We have a 40 year old house in the country. Our washer drains into a 1 1/2" line through our home's back wall and underground for about 35 feet. Then the line runs out of the ground and out into the yard, terminating about 50 feet from the house, draining in the yard. Other older homes in our area are set up this way. We have never had any real drainage problems with the drain line since we bought the house 20 years ago, so the slope must be sufficient. In fact, the line above ground was originally about 45 feet long, but we cut it back to 15 feet many years ago. Inside the wash room, the drain line has always 'rested' on the washer's water supply pipe and against an interior wall, about 9 feet total length before it goes through the wall. We want to secure the drain line to the nearest stud, but we aren't sure how much slope to maintain or how high the line must be so that we don't have any water backing up or spitting out of the washer connection to the drain line. Any suggestions?

We have a 40 year old house in the country. Our washer drains into a 1 1/2" line through our home's back wall and underground for about 35 feet. Then the line runs out of the ground and out into the yard, terminating about 50 feet from the house, draining in the yard. Other older homes in our area are set up this way. We have never had any real drainage problems with the drain line since we bought the house 20 years ago, so the slope must be sufficient. In fact, the line above ground was originally about 45 feet long, but we cut it back to 15 feet many years ago. Inside the wash room, the drain line has always 'rested' on the washer's water supply pipe and against an interior wall, about 9 feet total length before it goes throught the wall. We want to secure the drain line to the nearest stud, but we aren't sure how much slope to maintain or how high the line must be so that we don't have any water backing up or spitting out of the washer connection to the drain line. Any suggestions?

Hi "cowgirl", A million one liners went racing through my mind when I read your nick. How about, "Ride em, cowboy? not to mention, "Rope and tie her". OK! My first post of the day and I feel frisky. Sorry!!
The answer to your question is 1/4" slope to the foot. On a 9 foot run that would work out to to a 2 1/4" drop. For longer runs and if there is a height problem at the end of the run you may drop to 1/8" per foot but no less. Good luck and please pardon the bad joke. Tom

Tom, My redneck husband has your sense of humor! From your information, we figure our 42" of rise in the first 9 feet off the washer is sufficient. This rise will give us 42+" at the level of the open end in the yard. I suspect a good snaking of the drainline would also help assure the line will drain well. Our water is very hard, the land is very flat, and we've done a bunch of laundry in the last 18 years! The washer/drain line connection doesn't spit back but once or twice a year, but it's a pain to try to mop it up from the saltillo and I don't want to mess up my new paint and baseboard!

Also, our drain line is not vented and the washer hose fits tight in the 1 5/8" drain line. Should we consider rigging some kind of vent? Replacing the drain line is not an option. MKC

Tom, My redneck husband has your sense of humor! From your information, we figure our 42" of rise in the first 9 feet off the washer is sufficient. This rise will give us 42+" at the level of the open end in the yard. I suspect a good snaking of the drainline would also help assure the line will drain well. Our water is very hard, the land is very flat, and we've done a bunch of laundry in the last 18 years! The washer/drain line connection doesn't spit back but once or twice a year, but it's a pain to try to mop it up from the saltillo and I don't want to mess up my new paint and baseboard!

Also, our drain line is not vented and the washer hose fits tight in the 1 5/8" drain line. Should we consider rigging some kind of vent? Replacing the drain line is not an option. MKC
Hey Girl,
"we figure our 42" of rise in the first 9 feet off the washer is sufficient."
Tell me you're not giving the 9 foot run more then 16 times the ammount of slope then I recomended? That works out to over 4 1/2" slope per foot. I recommended 1/4" per foot. Did I misunderstand? Does anything else besides the washer discharge into the 1 1/2" drain line. Is it trapped? Yes, I would run a snake through just to clear out any grease and fiber that has built up.
Regards, Tom

Tom, Got the drain line heigth all straightened out as per your recommendation. Also snaked the drain line and everything came out clean. Washer is hooked up and draining well. My Redneck knows a lot of stuff, but this he didn't. Washer is the only thing draining into the line. Appreciate your response to our question.