HI

My wife and I moved into a home that was built in the 50's and before we moved (aug 2006) in we had the septic checked and it was completely empty. All the drains in the house drain fine except for the washer drain overflows. It is an unusual or atypical drain than what I am used to seeing. It is 4" pvc standpipe that goes to a concrete block on the floor makes a 90 degree and heads to the exterior wall of the garage outside and make another 90 into the ground. I am not sure where the pipe goes from there. About half the washer empties during the spin cycle before it backs up. The garage area is on the back of the house and was added maybe 8-10 years ago. It backs up with or without soap. I have a small snake and it went the full length from the washer and I didn't hit anything. I have tried raising the pipe to more of an angle. I don't think it is vented. Could this be the problem although it has worked fine for a few months? I would like to fix this problem myself.
Thanks Tony
Florida

I don't think it would matter if a 4 inch pipe was vented. The back up sounds more like a clog. How far in feet did you run the machine down the drain?
It sounds more like a system that goes into a gravel field or a 55 gallon drum and is saturated.

i don't think it would matter if a 4 inch pipe was vented. the back up sounds more like a clog. how far in feet did you run the machine down the drain?
it sounds more like a system that goes into a gravel field or a 55 gallon drum and is saturated.

Well, I dug around a little today, and started from the outside pipe going into the ground. Your right it does look a gravel field of some sort. At the top it has 3 or 4 cinder blocks going into the ground then what looks to be gravel under there. The pvc pipe makes a 90 degreen in to one of the cinder blocks right before the gravel begins. What are your thoughts on why it has worked until now. Do you thinks its full? There are lots of roots in the area could that be it? The pipe is clear all the way to the field. I am not sure where to go from here :confused: . Like I said before this is only for the washer. Thanks Tony.

Doug has it down pat. The key word here is "saturated". The soil has about all it can percolate away. You have several options here. (1) You can move the drain field to a better location **OR** (2) you can tie the washer trap and standpipe into the house system. If you do that a vent will have to be run for the new set up. Your choice. Good luck, Tom,

Thanks for your help. I will probably move the drain field to a better location. Any suggestions on size, depth and how to go about it in general. I have done a lot of looking on the internet but can't seem to find anything. Thanks again, Tony

Infiltrator Systems - Plastic Leachfield Chamber Systems, Onsite Wastewater Solutions (http://www.infiltratorsystems.com/)

Ahhh Florida, Ran across their standards in regard to NOT using a pan liner for a shower if it was built below floor level (discussion here: http://www.contractortalk.com/f73/tile-shower-pan-51192/ (Shower pan discussion). Similar results to your plugged (slow running) standpipe.

Do you have room to extend your field in-situ downslope? A yard of gravel wrapped in landscape fabric can leach a large amount of greywater, as long as your groundwater cooperates.