Relocating a washer and dryer

[Crabshell]

I'd like to convert another part of the house into a laundry room. However, this room has no plumbing and sits on a slab foundation. It is on an exterior wall however. The hardest part of this is tapping into the sewer line since it's about 20 - 30 feet from the back of the house and who knows how deep. I also have a PVC pipe sprinkler system that I'd have to navigate around.

A plumber suggested creating a "gray water" drainage system in the flowerbed behind the back of the house. The laundry water would drain directly into this, saving a considerable cost of tapping into the sewer line.

Are there any opinions out there regarding this kind of solution? Is there an easy way to harvest the gray water and use it to sprinkle the lawn vs. wasting it underground? Would that require a holding tank of some sort?

[Edwin Pawlowski]

It may not be permitted by your local health codes. It is not a good idea if you live in a climate that freezes. It may be possible to install a septic system for it, but that would probably cost as much or more than getting into the sewer.

[gfretwell]

I have been pumpuing my washer out on the ground for 20 years. The mango tree loves it, as do the bananas. If you want to put in a drain tank you can use a 30 gallon plastic drum, buried. Cut the bottom out of the drum and set it in a bed of gravel. Route the washer water into the top of the drum.A lot really depends on how well your soil "perks".

[Todd H.]

Not a bad idea, but I'm wondering what the amount of phosphates and nasties in detergent would do to your lawn. I'm guessing it wouldn't be good.

-- Todd H.

[hallerb]

some nasties act as fertilizers..........espically phosphates

bad idea if your area freezes, or close by neighbors complain.

forget selling home with this...... home inspection nightmare.

rather than going thru sl;ap you could pump it, using trash pump to a comvenient drain.

if washer is going to finished space consider what will happen when machine floods or leaks.....

[Crabshell]

" [e-mail]" wrote in news:1161022745.267281.32480 @k70g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

The plumber claims it's not against code, but he's from California (I'm in Dallas). It can get cold here. It's seldom below freezing for days on end, but there was a stretch in the early 1980s where the lakes around here started to freeze. I'm guessing that would mess up the system. I wonder if it would stress the pipe enough to ruin it?

[gfretwell]

I am noy sure what a freeze would hurt if your pipes were arranged to drain. Thee shouldn't be any standing water. Maybe somewhere where the frost line was below the buried drum you could have problems.