My washer is ejecting the water OK but it backs up the dispensing pipes to overflow. I have snaked the pipes. I have put the water hose with a plumbing bladder on it into the pipe and run water for 10 min. with no backup. I have run the snake down the roof vents. And as soon as I hook the machine back up, the water again backs up. Help!

We have had quite a few complaints like yours, ( especially with new MayTag washers) where the washer pump is too powerful for a 1 1/2" trap and stand pipe. What size is yours?
I have a solution that I've never had a complaint on and one that I had to use on my own washer. You close off the stand pipe the washer connects to with a compression fitting,(see image) or I caulked the hose in with rags and sealed it with duct tape. This makes a water tight connection between the washer and the stand piipe. Nothing can leak out or overflow and the force from the pump will send the discharge out into the main drain. While there is some back pressure involved there will not be enough to damage the washer pump. Outside of oversizing the washer trap and standpipe or reducing the opening at the end of the hose this is about the only solutions that I know that works. Good luck and thank you for rating my answer. Tom

Hi ann
I agree with speedball1. Had the same problem and made the drain a closed system.

What is size and heigth of stand pipe? If 1 1/2'', can trap and stand pipe be changed to 2''?

Also stand pipe should be at least 30'' high.

Good luck

Chuck

Quote:

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Originally Posted by speedball1

We have had quite a few complaints like yours, ( especially with new MayTag washers) where the washer pump is too powerful for a 1 1/2" trap and stand pipe. What size is yours?
I have a solution that I've never had a complaint on and one that I had to use on my own washer. You close off the stand pipe the washer connects to with a compression fitting,(see image) or I caulked the hose in with rags and sealed it with duct tape. This makes a water tight connection between the washer and the stand piipe. Nothing can leak out or overflow and the force from the pump will send the discharge out into the main drain. While there is some back pressure involved there will not be enough to damage the washer pump. Outside of oversizing the washer trap and standpipe or reducing the opening at the end of the hose this is about the only solutions that I know that works. Good luck and thank you for rating my answer., Tom

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It looks like a 2" trap and stand pipe about 30" high. It is a Maytag but probably 20 years old. I have used it in this location for 15 years and have had no problem until now. Strange.

Ann...

Do you have galvanized pipe (silver color) going into cast iron pipe (black pipe) similar to my picture below? The white pipe is PVC plastic.

If so, then the issue will probably be at the junction where the galvanized pipe meets the cast iron pipe... circled in green in the picture below, but in your case the galvanized pipe would be horizontal.

If this is the case, then no amount of snaking will do much more than punch a small hole in the blockage as the blockage is a sediment deposit that has accumulated and hardened to a point that it chokes the pipe down to as little as a 1" pipe... or worse. This is a result of dissimilar metals meeting hard water and depositing minerals at the junction where the metals meet.

Here, you would need to cut the pipe and use a long screwdriver and hammer to chisel away at the sediment layer of the interior junction of the joint OR install new adapter and clean tee connecting fitting and pipe new PVC plastic pipes and trap, etc.

Anyway, I'm going out on a limb here assuming a lot of stuff...

If this is not the case, let us know more about what type pipes you do have... OK? It can be cast iron, galvanized, copper or PVC (white) or ABS (black) plastic pipe, or combination of any of them... ;)

MARK