Advice on washing machine waste – horrid smell

Put some washing machine cleaner though. Some say run machine on hottest wash with a bottle of white vinegar in it. Kills all the bacteria. Look up on net but your setup is ok I think.

 

Hi Luke.

There doesn't appear to be anything obviously wrong with that setup - the height of the hose connections on to the under-sink waste pipe look to be fine.

So, if your W/M ain't draining properly, I guess it's down to summat like:

1) The W/M is faulty - weak pump.
2) A kink in the hose - they do look as tho' they have extensions on them, which won't help.
3) A block/restriction in the under-sink waste (does the sink itself drain quickly?)


I'm guessing that the dual-connector shown has a divider in the middle so that the waste pumped out by the D/W doesn't flow straight in to the W/M hose?!

I'd undo all the white pipes under the sink - they are all dismantleable. See if it's clean and free-flowing.

If you disconnect the hose where it fits on to the spigot under the sink and divert it in to a bucket, you should be able to test it on 'drain' setting - but ensure the hose goes up as high as that spigot before then pointing down in to the bucket.

 

From what I know about washing machines, the waste pipe should go straight up from the bottom of the machine and not go down and up again. The ideal route yours should take is up, straight along(slight slant down) then down into the outlet. Not as it is(in at the bottom, up, over, down and up to the outlet). From that outlet, all water from the machine to that point will drain back into the machine when the pump stops. The pump may even have trouble pumping it like that.
Also, the w/m outlet at your sink downpipe is lower than the water level that exists inside your sink trap and pipe. The w/m connection should outlet into clear pipe, but here it will outlet into the pipe's trap reserve.
If the w/m outlet connection is not one way, your sink water will fill the washing machine.

 

In the second picture it appears that any waste discharged from the sink would make its way into either the dishwasher or the washing machine by gravity, compounded by the fact that the appliance union appears to be level with or slightly below the u-bend outlet. I see this quite a lot and it is simply rectified by rotating the appliance inlets and raising the level of the uppermost bend in their hoses.

Strangely, that would appear to be what exists in the first picture. Am I missing something?

 

Hi, Sorry to hear of your smelly washing machine, but at least you have traced where the smell is coming from. At home it took a while to trace the smell.
Water coming from the door suggest the door seal needs replacing, not a job I've done, I've heard mixed views on the successful nature of this exercise.
Check that stale waste water is not back-draining into the machine from the other appliances.
Make sure that no water is in the washing machgine drum, then run the dishwasher once or twice, has the washing machine drum started to fill ? Fill and drain the sink a few times, again does the machine drum fill with waste water. If so the plumbing needs investigation. (This was the problem at work).
The door seal often traps gunge in its folds, clean carefully.
We had to resort to a hot wash to clean the washing machine at home together with a clothes bleach, in a pink tub from Wilkos. Used a double/triple dose, certainly helped. Also then did a hot wash with a generous, ½ bottle, of disinfectant, nice pine smell afterwards !
Best of luck.

 

I meant to add, that the grey waste hoses / white waste join needs to be swiveled upwards to combat gravity, with waste water flowing back into the washing machine, as Handyman and WillyEkerslike has suggested.
I prefer separate waste pipes to outside for each appliance, but may be difficult to implement.

 

It might be worth putting non-retrurn valves in both washing machine and dishwasher hoses: http://mcalpineplumbing.com/traps/b...wasteflow/r14-line-non-return-valve-wasteflow might be suitable.

 

You've also created a U bend in the wash machine hose as it wraps around the 40mm white pipe

As above, angle the spigots upwards and route the pipe so it drops down into the spigot. The hose often comes with a plastic bend that clips over pipe to give a nice gentle bend

I'm guessing that the U bend in waste pipe is full of crud which then breeds bacteria and smells

Lot more smelly washing machines and wastes these days as our machines and detergents have been formulated to 'work' at much lower temps. This may help to save the planet ? But can lead to bacteria build up, mould and smells forming. Do you use liquid or powder detergent out of interest ?

 

Could be the pump jammed with something or just worn out. If it's pumping a little it's probably worn out. Can be an easy ish fix.

 

New machine Wayners (and others)

 

You can buy a waste extension from screwfix cheap so you can possibly find alternative source to vent water, as that way you can see it pumping ok. It's just a push fit pipe. If it don't pump properly you can investigate or get a warranty repair

 

The connection is still in water constantly at the height of the water in the trap! This means your pump is pumping into water rather than empty pipe. This is harder work for the pump. And if there are no non-return valves, you certainly get sink water filling the washing machine and dishwasher.

I'd change the layout of the pipes. The washing machine waste should come in at the top of the unit and down to the outlet only. The downpipe from the sink should come down lower, get rid of the grey pipe to outside and take the white pipe out the wall where the grey goes out.

Your water levels will be right then.

 

I don't think I've read anybody say this but here goes.

The section in the blue circle is a AAV and has been block off to stop it leaking, it should be upright with the unblocked slot at the top and a u bend under it.



You can see the hole in this one.

 

Spot on. Whole lot needs moving/changing.

 

Nicely spotted, Phil.

Could a solution be as simple as fitting a 'conversion' bend in to that waste side entry, elbowing upwards and the AAV W/M connector being fitted the right way up? I wonder if there's room under that sink?

http://www.screwfix.com/p/floplast-push-fit-conversion-bend-white-90-40mm/79721

That'll also take its height above the trap's water level.