Problems With Laundry Tub Drains

Kitchen Sink Interference

• According to the Smart Plumbers and Rooters website, laundry tub drains often share the same drain pipe line with the kitchen sink. If the kitchen sink drain pipe clogs at a point beyond where it meets up with the laundry tub, then both drains will clog. Because the basement laundry tub is below the kitchen sink, it is common for the laundry tub to experience drain overflow before the kitchen sink.

Soap and Lint

• A laundry tub drain has a strainer designed to stop an excessive amount of lint from getting into the drain pipe. As long as the drain strainer is cleaned of lint once a day, the remaining lint should safely go down the laundry tub drain. But soap dumped into the laundry tub along with the lint dries on the lining of the tub drain pipe and starts to collect lint. Over time, the drain pipe will need to be removed to be cleaned properly.

Sewer Line

• A home's sewer line is designed to safely move waste water from the upper floors of your home. The sewer line in your home may be installed at a point higher than the drain of the laundry tub drain. This would make draining the tub difficult. In some states, it is illegal to install a drain pump that would move the water upward to the sewer pipe. For example, the state of Georgia forbids such a pump from being used on a basement laundry tub, according to the Christian Building Inspectors website. In this case, installing a laundry tub would be nearly impossible.

Basement Workshop

• Homeowners who install a laundry tub in a basement workshop need to follow safety rules to prevent property damage and injuries. Flammable liquids should never be dumped into a laundry tub drain because they could mix with sewer gases and cause a health problem. Flammable liquids mixed with sewer gases also create the possibility of explosion. The other issue for basement workshop laundry tubs is paint and adhesives being poured down the drain that clog up the lint strainer in the drain and also start to clog the drain itself. When paint and adhesives block up the drain, the drain needs to be replaced.