How To Unblock a Washing Machine Standpipe If it takes a bit of time before the drain overflows then you know the clog is further down the drainpipe and would require a larger drain snake to clean-out and clear the obstruction. For example, if the water begins to pour out of the drainpipe right away then you know that the clog is likely to close and could be removed using a small drain snake. What you are looking for while the water begins to drain is to see how long it takes before the water begins to overflow. Before you begin draining, make sure that you are in a position where you can see down into the standpipe and still have access to immediately shut off the washer once the drain begins to overflow.
Next, turn the dial to the drain setting. To diagnose the problem, you will first need to fill the washing machine with water. The water finally exits the hose down a standpipe connected to a laundry sink or connected directly to the home’s drain system, which leads to either a septic tank or the public sewage system. As the pump sucks in the air from the drained washing machine, it uses the air pressure to force the water up the drain hose and out of the machine. When it’s time to drain, the water fills the drain pump, and the motor reverses direction to force the water into the drain hose. When the washing machine is washing, the drain pump motor spins counterclockwise and allows the water to recirculate into the machine. How a Washer Drainsīefore we get into what is causing the drain to overflow, let’s take a quick look at how a washer drains. That’s a lot of water to clean up if you do have a clog in the drain pipe. Older washing machines could use between 30 to 45 gallons per load. Most high-efficiency washing machines use between 15 to 30 gallons of water per load. Simply snaking the standpipe and or using an enzymatic cleaner product will unblock the clog, allowing the water to drainproperly.ĭepending on how big of a clog you have, you could have a large mess. More times than not, the problem is from a clog. Washing machine drains will often overflow because of a clog in the drain standpipe, or the standpipe itself is too small in diameter to handle the amount of water being forced through it. At the end of a long day, the last thing that you want to find after doing some laundry is a giant puddle of water all over the floor.