[redman88]

okay i have some strange plumbing for my kitchen and laundry room. I have been using the washing machine for over a month now and it has just started to back up into the kitchen sink. any ideas how i can fix it.

the elbow in the corner comes from the laundry.

the black pipe might be an old waste line, but i don't know since the house came with washer and it was hooked up to the white pvc. there is a vent pipe on the roof but it come out above where a cabinet is.

 

[joecaption]

Can start by removing the caps and running a snake down the drains and down the open drain for the washer.

 

[redman88]

hmmm guess i could go find my snake. and see if i get anything. but i am still confused about the contraption of plumbing behind the washer.

 

[dougp23]

That is a strange looking bit of plumbing behind the washer. I hope the washer drain line is vented.

Someone who knows much more than me will weigh in soon. I wonder why your pipes go outside like that?

 

[redman88]

i think that strange bit of plumbing is some kind of vent.

 

[TheEplumber]

i think that strange bit of plumbing is some kind of vent.

IMO it's an attempt at an island/loop vent. You could improve it by removing the plug and installing a studor vent in it's place.
In the mean time- cable the outside line. Sounds like you have a blockage downstream of the sink tie in.

 

[redman88]

well i will have to get a new snake the one i have is for toilets.

 

[redman88]

so a studor vent would be a good solution till i can get to remodeling that part of the house and installing a proper vent through the roof?

 

[TheEplumber]

so a studor vent would be a good solution till i can get to remodeling that part of the house and installing a proper vent through the roof?

I think so. But if the washing machine is draining fine(without the blockage) then it may not help much.

 

[redman88]

i hear it gurgling in the kitchen sink when it is draining.

 

[TheEplumber]

i hear it gurgling in the kitchen sink when it is draining.

I think your first move is to cable the line as far as you can using a 3/8 cable. After the line drains well without backing up to the sink- you can pull the clean out plug at the top of the loop and run a rinse cycle- see if that cures the gurgle. If so, stick a studor on it

 

[jagans]

Wow! I guess his other job was maker of French Horns.

 

[redman88]

Wow! I guess his other job was maker of French Horns.

huh? i am lost.

 

[profcolli]

huh? i am lost.

LOL, the french horn tubing is bent around like your plumbing :wink:

I hope your power outlet next to the laundry drain is on a GFCI circuit that close to the washer - hard to tell from the picture.

 

[redman88]

it it'self is not, but i think its off one of the ones in the kitchen. the electrical in the house needs lots more work. hence why i am planing on remodeling that room and most the rest.

 

[redman88]

well pulled the plug on the top of the stack, now it mostly drains without a gurgle in the kitchen sink. just a short one at the end of the spin cycle.