# Why does washing machine drain into utility sink?



## Solaritu (May 27, 2014)

I have read that they require a 2" pipe for the large amount of water, though we have a huge stack next to utility sink that carries all the waste from the whole house minus one powder room. Did they just do it to save time and a few bucks in plumbing or is there something much better about draining into a sink versus plumbing it into a pipe? 

Lastly, I want to make the basement a little nicer for the wife any suggestions on a nicer looking utility sink or a way to dress it up?


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## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

Many modern laundry installations do not include a tub. When you drain direct into a standpipe it needs to be the size specified or the washer can overflow the drain.
There is nothing wrong with draining into a laundry tub if you have one.

You could mount the laundry tub into a small counter with storage underneath.


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## Lawrosa (Jun 10, 2017)

Most laundry sinks are 1 1/2 piping. Washers require 2". The sink acts as a buffer to take the 30 gallons of water to drain at its own pace.

Tieing in a 2" line for the washer requires venting of the new line and often more difficult then simply draining into the laundry sink..


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## RegeSullivan (Dec 8, 2006)

Solaritu said:


> I have read that they require a 2" pipe for the large amount of water, though we have a huge stack next to utility sink that carries all the waste from the whole house minus one powder room. Did they just do it to save time and a few bucks in plumbing or is there something much better about draining into a sink versus plumbing it into a pipe?
> 
> Lastly, I want to make the basement a little nicer for the wife any suggestions on a nicer looking utility sink or a way to dress it up?


The 2" pipe you are asking about is a "stand pipe" If you are close to the stack you may not even need to vent it but you will require a proper 2" trap easily found at any HD or Lowes. It should be a fairly inexpensive even if you hire a plumber to install it.

The last 3 laundry sinks I installed were where the washier emptied into a stand pipe were deep kitchen sink. Without the washer empting into the sink there is no need to the volume of a big laundry sink. So pick the sink the one that works best.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

It's a carry over from ancient times just after the cave man discovered the siphon method of draining and decided to launder his loin cloth.:surprise:


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## Solaritu (May 27, 2014)

It says it is a 3" pipe. If the image appears upside down, then you are most likely viewing it from China. I saw illustrations of a 2" pipe going into a trap then that splits into two pipes that both go into the same stack. The only difference is that one goes up, which is what I assume is a vent, while the other one goes down. 

I am very sensitive to what others think, I don't want the home owner in 139 years wonder what I was thinking in 2017, so I want to get it right.

My wife got freaked out by a giant wolf spider tha she claims tried to eat her and the cat, so I want to make the area more apealing and sheek, without finishing it. I have left over cabinets from our kitchen remodel, repaint block wall, partial drop cieling, some flame retardent curtains and maybe staining the floor. I also want an excuse to move her elliptical out of the media room.


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