# Washing machine in basement drain



## AllanJ (Nov 24, 2007)

1. The washing machine hose must reach the drain pipe without having an extra length of hose spliced on and it must fit loosely into the drain pipe.

2. The drain pipe and trap must be at least 2 inches in diameter and the open upper end of the pipe be at least 18 inches above the trap outlet.

3. I think it is okay for the drain pipe from its open end down to the trap to have some gentle bends or not be perfectly straight down.


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## pinkertonpv (Aug 13, 2008)

*Washing machine drain in basement*

Allan; Thanks for your response. So I think your saying as long as I have a WM hose that is long enough to reach to the top of the wall (5 ft) or higher, I can put my drain opening using 2 in PVC at that level and then work the p trap and as long as the drain opening is 18 in above the trap. This would make the drain opening 6-7 feet above the floor and the WM drain. See drawing. I plan to buy a new WM front loader. Can the new WMs pump the water that high?

There is HVAC duct work immediately behind the wall so I can't punch a hole through the wall for a new drain. I have to go over the wall. One other way is to punch a hole through the wall immediately to the right in the picture to the outside. This would entail digging and laying new PVC for the new drain. I want to stay away from that if possible.


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## bluejeans (Apr 15, 2010)

When you fill the washer to highest level,the top of the washer discharge pipe should be no more than 6" above that.The wm pump pumps the water from floor level to about 36" high.The wm pump is built to do that.Not built to pump water(its heavy)any higher than necessary.You'll burn out the pump and allways have water in the washer.


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## AllanJ (Nov 24, 2007)

Can you make a drawing showing the existing drain?

Can you attach the new P-trap and 18" riser to the existing drain closer to floor level so just the open end sticks up above the top of the wall?


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## pinkertonpv (Aug 13, 2008)

*Existing drain*

AllanJ; Existing drain is in the crawl space appx 5 ft behind the wall. Directly behind the wall and running the length of the wall is the main HVAC ductwork, 18 in x 18 in. Cannot matchup differently with existing drain because of HVAC. I think the opening 18 in above wall as in diagram is best. Additionally new WM has drain hose at top right of machine so pump only has to pump water 2-3 ft high to get to drain pipe inlet. In talking to manufacturer of WM, customer service and owners manual say pump can handle 96 in height. Looks like the diagram will work w/WM drain opening being 4 ft higher on the machine (front loader). I know some water will be left in the drain hose. My challenge now is to make this thing look esthetically as possible. I will post a final picture.

Thanks for your help.


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## bluejeans (Apr 15, 2010)

96" in height? even minus 36" from the bottom of the drum,that leaves 5'.i would like to enter into a bet.i bet $10 on every wm that has to lift water 8'.2 loads per week,52 weeks,104 loads.if the pump still evacuates the water i will kiss your butt in macys window and give you ten bucks.i've got a grand to invest.anyone interested i get $50 when i win.and i will win.


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## pinkertonpv (Aug 13, 2008)

*You might be right*

Bluejeans; you might be right. I was just repeating what the manual that comes with the WM indicated as far as installing the drain hose. I asked the store rep to call customer service to verify. The CS rep said the same thing. I think that the pump may wear out prematurely although the rep didn't admit that. That is a certain probability depending on number of loads washed. And I agree that the pump after a certain time will not evacuate all the water in then hose. In fact, I think that is the norm. Anyway, Literature for a different WM said that the pump worked at 15 GPM and to reduce that by 1 GPM for every foot in height the pump had to work. 

I hope you win your bet because I would hate to see you lose. 

Enjoy!


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