Need ideas for my first washing machine drain pipe plumbing repair

RonTheGuy · 2022-05-18T17:24:11+00:00

Helping an old lady who has no money. She has two problems, one is replacing the damaged wood under a rug (Idon't know what's in between the rug and wood) but first and foremost isfixing the leaking drain pipe. See the photos below.The leaking drain pipe comes from the washing machine in the garage.It leaks only when water goes into the kitchen sink or out of the washer.They "T" together ten feet from the leak and then travel on another fiftyto the bathrooms. The kitchen and washer are the high point ends of theline (the bathrooms fifty feet away are the low point). I suspect a long time clog backed up and rusted out the steel nipple.But she says there was no long time clog (but the mold says otherwise).(She doesn't know I see the mold in the crawlspace.)I'm going to snake it out first but I need to borrow 50 to 75 feet.I've done basic plumbing but never have I worked with drainage lines.They're really fat. Maybe 3 inches? Maybe 2-1/2? Galvanized I guess.Steel maybe. The nipples didn't seem to be galvanized.My first question is do I stand a chance of twisting them off?I can cut them with a sawzall but I still have to twist them off.I think (but I'm not 100% sure) it rusted out at the threaded nipple.Can I replace these big fat steel pipes with the black plastic (is that ABSor PVC?) drain pipes? Or is steel better? House was built in the 60s Ithink. I just want to know my options as I tend to try to remove rather than patch.The problem is I don't have space to turn anything but a straight pipe.Do these fat drain pipes get the regular teflon pipe tape? Or the goop?Have you any other ideas? Ron, the humblest guy in town.

May 18, 2022 Last reply: 4 years ago 20 Replies

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trader_4 4 years ago

No idea what that means. It's not attacked to what roof vent? Normally they just go through the roof and don't attack to anything.

If it's just a vent pipe, not carrying water, and looks OK, just leave it there and Fernco to it. It's unlikely to be significantly deteriorated like the active waste lines.

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