Unknown small pex pipe.

[jcarhart]

My son and family just purchased their first house and within the first week there have been a few issues.

Trying to understand this small (1/4 inch??) pex pipe connected to the bottom of basement sink laundry taps. There is a small flow of water going to basement drain that stops when a finger blocks the spout of the laundry sink taps.

This was noticed when the water softener was switched to bypass because it was constantly running. Lots of people in this area do not use softeners. They will see if they require a softener.

What is the purpose of this pex pipe?

J.

 

[Geofd]

this is just a guess but if this line ties into your laundry trap sound like its a (trap primer) these are used so the water in the trap does not dry out....

 

[journeyman]

Well that is 1/2 inch aqua pex and th 1/4 inch is probably for a trap primer or discharge do u have a floor drain

 

[Geofd]

this is just a guess but if this line ties into your laundry trap sound like its a (trap primer) these are used so the water in the trap does not dry out....

I misread your post....TAP NOT TRAP...…..still only thing that makes sense is a trap primer

 

[jcarhart]

Thanks for your replies. Yes, there is a floor drain. I believe this is to keep the trap full. How often should the water flow in this line? Hot or cold water?

 

[Geofd]

Thanks for your replies. Yes, there is a floor drain. I believe this is to keep the trap full. How often should the water flow in this line? Hot or cold water?

cold water..... normally when a fixture is used alittle water trickles into the trap

 

[Diehard]

There has to be an air gap or vacuum breaker somewhere in that water line tapped off the faucet. Otherwise it would be an illegal cross connection if connected directly to a floor drain trap. Cannot have a direct connection between potable water and drainage system. Okay if the water line terminated with a space above the floor drain.
Since I've never seen any details on these laundry faucets I'm not sure it has any protection built into it such as a typical trap primer would. Like a vacuum breaker.

 

[jeffnc]

That is unlikely to be PEX, but probably 1/4" polyethylene like used for refrigerator ice line.