' deep from the overhead. In the deepest part is a huge ditch (about 5 'feet deep and 7' wide) used for gathering water from the house's french drains. A sump pump is installed and empties onto the back lawn. The sump pump is approximately two feet lower than the basement floor. My question is two-fold. 1.) Is emptying the laundry water into the crawl space an acceptable method? 2.) Will the laundry detergents damage the grass on the lawn, or should I trench the exhaust underground to the woods?


I forgot to mention that I am on a septic system, if that matters.

1.) Is emptying the laundry water into the crawl space an acceptable method?
Another way to look at this is, do you want to convert your rain water collection pit into a cesspool in your crawlspace? Because that's what you'll be doing if you commingle clear rain waqter with gray water from the washer. Another thing is the fiber Will it clog the sump pump?

2.) Will the laundry detergents damage the grass on the lawn If the detergent contains chorine or if you use bleach, yes it will.
I wouldn't be too happy if I had a 5 0r 10 foot deep pit in the crawl space under my house. Any bad odor from the pit? Regards, Tom

Point well taken. Thanks, Tom. How about using a separate feed and use some sort of a septic pump to send it directly to the woods? There is a second exit line available that originates at the same place that washer would be located. The exit height is approximately five feet above the basement floor.

"I wouldn't be too happy if I had a 5 0r 10 foot deep pit in the crawl space under my house. Any bad 9odor from the pit?"

No bad odor. The trench is sloped to a collection point where I recessed a bottomless five gallon bucket filled half way with gravel. The sump pump is well below the bottom level of the trench. There is continuous trickle of clear water so it stays well circulated. It stays pretty wet in Alabama and I am on lake frontage.

Before I did anything drastic why not drain the laundry tray directly into the sump pit bypassing the larger pit and see how that woks, If the pump can handle it you could always extend the trench if you see the discharge is hurting your lawn.
That way would save you from having to install a ejector pump. Good luck, Tom

Earlier, you were concerned that the fiber would clog the sump pump and that is something I surely don't want to happen. I guess I should create a second sump using another five gallon bucket and install an ejector pump to handle the washer discharge. They are only a couple hundred $.

Right now I am in the preliminary 'feasibility' planning stage and it looks like it has a practical solution. Thanks for all of your expert advice, Tom.

That fiber's got to go someplace and if you filter the pumps inlet with a bottomless five gallon bucket filled half way with gravel the fiber will clog the bucket holes in time. Build your pit and set the pump on the bottom or set it up on bricks. Good luck, Tom