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Trouble with washing machine drainage

5K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  AllanJ 
#1 ·
I've been having trouble with the drain for my washing machine for some time, and I've tried a few different fixes but so far nothing's worked - and the problem is slowly getting worse. Every time my washing machine drains, the water fills up the pipe and backs up to the point where water spills out of where the washer's drain hose goes into the PVC drain pipe. Sometimes, water backs up into the downstairs sink (see attached diagram). Thankfully there's a floor drain on the other side of the room, but I'm tired of puddles on the floor! I've tried dumping full bottles of Drano in the pipe where the washing machine empties, and I've tried pulling the plugs on the two access points and dumping Drano there as well. I've also tried a snake in the same three places. So far, nothing has worked. I have no problems with drainage in either the kitchen sink or the downstairs sink, and the washing machine did, at one point, drain properly with no problems.

I'm pretty much flat broke, and can't afford to call a plumber. Is there anything else I can do?
 

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#3 ·
I just double-checked, all the pipe shown in my diagram is 2" PVC, with the exception of the section between the kitchen sink and Access "A" which is 2" metal (steel maybe?)
 
#4 · (Edited)
. Every time my washing machine drains, the water fills up the pipe and backs up to the point where water spills out of where the washer's drain hose goes into the PVC drain pipe. Sometimes, water backs up into the downstairs sink (see attached diagram)..?
The problem is below where the downstairs sink and laundry drain meet.

Use access B to work on this problem.

Hand cranked snakes usually don't clear a big enough channel for high volume flow such as the washing machine draining.
 
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