Water backing up in laundry room

[sonner12]

Hello,

I have an issue with water backing up in the laundry room. My laundry room drain pipe (1.5") is connected to a T connector with the drain pipe (1.5") from bath tub. This t connector is then connector to a P-Trap which then connects to the main drain pipe.

Whenever there is more water going thru bath tub drain pipe, instead of going into p-trap and main line, some water backs up in the laundry drain pipe and sometimes comes out in to the washer drain pan. Drain pan is about 2 feet above the t-connector which connects bath tub drain & laundry drain pipes.

I moved the washer and opened the drain strainer of the drain pan to see what is happening. Whenever there is a sudden gush of water going thru bath tub drain, water comes up the laundry drain pipe with bubbles. This happens for few seconds and then it seems that all water goes thru the main drain pipe as it shud have been.

I am confused as to why water would go against gravity for few seconds before going in the expected route. First I thought there might be some clog in the drain pipe. So tried with baking soda + vinegar + boiling water. However I have never seen water being stopped or going very slowly. Its just that it backs up for few seconds in the laundry drain pipe before going out.

Also the washer drain pipe is connected to the same pipe as washer drain pan before that pipe connects to the bath tub drain with t connector.

I am not sure what the problem is. Would appreciate if someone could help with what could be the potential problem and how to resolve it.

FYI, am a first time home buyer and bought this townhouse 3 months back.

 

[TomFOhio]

You need an electric snake ran through the drain that the tub and laundry tye into. Its is plugged

 

[CT18]

You have an 1 1/2" draining the washer into an 1 1/2" line for the tub. That aint right, especially with these washers now a days. They pump out water at a higher rate. My area is 2" for washer box into a 3" dedicated stack

 

[TomFOhio]

The last laundry box I did we had to run 3' off the main line in the basement and then we turned up a 3"
elbow to go up in the wall and reduced it on top of the ell with 2" and then up to the piping in the wall.

 

[humbolt]

I agree with the above comments. I had a similar plumbing issue. The DIY home remedies have never resolved the issue for any of my plumbing issues. Try your best to get a snake into those drains. If you cannot, save time and energy and have a plumber snake the drains...for what it's worth.

 

[sonner12]

Looks like I was not able to explain well. Its the washer drain pan pipe which connects to the bath tub drain. I am attaching few photographs hoping it would explain the connections well.

One more thing I noticed (as marked in photograph 1). Pipe no. 2 is at a higher height than pipe no. 1. Not sure if this is normal.

 

[MicEd69]

It is still a little confusing. Your "washer drain pan" is labeled as the line that is now cut in your pictures that used to be attached to your bathtub drain line before the P-trap, and you've labeled a 3" washer drainpipe in the background, yet in your description you say you have a 1 1/2" washer drainpipe!?!?

So, is the 1 1/2" line labeled "washer drain pan" your washing machine discharge line as described in your verbiage, or is it just the catch pan that the washer sits in? If it is just the drain pan, it should not be connected to your bathtub drain piping. It should just go to a floor drain in the basement, or a french drain if you have a crawl space.

If it is indeed your washing machine discharge line, then yes you have a problem. Every fixture needs to have its own P-trap, except for a multiple basin sink. Your bathtub and your washing machine discharge must have their own P-trap. And the way your bathtub drain piping is routed is a total mess. "2 is higher than 1" is a real problem! The tub drain should drop vertically down directly from the tub into the P-trap. It's not totally clear from your pictures, but it looks like you could rotate the sanitary tee where the existing P-trap enters the drainage piping and put the trap arm through the wooden truss opening rather than the convoluted way it is pipe now and resolve the "2 is higher than 1" issue. The sanitary tee might need to be lowered as much as possible for this to work.

And if the line labeled 3" washer drainpipe is the washing machine drainpipe, you need to show how that is connected to the rest of the drainage piping and its relationship with the bathtub connection to the "bigger drainpipe" labeled in your picture to provide more feedback on your issues.

 

[Maface]

why is there a hose clamp around the rigid pvc y pipe adapter in 2?

 

[CT18]

That is not legal in my area, you have one trap serving 2 fixtures. Someone hacked that in. The washer box should have a separate drain back to the main. That washer is pumping water at a fairly high volume and it is hitting the tub trap which is causing flow reduction. That is why it is backing up into tub

 

[MicEd69]

why is there a hose clamp around the rigid pvc y pipe adapter in 2?

That is a rubber PVC pipe cap on the top of that Sanitary Tee. It's a mess!

 

[sonner12]

1 1/2 " pipe is for the catch pan on which washing machine sits.

The catch pan pipe is connected to the bath tub T connector with a black rubber 2 sided hose clamp connector. I had removed that to check if there is anything clogged near that part. But that seems tobe clean.

Washing machine drainage is the separate 3" pipe which does not connect to the bath tub but directly to the main dain line going into sewer line.

Rubber PVC pipe cap seems tobe there to cover the open pipe. Dont know if that is correct thing to do.

 

[CT18]

It might be ok to tie the drain pan in like they did. I would have to check with my inspector to see what is code on that. I have never seen it before

 

[Twowaxhack]

Remove the washer drain pan, I don’t believe they’re required, they’re not required in my area.

Install a new drain for the bathtub. Start completely over and reconnect before the tee for the vent.

 

[sonner12]

Couple of more pics.

I am not sure if the washer drain pan is required as per code or not, but I feel it provided added safety incase washing machine started leaking water someday.


So is the water backing up due to how bathtub pipe has been convolutedly connected to the main drain pipe ? And bcoz 2 is higher than 1, water is going slowly down the drain causing the excess water to back up tot he catch pan ?

Or it could be clogging somewhere in the pipe ahead causing water to move slowly ?

In the normal daily use, I have not seen water backing up. But whenever there is a bucket or 2 of water thrown down the bathtub, thats the time it backs up all the way to the catch pan.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Couple of more pics.

I am not sure if the washer drain pan is required as per code or not, but I feel it provided added safety incase washing machine started leaking water someday.

Good luck with it.

 

[MicEd69]

I assume there is a P-trap in the washer drain line, correct?

And I also assume there is no vent between the washer P-trap and the connection where the bathtub line connects to the washer drain line? If that is correct, the vent for the washing machine is through the vent you noted in one of your pictures. However, for it to act as a vent, it cannot run horizontally. It must come off the horizontal washer drain at no more than 45 degrees off vertical.

So, to fix your plumbing, the bathtub P-trap needs to be reworked as I indicated above, and a proper vent needs to be istalled on the washer drain line. Note that the washer vent and the bathtub vent can be combined.

 

[Twowaxhack]

If the washing machine drain pan is lower than the overflow of the bathtub, the washer drain pan just became the overflow for the tub if the common drain is obstructed

My babysitter called and told me that. She’s a lurker.

 

[MicEd69]

If the washing machine drain pan is lower than the overflow of the bathtub, the washer drain pan just became the overflow for the tub if the common drain is obstructed

My babysitter called and told me that. She’s a lurker.

sonner12, as I said in my earlier post, the washer drain pan should not be connected to the tub drain piping. It should "go to a floor drain in the basement, or a french drain if you have a crawl space."