Laundry Room Plumbing

Washer boxes and valves

Older laundry setups often have two round-handled valves sticking out of the wall and a drain hose hooked into a pipe or a laundry tub. Newer ones use a recessed washer box: a plastic or metal panel in the wall with the valves and the drain opening tucked inside. A box keeps everything tidy and makes leaks easier to spot.

Single-lever washer valves are worth considering. One quarter turn shuts both hot and cold at once, which makes it realistic to turn the water off when you leave for a trip, or even after every wash. Some homeowners add an automatic shutoff that closes the valves when a sensor on the floor detects water.

Laundry tubs

A utility tub is handy for soaking, rinsing paint brushes and catching the washer discharge. When we install or replace one, we fit a proper trap and vent connection, a faucet with a sprayer if you want one, and supply stops. If the tub sits too far from the stack, it may need its own vent. Tubs that drain slowly have often collected lint in the trap over years; a lint catcher on the end of the washer hose helps.

Standpipe overflows

When the washer drains into a standpipe, the pipe has to be tall enough to stop siphoning and wide enough to accept the pump's flow. Modern high-efficiency machines push water out fast. An older, narrow standpipe can overflow onto the floor even when the drain beyond it is perfectly clear. We check:

• Standpipe height and diameter.
• That the trap below the standpipe is properly vented.
• That the drain hose is not jammed in so far it creates a seal.

Water around the washer can also come from the machine itself, so we rule that out before reworking pipes.

Hose upgrades

A burst washer hose can release a great deal of water before anyone notices. Braided hoses are tougher, and a little slack behind the machine keeps them from kinking at the valve. Leave a few inches of space between the washer and the wall.

Moving the laundry from the basement to the main or second floor is a popular change in Aurora homes. It needs a supply, a drain, a vent and, ideally, a drain pan with its own outlet beneath the machine. We plan the route with you and your contractor.

If the laundry is going into a new basement bathroom space, see basement bathroom rough-in. For the hose bib on the other side of the wall, read outdoor faucets. And if you are weighing a new water heater for the family's wash load, our tankless versus tank article is a good place to begin.