Hi,
We just bought a house. It's an older house and the washing machine
drains right into a hole in the center of the floor. It appears that
sometimes that the water is taking longer to drain all the way through
so it's filling the area up where it's built to handle this and moving
on to other areas of the floor (and potentially going to cause water
problems with furniture and such in other areas in the basement).

Not sure of the right question to ask, but I'm curious as to whether or
not we could do something ourselves to maybe clean out the drain
(similiar to say using DrainO in a kitchen sink).

Also, roughly does anyone have any idea what kind of cost/time is
involved in making this so it doesn't drain into the floor but drains
underground some way?

"Doug" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi,
We just bought a house. It's an older house and the washing machine
drains right into a hole in the center of the floor. It appears that
sometimes that the water is taking longer to drain all the way through
so it's filling the area up where it's built to handle this and moving
on to other areas of the floor (and potentially going to cause water
problems with furniture and such in other areas in the basement).

Not sure of the right question to ask, but I'm curious as to whether or
not we could do something ourselves to maybe clean out the drain
(similiar to say using DrainO in a kitchen sink).

Also, roughly does anyone have any idea what kind of cost/time is
involved in making this so it doesn't drain into the floor but drains
underground some way?


Don't use draino at least not at first. If it fails, you end up with a
toxic soup you have to bail out. Use a snake and clean the drain that way,
its far more relaible and safe and cost about the same as a can or two of
draino. Its probably just a cake of lint in the trap or a little further
down. A plunger might also break up the clot.

As for moving the drain, it all depends on where the drain pipes are that
you would tie into. Generally drain pipes under a slab are difficult to
modify.

"Doug" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi,
We just bought a house. It's an older house and the washing machine
drains right into a hole in the center of the floor. It appears that
sometimes that the water is taking longer to drain all the way through
so it's filling the area up where it's built to handle this and moving
on to other areas of the floor (and potentially going to cause water
problems with furniture and such in other areas in the basement).

Not sure of the right question to ask, but I'm curious as to whether or
not we could do something ourselves to maybe clean out the drain
(similiar to say using DrainO in a kitchen sink).

That drain could just go into a drainfield outside your house, which
could be plugged by the washer lint.

You could try putting the end of your garden hose down the drain,
then wrapping a rag around it to seal the opening, Then turn on the
water. If it's just a plugged drain pipe, this may somewhat clear it.

Also, roughly does anyone have any idea what kind of cost/time is
involved in making this so it doesn't drain into the floor but drains
underground some way?

I have no idea about the cost, but I'd sure fix it if it was my house.

Bob

"Doug" wrote in news:1153866792.769626.226160
@s13g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Hi,
We just bought a house. It's an older house and the washing machine
drains right into a hole in the center of the floor. It appears that
sometimes that the water is taking longer to drain all the way through
so it's filling the area up where it's built to handle this and moving
on to other areas of the floor (and potentially going to cause water
problems with furniture and such in other areas in the basement).

Not sure of the right question to ask, but I'm curious as to whether or
not we could do something ourselves to maybe clean out the drain
(similiar to say using DrainO in a kitchen sink).

Also, roughly does anyone have any idea what kind of cost/time is
involved in making this so it doesn't drain into the floor but drains
underground some way?


In the center of the floor?!!! WTF??? I've seen that drain hole in the
middle of the floor but it's in case the washer leaks/overflows. Doesn't
trash everything. In addition the regular washer drain is in the wall.

Sounds like the regular wall drain got covered over for some reason.
Maybe it got clogged/leaked/whatever and they said screw it. Figure if it
isn't there, it isn't non-functional.

Doug wrote:
Hi,
We just bought a house. It's an older house and the washing machine
drains right into a hole in the center of the floor. It appears that
sometimes that the water is taking longer to drain all the way through
so it's filling the area up where it's built to handle this and moving
on to other areas of the floor (and potentially going to cause water
problems with furniture and such in other areas in the basement).

Not sure of the right question to ask, but I'm curious as to whether or
not we could do something ourselves to maybe clean out the drain
(similiar to say using DrainO in a kitchen sink).

Also, roughly does anyone have any idea what kind of cost/time is
involved in making this so it doesn't drain into the floor but drains
underground some way?

Since it is an older home it is probably a 1-1/2 inch line. This is
too small to take a washer without backing up. Often in older homes
the washer drains into a laundry tub which acts as a resevoir while
draining.

Right there is a tub like you're describing to take the water like
you're describing but it still has a problem with water backing up in
the drain on the floor. We're going to try the snake idea that was
described early on and give that a try.