My washing machine is next door to my downstairs bathroom. When the washer empties its water, the water comes up through the bathroom sink and sometimes even overflows. After about 1 minute it goes down and leaves behind residue, soap, and dirt. Its starting to become a serious problem and I am not sure what is causing this. If someone could lend some advice, Id appreciate it greatly, thank you!
The problem is possibly two fold. First is the fact it is going back into your sinks. This is an indication that the vent line on the roof is clogged. Behind your washer, or close by, is a vent stack that goes up through the roof of your house. This has possibly become clogged. You'll need a snake or some unclogging liquid to clear it out. The second problem is if you have a newer appliance. If so, they pump water out at a much higher rate than older appliances. If you are in an older home this may be a problem with not having the right sized pipe to drain into. This can be solved by installing a sink next to your washer and let the washer drain into the sink - but that requires a bit to do. Others have solved this by using devices to seal off the pipe and the hose so that it is forced to drain water. This can cause other issues, such as suction on the line with your washer, or simply forces too much pressure through the line and causes pipe problems. If you live in the country and your drainage goes into the yard some place, usually a drain pit, then the pipe going into the yard may be clogged. You'll have to rent a snake or call a plummer to clear it out. The most successful stories about this line is the use of a high pressure method of blowing the line out. That requires a plumber as it normally involves specialized equipment. I have the same problem and will be taking on the problem this weekend. Hope we all have easy fixes.
The drain pipes are most likely clogged and the water somehow redirects to the pipes of your bathroom sink. Either that or you might have installed the washer drain close to the bathroom pipes. Try redirecting the washer drain pipes on a separate drain path. You can also check if something is clogging the pipes. Use a shop vacuum to remove collected debris inside the drain.
If your washer doesn't have an overflow pipe connected to the drain line, this would be the symptom to look for. Have a plumber or a serviceman look at the drain line and install an overflow pipe if it doesn't have one.
Your drain has a clog somewhere. Run some Drano through your sink drains AND put your washer on one of the last rinse cycles with your water setting on Hot, pour 1 cup Drano into water in washer and let it spin and drain out. After-wards let your washer run through another cycle just to clear the Drano on out. The Drano will Not hurt anything in your washer.
It definitely sounds like you have a partial blockage. My washing machine used to drain into my kitchen sink due to a partial blockage and it will get worse if not taken care of. I had a plumber unblock it for me only to have it happen about a year later. This time, I bought a snake and worked it out myself. Recommendations: you can put a lint trap on the end of your drain hose. You will be amazed at how much lint comes out with the drain water. An inexpensive way to do this is to use a piece of nylon (like pantyhose). Cut a piece big enough to form a pouch to catch the lint. Secure it to the hose with a hose clamp or some other sort of item. Rubber band, etc. Tight enough so it does not slip off and into the drain. Get a bottle of Drano gel, (like 32 oz) add the bottle into the drain. Let it sit overnight, then flush the next day with hot water, even boiling water if you want. You may have to do this twice. I did but it may not be necessary since you do have some drainage. You may want to do the Drano thing about once a year as a preventative but see how the lint trap thing goes.
