Laundry Dry Well Installation

Drill 2-inch holes in a 55-gallon plastic barrel, 6 inches apart in staggered rows, using a drill and hole saw. Use a food-grade barrel to avoid chemical contamination of your dry-well system.

Determine the best location for your dry well, at least 10 feet from your foundation and near the washer. Dig a trench from the laundry area to the dry well. Use a spirit level to ensure that the trench slopes toward the dry well. Then dig a 3-foot-wide by 4-foot-deep hole for the barrel at the end of the trench.

Place the barrel in the hole. Using the spirit level, make sure the barrel is level. The top of the barrel at about ground level. Fill the barrel with crushed gravel.

Install a 2-inch PVC pipe in the trench leading from the laundry to the dry well. Attach a 90-degree elbow fitting at each end with PVC cement, with one fitting dropping into the top of the dry well and the other leading up into the laundry.

Glue a section of PVC pipe to the elbow joint to make a drain for the washer hose. Secure the pipe to the wall with a bracket. Insert the washer hose into the pipe.

Back-fill around the barrel and fill the trench with the excavated soil. Do not cover the dry well with soil. Add more gravel if necessary to bring it up to ground level.