Any recommendations for laundry machine lint trap?

I have never had a septic problem and tank is pumped maybe every 4-5 years. I could easily filter my washer since it exits into my laundry tub. Maybe you could do that too. Just a sock over the exit would do it. You are well to be concerned as hair does not degrade in septic.

Well, that is the problem. The washer does not exit into a sink or tub. It dumps into an open pipe in the wall behind it.

-dan z-

My three homes, since 1981, circa late '50s to early '90s , have all had septic systems - with never a single problem. Relax. John T.

Put a women's knee-high nylon hose over the exit. Knee-high nylon is quite long so it won't impede the flow of water but it will trap all lint and grit.

First of all, if you're washing pants and shirts, there won't be much lint going down the drain in the used water--it will almost all be trapped in the pockets of your pants and shirts. Washing-machine salemen call it a "passive lint-trap".

Older washing-machines had an actual system for trapping lint--a pump that continuously pumped the wash-water thru a filter of some sort. One that I remember had a brush type of filter near the top of the machine. After each wash, you pull the brush-like filter out and use a comb to pull the lint out of the brush. About a 20-second operation. Much quicker than trying to get the lint out of pockets.

I envision a new product--I'll call it a lint-ball. A hollow ball who's two hemispheres are threaded together, for easy opening. Away from the equator of the ball, there would be spring-loaded doors, normally shut. The doors would actually be lint-filters. As the ball gets sloshed around in the wash, whenever a positive pressure assaults a door, it is pushed open, allowing the lint-contaminated water to rush in. When the pressure subsides, the door springs shut. When the wash is done, the ball is opened, and the lint pulled out.

Several of these balls could be in the wash at the same time. They would be neutral in boyancy, or close to it. Hopefully, most of the lint from the wash would get trapped in the lint-balls, and not in the pockets of my pants and shirts.

I envision .. buttons and things getting caught in the little door.

My modern LG front loader has a " lint filter " at the front lower left corner that catches ~ _zero_ lint ! .. but it does accumulate scum .. which, along with the 2 cups of scum water that sits in the lint trap area causes the machine to stink and thus requires emptying the lint trap area after every load .. PITA ! We always leave the door open ; our old washer had no lint trap and had no problems with stinky water sitting in the bottom. ... someone please build 1970s 1980s major appliances again ! .. I'll pay double to not have computerization, wifi, umpteen useless programs, and dumb features. John T.

I have no solution for you, except to say those suggested already might work, if a sock or nylon stocking can fit in the hole your hose goes in. Maybe you could add something at the top of that pipe to have more room. Check a muffler shop to see if they have an adapter that fits into the wall-drain.

My prior Whirlpool washers all had a lint filter near the top rim of the basket which was supposed to be cleaned after each load, or eventually, but the one that came with this house (machine was bought 44 years ago) has a lint chopper and no filter. I forget what word they use but the manual said it cut the lint up into little pieces. However I still put a mesh bag over the output hose, but I didn't like it because it would be half-clogged with lint and I had to pull it off and get the wet lint out of it and then get it back on with the tight rubber band.

Then I found a plastic tube with holes in it that fits in the laundry sink drain. As the small holes on the bottom clog it has to use larger holes at the top. This doesn't help you except to say that I only clean this every 5 or 10 loads, so there isn't that much lint. Plenty of polyester in my clothes, but underwear is cotton (and the cotton stuff seems to wear out a lot faster than the synthetics, some of wihch seems to be made of iron, so that's even less lint you have to worry about.

As to synthetics not being biodegradable, what's that saying? "We made it idiot-proof so they came up with better idiots." I've read that aluminum cans don't degrade either but during a walk in the far corner of my woods, that only floods once in a while, I found almuminum cans with big "rust" holes in them.

I seriously doubt that any od these "ideas" would make any significant reduction of lint down the drain.

The problem with the sock in the washer drain pipe is that the end of the sock will get plugged up, and the water will get out the easiest way

- over the top and onto the floor.

Women's knee-high nylons are different from socks when used as a makeshift sieve. Knee-high nylon is very stretchy, so if there is any resistance to the flow of water the nylon will stretch and the pores will open up so it is a "sieve with self-adjusting mesh size".

Buy a used top load machine from a reputable dealer and shut the f*ck up . Our washer/dryer - bought used - are likely 15+ years old , they work just fine , clean our clothes , don't stink , and I CAN REPAIR THEM MYSELF . In fact , I replaced the timer in our washer for a (small!) fraction of the cost of a new machine . You assholes that just have to have the latest-greatest of everything then bitch and moan that the stuff you "useta have" was better just make me wanna puke .

If you care to _read_ .. I was actually asking for 1970's 1980's simple appliances ... ... but it's OK .. comprehension isn't always easy. John T.

Maybe if it is a 4" drain pipe.

Except that it is in in maybe a 2" pipe forming a wall around it, and the crud will fill the end of it and just push down until until the stretched sock has enough pressure to match the pressure needed to overflow the pipe.

You can circumvent this problem by using a nylon mesh bag on the outside of the knee-high nylon. This way, the knee-high nylon cannot lie flat against the pipe. This is similar idea to the plastic holder of a paper coffee filter. There are always corrugations or ridges on the inside of the plastic holder to prevent the paper coffee filter from lying flat against the wall of plastic holder.

You can get the nylon mesh bag for free when you buy a bag of orange or clementine:

Or you can just let the lint go into the septic tank, floc out and be removed when the tank is pumped out every 3 to 5 years.

It's not a problem.

I also think it's not worth the trouble in trying to trap the lint if you consider the amount of lint from the washing machine is so insignificant in comparison to the vast quantity of excrement flushed down the toilet everyday.

In older houses with old drain pipes, laundry lint can definitely increase drain plugging problems.

If you insist, you can buy a large bag of orange/onion to get a longer nylon mesh bag to hold the knee-high nylon.

Instead of strapping the contraption to the water exit hose of your washing machine, you can strap the contraption to the drain pipe in the wall instead. Use a thin wooden rod to help you push the nylon stocking with the nylon mesh bag into the drain pipe. It will take a very long time to fill the knee-high nylon with lint, so you can check it every few months.

Thanks for your suggestions! Am working on implementation.

-dan z-