My husband and I recently purchased a home (built in 1968). When we ran our first load of laundry the drain backed up and our floor was covered in water. After talking to the previous owner and researching online, here is what we have tried and what we have noticed:

1. We snaked the vent on the roof (we only have a manual snake). No change.

2. We used Draino Dual-Foam down the line. No change.

3. The drain only backs up when the washer first starts to drain. If the machine is full of water and we stop the cycle after 1/4 of the water has drained and then start it up about 30 seconds later the rest of the water will go down without a problem at all.

4. The master-bedroom toilet bubbles whenever it is flushed. This toilet is on the complete opposite side of the house and has its own roof vent. No other toilets or drains seem to have any problems.

Tom, I keep reading your suggestion to make it a closed system, my husband does not want to do this because he is convinced it will burn out the pump on the washing machine. Any thoughts?

1. We snaked the vent on the roof (we only have a manual snake). No change.
You most likely didn't put out enough cable.
2. We used Draino Dual-Foam down the line. No change.
I am no fan of using harsh chemicals. They only seem to work in TV commercials.
3. The drain only backs up when the washer first starts to drain. If the machine is full of water and we stop the cycle after 1/4 of the water has drained and then start it up about 30 seconds later the rest of the water will go down without a problem at all.
This tells me that you have a partial blockage on down the line or that your trap and stand pipe are undersized at 1 1/2".
4. The master-bedroom toilet bubbles whenever it is flushed. This toilet is on the complete oposite side of the house and has its own roof vent. No other toilets or drains seem to have any problems.
"Bubbles" and "Gurgles". They are both indicters that something's going on in your drainage system.
A "bubble" indicates a clogged line while a "gurgle" indicates a blocked vent. let me explain. When you flush the discharge drains down the pipe untill it hits a partial clog. Then it rebounds back sending a "bubble" of air ahead of it. When you flush a toilet or drain a bathtub a suction is created by the water rushing down the pipe. This suction is relieved by a open pipe that runs to the outside called a vent. When a vent's stopped up the suction has to relieve itself somwhere, in this case your toilet. The noise you hear is the air being pulled through the trap by suction, (gurgle
Bubbles are not a vent problem. They point to a backup problem.
5-my husband does not want to do this because he is convinced it will burn out the pump on the washing machine.
If your older system is too undersized to accept the volume todays washer pumps put out then he's faced with two options. Increase the size of the trap and standpipe to 2" or install a compression fitting. In all the years that I have been advising installing a compression filtting on the stand pipe,( I have had one installed myself for years) I have NEVER had a complaint about a pump burning out or and back siphonage.