I'd like to install a second clothes washer in the basement my 22 year
old house in the Greater Toronto Area. The washer will go in the
furnace room and I'm planning on running the drain into the little
floor drain ( about a 1 1/2" pipe), which is normally just used to
drain away condensation from the a/c unit.

I'm wondering whether that little drain would be sufficient to handle
a washing machine. I know that I'll have to build it up somehow so
that the washer hose doesn't siphon off the water in the washer. I
don't believe that there is a vent on this drain, as it's in the
middle of the room.

All suggestions/comments would be appreciated.

Peter H

On Dec 6, 5:09�pm, Peter H wrote:
I'd like to install a second clothes washer in the basement my 22 year
old house in the Greater Toronto Area. The washer will go in the
furnace room and I'm planning on running the drain into the little
floor drain ( about a 1 1/2" pipe), which is normally just used to
drain away condensation from the a/c unit.

I'm wondering whether that little drain would be sufficient to handle
a washing machine. I know that I'll have to build it up somehow so
that the washer hose doesn't siphon off the water in the washer. I
don't believe that there is a vent on this drain, as it's in the
middle of the room.

All suggestions/comments would be appreciated.

Peter H

I have 2 washers and 2 dryers its far more important to have 2
dryers since it takes twice as long to dsry clothes as it does to wash
them.

so two washers wouldnt speed up laundry it will just collect piles of
wet washed clothes

before using that drain try running a garden hose in it to see if it
will take the flow. let it run for 15 minutes at full force. and you
report its small long term that may cause lint clogs.

Peter H wrote:
I'd like to install a second clothes washer in the basement my 22 year
old house in the Greater Toronto Area. The washer will go in the
furnace room and I'm planning on running the drain into the little
floor drain ( about a 1 1/2" pipe), which is normally just used to
drain away condensation from the a/c unit.

I'm wondering whether that little drain would be sufficient to handle
a washing machine. I know that I'll have to build it up somehow so
that the washer hose doesn't siphon off the water in the washer. I
don't believe that there is a vent on this drain, as it's in the
middle of the room.

All suggestions/comments would be appreciated.

Peter H
Hi,
Does your local code allow that?
I left GTA in '70, so I am wondering.

"Peter H" wrote in message
...
I'd like to install a second clothes washer in the basement my 22 year
old house in the Greater Toronto Area. The washer will go in the
furnace room and I'm planning on running the drain into the little
floor drain ( about a 1 1/2" pipe), which is normally just used to
drain away condensation from the a/c unit.

I'm wondering whether that little drain would be sufficient to handle
a washing machine. I know that I'll have to build it up somehow so
that the washer hose doesn't siphon off the water in the washer. I
don't believe that there is a vent on this drain, as it's in the
middle of the room.

All suggestions/comments would be appreciated.

Peter H

Where does the pipe go ??? Into the sewer ? Storm drain ? Dry well ?? Here
in Maine it illegal to drain it anywhere but the sewer or septic...You
should find out what is allowed...

On Dec 6, 7:00*pm, "benick" wrote:
"Peter H" wrote in message

...

I'd like to install a second clothes washer in the basement my 22 year
old house in the Greater Toronto Area. The washer will go in the
furnace room and I'm planning on running the drain into the little
floor drain ( about a 1 1/2" pipe), which is normally just used to
drain away condensation from the a/c unit.

I'm wondering whether that little drain would be sufficient to handle
a washing machine. I know that I'll have to build it up somehow so
that the washer hose doesn't siphon off the water in the washer. I
don't believe that there is a vent on this drain, as it's in the
middle of the room.

All suggestions/comments would be appreciated.

Peter H

Where does the pipe go ??? Into the sewer ? Storm drain ? Dry well ?? Here
in Maine it illegal *to drain it anywhere but the sewer or septic...You
should find out what is allowed...

If it handels the hose as was suggested then build it up to the 4 ft
required should be okay but as someone said, it may glog and would be
hard to clean .

On Dec 6, 2:09*pm, Peter H wrote:
I'd like to install a second clothes washer in the basement my 22 year
old house in the Greater Toronto Area. The washer will go in the
furnace room and I'm planning on running the drain into the little
floor drain ( about a 1 1/2" pipe), which is normally just used to
drain away condensation from the a/c unit.

I'm wondering whether that little drain would be sufficient to handle
a washing machine. I know that I'll have to build it up somehow so
that the washer hose doesn't siphon off the water in the washer. I
don't believe that there is a vent on this drain, as it's in the
middle of the room.

All suggestions/comments would be appreciated.

Peter H

Peter-

Where does the floor drain drain to? The fact that it is in the middle
of the room makes is a bit less than ideal. Maybe you can plumb in a
sink or other "vessel" against the wall and then drain it via a large
collapsible hose. The sink or "other vessel" would create the
necessary air gap to prevent siphoning.

All of this is more than a bit "non-standard" perhaps you might
consider a proper sink / drain setup? Including (at a minimum) a
"mechanical vent".

I just demo'd my laundry room (1930), it had only 1 1/2" drain
plumbing BUT the washer pumped out into a fairly large cast iron
laundry sink which was mounted on a cast iron stand. The sink was
nearly large enough to take the entire washer tub volume....filling up
rapidly as the washer pumped out and the water drained from the
sink. The washer pumped out and moved onto the spin / rinse cycle as
the sink finished draining.
The laundry sink thus acted a "retention basin"

cheers
Bob

On Dec 6, 10:11�pm, DD_BobK wrote:
On Dec 6, 2:09�pm, Peter H wrote:

I'd like to install a second clothes washer in the basement my 22 year
old house in the Greater Toronto Area. The washer will go in the
furnace room and I'm planning on running the drain into the little
floor drain ( about a 1 1/2" pipe), which is normally just used to
drain away condensation from the a/c unit.

I'm wondering whether that little drain would be sufficient to handle
a washing machine. I know that I'll have to build it up somehow so
that the washer hose doesn't siphon off the water in the washer. I
don't believe that there is a vent on this drain, as it's in the
middle of the room.

All suggestions/comments would be appreciated.

Peter H

Peter-

Where does the floor drain drain to? The fact that it is in the middle
of the room makes is a bit less than ideal. �Maybe you can plumb in a
sink or other "vessel" against the wall and then drain it via �a large
collapsible hose. �The sink or "other vessel" would create the
necessary air gap to prevent siphoning.

All of this is more than a bit "non-standard" �perhaps you might
consider a proper sink / drain setup? �Including (at a minimum) a
"mechanical vent".

I just demo'd my laundry room (1930), it had only 1 1/2" drain
plumbing BUT the washer pumped out into a fairly large cast iron
laundry sink which was mounted on a �cast iron stand. � The sink was
nearly large enough to take the entire washer tub volume....filling up
rapidly as the washer pumped out and the water drained from the
sink. � The washer pumped out and moved onto the spin / rinse cycle as
the sink finished draining.
The laundry sink thus acted a "retention basin"

cheers
Bob

you can also buy a sump pump, for washing machine drains.

it can pump the water any number of feet into a proper sewer

A couple friends of mine find the same thing. Two driers is
more pressing. Indoor clothes line drying is also useful. I
don't even own a clothes dryer, use indoor clothes line all
year.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


wrote in message
...


I have 2 washers and 2 dryers its far more important to
have 2
dryers since it takes twice as long to dsry clothes as it
does to wash
them.

so two washers wouldnt speed up laundry it will just collect
piles of
wet washed clothes

On Dec 6, 5:09*pm, Peter H wrote:
I'd like to install a second clothes washer in the basement my 22 year
old house in the Greater Toronto Area. The washer will go in the
furnace room and I'm planning on running the drain into the little
floor drain ( about a 1 1/2" pipe), which is normally just used to
drain away condensation from the a/c unit.

I'm wondering whether that little drain would be sufficient to handle
a washing machine. I know that I'll have to build it up somehow so
that the washer hose doesn't siphon off the water in the washer. I
don't believe that there is a vent on this drain, as it's in the
middle of the room.

All suggestions/comments would be appreciated.

Peter H

These days new construction for washer drain is 2". That's to
accomidate the larger home washers. If you have a more conventional
one the 1 1/2" should work.

Peter H wrote:
I'd like to install a second clothes washer in the basement my 22 year
old house in the Greater Toronto Area. The washer will go in the
furnace room and I'm planning on running the drain into the little
floor drain ( about a 1 1/2" pipe), which is normally just used to
drain away condensation from the a/c unit.

I'm wondering whether that little drain would be sufficient to handle
a washing machine. I know that I'll have to build it up somehow so
that the washer hose doesn't siphon off the water in the washer. I
don't believe that there is a vent on this drain, as it's in the
middle of the room.

All suggestions/comments would be appreciated.


I've repaird rot where a washer went into 1 1/2" vertical pipe. It would
occasionally dribble water over the top.

Floor drains don't necessarily go into the drain pipe. They may just go to a
drain field.