washer hookup ?

[Paul Downes]

I'm in the process of moving the wash room into the basement. My question has to do with the height of the wash water drain. I live in the country and my septic line runs through the basement wall about 4 ft. off the floor. I seem to remember that you don't want the drain to be higher than the washing machine. I will be hooking up 2 washers and 2 dryers. (11 kids) The septic drain pipe is 4" Can I run 2-2" water traps open at the top and just hook the washer drains in them like normal? Will there be an issue with toilet waste back flowing into the washer drains? (Major yuk)

[Randy Cohen]

sounds like what you say about the toilet could be a problem. My washer instructions require that the drain be at least 36" above the washer drain outlet but there's no maximum. how much clearance is between the ceiling and the pipe? Do you live in a place where you can just drain the washers to the outside without running through the septic/sewer system?

[Lee Schierer]

You definitely don't want the washer drain below the point where the septic line leaves the basement. You will want it well above, probably 36" above that drain to prevent overflow problems. You also want an air beak in the line so that you won't siphon water from the washer when the drain cycle stops. The washer pumps may be a bit slow pumping water 72" or more above the outlet height and may drain slower than you are used to. You will also want these new drain connections trapped and vented to prevent sewer gas from enetering the basement. Even so if the line to the septic clogs downstream of the point where the washer drain enters you may still get a sewage overflow from pipes located higher up in the house.

[Paul Downes]

Thanks for the replies. I think I have figured it out. I will install 2, 2" water traps at least 2, maybe 3 ft. above the septic drain and leave a tall open pipe that the washer hose hooks into. I have an old farm house and the drain field is about 40 acres. I did upgrade the septic tanks a few years ago and put in 2500 gallons worth of tanks, so I don't expect to have any sewage backup problems. I just hope the washer pumps can handle the extra pressure from the height. I am switching the washers from draining into the ditch to going through the septic tanks. The drain tile that is currently being used is showing some signs of collapse so I want to reduce the load and avoid issues like having to dig out and replace the drain tile which runs under gas and phone lines.