Doug Lassiter wrote:
We have a GE "extra heavy duty large capacity" washing machine that has
worked beautifully for more than a decade. Unfortunately, ever since we
got it, the drain line has been problematical. The washer drain hose is
stuck into a 1.5-inch ID pipe opening in the washer wall fixture behind
it. If the seal between that drain hose and the pipe is not good, the
water will overflow out the opening and spill down the side of the
wall. (Yeah, we don't have a lot of wallboard left under there
anymore.)

Now, that same drain pipe is also fed by the dishwasher and kitchen
sink, and there is no such trouble with them. Water drains out of the
sink pretty quickly, in fact -- for a sink. As you might guess, without
any overflow line (see below) the washer pump also fills up my sink. So
it seems that at least between my washer and the kitchen sink, the line
is OK.

A plumber has come in to clean out the drain pipe, and nothing much
changes. I finally attached an overflow line on the access port fixture
on the outside wall of the house (conveniently behind the washer) that
allows this water flow from the washer to shoot out into the garden.
NIce, and kinda spectacular, but ...

I've been told by a neighbor that I'm supposed to NOT have a perfect
seal between the drain hose and the sewer pipe, as there has to be air
pressure relief. (The plumber didn't think this was an issue.) But this
is certainly not the solution to the problem because if the seal isn't
good, as I said, the water just spills out faster!

So it seems that I have a washer pump that is too powerful for my
drain. What are my options? I guess I could constrict the drain hose a
bit to slow the flow, but I'm concerned that might be stressing the
pump. Would it? Actually, I'm probably already stressing the pump with
my seal.


Do you prepare most of your meals at home??

What do you do with the waste food in dishes. pots/pans, etc????


You could have a fair accumulation of grease and food if you don't
scrape all food and cooking waste into the trash can. Plumbers sell an
enzyme concentrate that you flush down the furthest drain once a month
to digest accumulated sludge in your pipes.

The problem may NOT be the washer, but downstream of the kitchen sink.

Even so, you may still need to get your city to come out and pressure
flush the sewer. I complained of standing sewage in the street and the
next day they broughy out a truck with a 2000 psi water pump on it.
They unplugged at least 3 other partial blockages before they got to my
house. When they broke through the final barrier, a 3 foot high
fountain of water, sludge, and waste went into my yard. They spread a
fair amount of granular chlorine on the waste that remained in my yard.
Byproduct is that the chlorine also killed the mold growing on the
concrete, so it is MUCH whiter than the concrete that was not affected.

Roto Rooter can't do this, they us a mechanical scraper and a garden
hose. The 2000psi pump REALLY cleans things out. And it costs NOTHING
to have done, IF you can really complain about standing sewage water in
the street.