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Washing Machine backiong up into utility sink
:( Hi there!
When we bought our house 3 years ago, I noticed that the sink would fill up with water when ever our washing machine drained... I just thought it was normal. :p But now I guess the clog has gotten so bad that yesterday when I did laundry the sink over flowed! :eek: The sink has drained, but very very slowly. I have tried plunging it, draino, an air shooting plunger thingy (actually seems to have loosened it up a little, but washer still drained into sink when I tested), and an auger that I bought but cannot get past the 'U bend" in the sink. Please help, my husband is deployed to Iraq and I have little (to no plumbing skills), and would hate to call in the pros, pay them mass amounts of $$$ for what might be something I can take care of... hopefully! :) Thanks for your help, time and understanding! ~~ Mandy Sue |
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 Originally Posted by MandySue
First off I wish you lived in the Tampa Bay Area. I'd do the call myself. As a combat vet I support our troops over there. I just don't support the people that sent them over there. Do you have a friend or neighbor that I could walk through the repair? I can walk him through one step at a time. You have a blockage in the laundry/kitchen sink drain line consisting of fiber and grease. The way to clear it is to go down the kitchen vent with a sewer snake. This is done from the roof and is not a job for a woman to tackle. This has to be looked after at once as it not only affects the washer but the kitchen sink as well. You might try this with the auger. The cable should have a little auger screw on the end. This makes it hard to work around the bend in the trap. Reverse the cable and send the small end down to the bend of the trap. Now start cranking and pushing at the same time and try to work the snake around the trap into the line. Put all the snake that you can and draw it back out. The worm should be covered with crud when you bring it back if you hit the clog. Now pour two large pans of boiling waterdown the washer stand pipe. This will loosen the grease and flush the clog out into the main.grease. The most positive way would be to go down the vent but if you wish to give it a last shot yourself then good luck. Let me know what you decide. Tom |
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Was able to break up the clog enough for it to drain...
Hey there and Thank you for your very speedy reply! (Sorry it has taken me so long to reply, my girls kept me crazy... uh, I mean busy ;) this weekend!)
I was able to break up the clog enough that water now drains down the sink fairly well, but it seems as if there is still some gunk stuck down there. Let me get this 100% correct, okay? It is not "normal" for the washer to drain into the sink? The reason I ask is I finally called a plumber today, and after him showing up 3 hours late (with out calling to tell me he would be late), he came downstairs looked at the sink and said "It is draining, right? " I said yes, and he said there was nothing wrong it was "normal for the washer to drain into the utility sink." He said if I wanted him to, he would call "his guys" to come with the proper equiptment and he would do it. I have no intention of using this guy for the job (just didn't feel right around him), but wanted to make sure before I call the next plumber that I was really still in need of one! :confused: Oh, and I tried the boiled water thing... nice steam bath always clears out the lungs :p , wish it would clear out that pipe!! :D I really appreaciate all of your help, and the offer of doing the work yourself if I lived nearer! It means a lot! Thanks! ~~ MandySue |
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Originally Posted by MandySue
Good morning Mandy Sue, Now I'm the one confused. We're going to hafta get together on terms. In your first post you said, "When we bought our house 3 years ago, I noticed that the sink would fill up with water when ever our washing machine drained... I just thought it was normal." Sinks have different meanings to different people. Are you referring to a kitchen sink, a lavatory or a laundry tray? When you say "fill up with water" are you saying the sink backed up and overflowed or is this a laundry tray that the hose is hooked over and discharging into the fills up because it drains slowly? I was under the impression that your kitchen sink backed up every time you ran a load of wash. Now we have a basement laundry tray that the washers discharges into that drains slow and fills up. ( he said there was nothing wrong it was "normal for the washer to drain into the utility sink.") (you asked," Let me get this 100% correct, okay? It is not "normal" for the washer to drain into the sink?") It is indeed normal to drain a washer into a laundry tray but it is not normal for it to back up or overflow. You called this guy out on a blockage problem and he didn't have a sewer machine on his truck to take care of your problem on the spot? Outrageous!! I hope weren't charged for his incompetence. Even though I'm having difficulty figuring exactly what fixture is giving you trouble I can say for sure the drain line needs to be snaked out from the roof vent. Regards, Tom |
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Hopefully I can explain...
Hey there and good morning,
Okay, let's see if I can explain. In my laundry room in the basement, the washer drains into a pipe on the wall. Where it connects to the pipe into the floor is a "Z" shaped pipe that has our utility sink (big huge sink for saoking clothes, and for dumping mop water etc.) The sink pipe is on the top of the "z", and the washer drain pipe connects in at the bottom of the "Z", and then a few inches below that the pipe goes down into the floor. (Which is where I believe the clog is since I can hear and feel the water rushing until that point.. but what do I know?) Now, with that explained, what happened was for 3 years our washing machine has been draining into that pipe, and when it does water fills up in the utility sink that is right next to the washer. Up until now, the sink has never gotten fuller than about 3 inches, but last week it completely filled up the sink until the sink over flowed onto the floors. (Luckily I was in the basement working on the computer and rushed in when I heard water splashing, and was able to turn the washer off before too much water spilled onto the floor.) Does that make any more sense? I am sorry for the confusion, as I said I know little to nothing about plumbing. As for paying the idiot that came yesterday, I refused to pay him for doing nothing... which he wanted to charge me $85 for coming and saying there was nothing wrong with it. Thanks again for all of your help. I hope I haven't been too much of a pain, or too confusing! Have a great day! ~~ Mandy :) |
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Father-in-Law to the rescue!
Hey there,
I just wanted to let you know that my clog has been taken care of! :) My Father-in-law heard through the grape vine (as I refused to tell them, so as not to bother and worry them... my sister-in-law however didn't agree and she told him) the trouble I was having with the washing machine. He called in to work yesterday night and told them his "daughter-in-law needed help, and with my son gone to Iraq I have every intention of going down to help her. You can fire me if you want, but I am going!" So he drove down from NY late last night, and surprised me this afternoon by showing up on my door step with a rented snake, and his tool kit! :) 30 minutes of work, and the drain is clear and now the washer draining doesn't effect the sink AT ALL! :p And the best thing of all, is now he gets to spend the rest of the week and weekend with his grandbabies! Thanks for all of your help, I really appreciate your help, patience and kind words! Have a great day, and a Wonderful Memorial Day!! ~~ Mandy |
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I Love it When a Plan Comes Together
Originally Posted by MandySue
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