Water from the washing machine goes into the bathtub
It's always frustrating when your washing machine doesn't work as expected. If water rises in your bathtub when you drain it, you're risking not only the safety of your appliance but also the appearance of your bathroom, which could become filled with waste. Let's explore why your washing machine's wastewater might be draining into your bathtub instead of the drain, and how to prevent it.
Incorrect tee
When water from the washing machine drains into the bathtub instead of the drain, experts recommend checking the drain tee first. What exactly could be wrong with the drain tee?
If, while draining the washing machine, the water flows rapidly into a pipe with a 90-degree tee installed, the waste liquid will begin to fly apart, regardless of how the drain pipe is installed or what its diameter is.
This happens because waste from the washing machine leaves the household appliance at high speed, hits the tee and splits into two streams, one of which goes into the drain, and the second rushes towards the bathtub.
Then the flow of waste directed towards the bathtub raises the water level due to the fact that the liquid collects and is unable to leave until the drain is active.
When the flow of liquid from the washing machine stops, the waste will finally go into the sewer drain.
What to do in such an unpleasant situation? If the cause lies precisely in the incorrect tee, then only purchasing a new part will help. You need a tee that will distribute the water flow smoothly so that it does not cause water to rise into the bathtub.
The clog and airlock are to blame
It's also possible that a simple clogged pipe could be to blame for the rising water level. This can occur if debris has partially clogged the sewer pipe. In this situation, a partial clog significantly narrows the pipe, preventing wastewater from completely draining into the sewer and instead accumulating in the pipe.
After this, a backflow usually occurs, causing the liquid to flow toward the bathtub and begin to rise. In this case, the water will only drain under its own gravity once the flow of waste from the "household helper" stops. Fixing the cause of the problem is very simple—simply remove the blockage with a strong household drain cleaner.
You can use products like "Mole", which are usually not very expensive, but are extremely effective in cleaning pipes from dirt.
An airlock also can't be ruled out. This problem occurs when a powerful stream of waste liquid from the washing machine drains into the drain at high speed, creating an airlock. If this happens, the airlock lifts the liquid in the bathtub trap, causing it to leak upward.
This happens due to a lack of ventilation in the sewer system, so to fix the problem, it will be necessary to partially rebuild the sewer system. Unfortunately, this is not always possible, as major repairs are usually scheduled, not planned.
Slope and diameter of the sewer pipe
Finally, the cause may lie in the layout of the sewer lines, for which people often use pipes of different diameters. For example, a user in a home may have one diameter pipe running from the washing machine to the bathtub, but a completely different diameter from the bathtub to the riser, resulting in a transition from a smaller diameter to a larger one, or vice versa.
Pipes are typically placed in grooves, sometimes using a reduced pipe diameter, which allows the grooves themselves to be smaller in some areas. This is most often done because there is no other option—for example, the screed in the bathroom is thinner than required for a deep groove, which can also lead to problems with household appliances.
The slope of the sewer pipe can also contribute to difficulties with waste flowing into the bathtub. This occurs due to insufficient slope, or even no slope at all. For a 50 mm pipe in a sewer system, the slope must be 2.5-3 centimeters per meter of pipe.
If your home's sewer system was installed incorrectly, there's no easy way to fix it. This is because the sewer lines will have to be redone, which is usually only possible during a major renovation.
It's always frustrating when your washing machine doesn't work as expected. If water rises in your bathtub when you drain it, you're risking not only the safety of your appliance but also the appearance of your bathroom, which could become filled with waste. Let's explore why your washing machine's wastewater might be draining into your bathtub instead of the drain, and how to prevent it.
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