Basement laundry room help for first home buyer

5 years ago

Hey everyone,

Long time listener, first time caller here. My fiance and I purchased our 1st home back in February before we all had to hunker down for the pandemic, which allowed for a lot of DIY time. Since then I've focused most of my time and effort to giving the backyard a complete redo. Now that winter is here, I have turned to updating our mostly-finished basement. The laundry washer/dryer is located in one of the not-so-finished section (see picture attached). Although I am grateful that we have both, every time I do the laundry I frown at the washer/dryer set up. I am hoping to take on the DYI project of finishing the unfinished section of the basement, and would like to find a new home for the washer/dryer, preferably in the closet located next to the room where they are currently located (2nd picture). I have 2 questions for you guys: 1) Can the washer be placed lower than it currently is (I've read that the max height distance between the bottom of the washer to where the drain hose empties is 8 feet), and 2) any suggestions as to how to improve this overall eye sore. The current drain hose is draining into the PVC pipe in the center of the 1st picture. I'm planning on putting a workshop somewhere in the area, so I would like to keep one side of the peg wall if possible. Thanks in advance for any advice!

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Comments (8)

wdccruise
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Q1: See page 13 of the installation instructions. Also, there may be LG pedestals available for your washer (and dryer) if you need to raise them.

Q2: It's not possible to understand the arrangement of the room from these photos.
latifolia
5 years ago
You may need a plumber to inspect your drainage system. I know nothing, except that preventing backflow is important and that most appliances don't pump up very well, at least without help.

Do you currently have to vault your dryer to get to your water heater? That doesn't seem ideal.

I'm not a fan of basement living space, but it's great for a workshop and good for a laundry if you don't have space upstairs. If you only have the closet, okay. Might there be a more pleasant spot, given how much time laundry involves every week.
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mrb6228
5 years ago
Possibly the ideal solution would be to extend the cement platform the washer sits on and install the dryer to the right of the washing machine.
Seabornman
5 years ago
Yes, you can move and lower washer. Hard to tell from pics, but are you thinking of extending the 3" pipe to be location?
Bruce in Northern Virginia
5 years ago
It looks like that long horizontal pipe that goes back toward the water heater is the main drain line for the house? Or is there also a drain in the floor somewhere?

Assuming that is your only sewer drain, the water from the washer has to be pumped up higher than that line so that you get it to drain through the P-trap. You have a really short vertical drain standpipe right now on the P-trap, but it works because its a 3" pipe and it is able to clear the water quickly. If you had a standard 2" drain standpipe and it was that short it might fill up and overflow before it drains.

If you want to move things around and also put the washer at floor level you may need a special setup to get enough lift for the water. However, remember that many folks spend big money to buy special stands that elevate front loading systems - you have a cheap one already made for you.

The lift systems I am talking about are used for basements where the main drain pipe exits part way up the basement wall. They use a large basin to drain the water into, and then a sewage ejector pump to move the water up and into the horizontal drain pipe. Some of these systems can even handle the effluent from a toilet.

Bruce
wdccruise
5 years ago
@Bruce in Northern Virginia: "If you want to move things around and also put the washer at floor level you may need a special setup to get enough lift for the water."

As explained in the installation instructions, she can place the bottom of the washer up to 8' below the drainpipe and 5 feet away from it.
Bruce in Northern Virginia
5 years ago
My point is that Samsung and others sell a washer pedestal that increases the height of the washer by about 12", and its a common purchase. With that increase, and the 8 foot allowance, there may not be an issue with relocating the washer. However, and increase in the height of the horizontal drain pipe then reduces the length of the standpipe, and that means the OP may have to continue using a larger diameter standpipe to take the sudden rush of water.

In older homes, before the code upgrade to a 2" washer drain, it was common to drain the washer into a utility sink that only had a 1.5" drain. The sink acted as a buffer for the water so that it would not overflow when the washer drained.

Bruce
Nancy R Chicagoland 5
5 years ago
It would be better to live in the house for a while before making any changes. After a few years, you discover why certain things were the way they were. There was usually a reason. I think talking to a plumber would be a good idea.