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craig mauk · Jan 13, 2006, 04:43 PM

When the washing machine drains, the drain pipe overflows even after I successfully flushed the drain line with a bladder and power hose. I also flushed the vent system, but there is still overflow. What now coach?:confused:

RickJ · Jan 13, 2006, 05:23 PM

How high off the ground is the opening of the drain the washer drain hose is going into?

Did this problem start all of the sudden? Get worse over time?

craig mauk · Jan 13, 2006, 07:12 PM

Drain pipe about 4' from floor, slightly higher than top of washer - problem has worsened, usually never totally solved - also note that toilet 8 ' away in adjoining bath is sluggish and often needs plunging. Drain in sink in that bathroom is also sluggish and fiils up when the faucet is on for more than a few seconds. I blew out that drain line with the bladder and hose yet it has only helped slightly. Thanks for your reply!

stew_1962 · Jan 13, 2006, 07:28 PM

Downstream clog - bladder punched a hole, but not big enough.

You need to pull toilet out and snake from there. Chances are the toilet waste and lint from washer have made a nice plug for you. Ewwwww.

Good luck.

craig mauk · Jan 13, 2006, 07:33 PM

Thank you! I was ready to pull the toilet (ymmm) - but should I rent a larger diameter snake? Mine is rather small, or do you think it may do the job? I was also considering going into the crawl space and trying to snake from a clean out cap - but that's a bear of a job - I'm under the house with Mister rat!

speedball1 · Jan 14, 2006, 08:21 AM

Hi Craig,

"should I rent a larger diameter snake? Mine is rather small, or do you think it may do the job? "
Yes, hand held drain snakes are too small to be effective in a 3 or 4" sewer line.
Your bladder's only effective against a clog if the clog's located upstream from a vent. If the clog's located down stream from a vent all the air's going up the vent instead of hitting the clog. The only way to be sure a line's clear is to snake it out.
give my regards to "Mister Rat". Good luck, Tom

freebie314 · Jan 14, 2006, 07:52 PM

Before you rent a bigger snake, call around and get prices to have your main line snaked.. it will probably only be another 40-50 dollars and might be worth it.

nonpocillovist · Jan 20, 2006, 05:56 PM

I agree with Freebie314 about having your main line snaked professionally. I rented a power snake last year for about $60. After a friend and I spent several hours sweating and swearing, we finally cleared the line. The snake we rented was just not powerful enough, and this meant that one of us had to assist in turning it the entire time. It was hell. Another friend of mine just had his line snaked for $200. Although I am normally a do-it-yourselfer, I will be picking up the phone next time. Good luck. ~Julie

speedball1 · Jan 21, 2006, 07:33 AM

Originally Posted by nonpocillovist

I agree with Freebie314 about having your main line snaked professionally. I rented a power snake last year for about $60. After a friend and I spent several hours sweating and swearing, we finally cleared the line. The snake we rented was just not powerful enough, and this meant that one of us had to assist in turning it the entire time. It was hell. Another friend of mine just had his line snaked for $200. Although I am normally a do-it-yourselfer, I will be picking up the phone next time. Good luck. ~Julie

I disagree with both Freebie and Julie.
The entire concept of this page is to avoid the cost of hiring outside help. I just finished taking a poster to task for advising against doing it yourself.
Julie puts down the "do it yourself" concept, but let's examine what went wrong. Oh yes! They rented a machine that was too small for the job they wanted it to do and instead of returning it and getting a more powerful machine they chose to spend, " several hours sweating and swearing" before the clog was cleared. Whose fault was that?
Let's compare, 60 to 75 bucks to rent a sewer machine, 200 bucks to hire it done. $60 vs. $200? Hummm! I know which one I would chose. T would do it myself and blow myself to a night on the town with the 160 bucks I saved.
Now this is just my opinion, If Julie, Freebie and augestknight don't want to do the work themselves this is their choice but most of the askers that come on this page don't want to hear, "HIRE A PLUMBER". They want instructions on how to avoid hiring a plumber. And as long as I'm heading up this page that's exactly what they're going to get. Regards, Tom

augustknight · Jan 21, 2006, 08:35 AM

Craig you may want to open the trap at the street. This will let you know what kind of flow you are getting and also you may luck out and have better luck unclogging from there.

labman · Jan 21, 2006, 09:40 AM

I only look in at the plumbing page once in a while. Looks like we have had a sewer backup in it. In addition to being a home owner that does all my own work, I also do a lot at my church, and once managed the maintenance of a factory heavy on the plumbing. I think I am as qualified or more so than many here to give plumbing advice. However, a year or 2 ago, I decided Tom knew so much more than I did, I would leave most of the questions to him. I only jump in when I think it is an area I have special knowledge or a DIY issue.

People come here for help on DIY projects. It is great we have somebody that really knows what they are doing to help them. Tom is willing to patiently get back with people as new questions come up. I wish I had Tom years ago when I was learning much of what I know the hard way. One important function of a site like this is to say when to give up and call a professional. And there are such times. Unfortunately those not knowing very much often advise others to do so on easy DIY projects. I have also seen posts perhaps best explained as by professionals seeking job security. Often with enough help, somebody can accomplish a challenging project they otherwise couldn't.

This site has a policy of not allowing attacks and insults of other experts. It is especially upsetting by those that know less than the one they are attacking.

The plumbing page was working very well, one of the best forums here. I think it is time time for some people to leave where they aren't needed.

speedball1 · Jan 21, 2006, 11:18 AM

Thanks for the support Lab. I'm getting the same flack in the thread, "Moving a Toilet". Must be something to do with the "full moon" theory. Regards and thanks again, Tom

nonpocillovist · Jan 21, 2006, 04:37 PM

In retrospect, I wish I had phrased my posting, "If you decide to rent a power snake, make sure you get one that is powerful enough to do the job" (and then I could have shared my story).

I just discovered this site yesterday, when I was trying to figure out how to fix my washing machine. Coincidentally, I had also just spoken with my friend who had just hired someone else to snake his drain with the kind of high-quality piece of equipment one is unlikely to be able to rent. In my 14 years of homeownership as a single woman, that was actually the only do-it-myself project that I ever regretted. It is certainly not my intent to discourage people from doing it themselves -- but I also think it doesn't hurt to mention options.

I also really didn't want to alienate Speedball, who I had actually been hoping would choose to provide input on my washing machine problem.

speedball1 · Jan 21, 2006, 05:55 PM

HI Julie,

"I also really didn't want to alienate Speedball, who I had actually been hoping would choose to provide input on my washing machine problem."

Julie, I'm not alienated in the least. Please post your problem and I'll be more the happy to help if I can. Tom

nonpocillovist · Jan 21, 2006, 07:56 PM

My question is posted under the title "washer just keeps on filling" (will a link work? https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=18331 )

Labman's suggestion sounds like it might be the answer -- if only I could get the dang thing apart!

speedball1 · Jan 22, 2006, 12:06 AM

Julie, Listen to Labman, I can get water to your washer and arrange for it to drain but when it comes to the inner workings, Labman's the man!! Cheers, Tom

DixieL · Jun 21, 2007, 04:33 AM

Over two years ago I purchased a new Kenmore washer with a drain overflow problem. The old washer (only 5 years old) drained fine. Our drain pipe was 2 inches. We thought it was a clogged drain, but it wasn't. We had to temporarily have the gray water exit through the window. Yesterday it dawned on me that the old washer drain hose had a hard plastic "U" where it went into the wall drain pipe; the new hose did not. I went to the store and purchased a new hose with a "U" in the end. Evidently, besides helping the hose stay in the drain pipe, the "U" slows down the waterflow. PROBLEM SOLVED!

spoobysbabymama · Mar 10, 2011, 12:22 PM

Ok here's one. Our drain pipe has always worked fine but sinks, tubs and toliets were backing up and not draining. Called our City of Wr to fix it and the said that the pipe leading to the sewer system is cracked in 2 places. Replace the pipe for $2500.00. Now everything in the house works. A-mazing. Our new problem is that the drain pipe overflows when you use the washing machine, but everything else is running fine. So were poor because we just spent over $2000.00 to fix a pipe and don't want to call another professional to fix this. Tried to snake the drain pipe and I hit nothing. Any suggestions?