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How to drain laundry hose in the bathroom?

My place was built without a practical outlet to drain the waste water from the washing machine so I've been putting it in the shower pan. What would be a better solution? Is there some way I can integrate a stand pipe into this setup, or at least have a more fixed and practical place for the hose to sit in the pan? I asked chat GTP and the results were ummm, interesting...

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EricL

Hi @threemonkeys

For a moment there, I thought the first picture was some sort of mechanical octopus that they wanted to integrate into your plumbing.

Eric

Jason

Hi @threemonkeys,

I expect you'll get better expert advice from the Bunnings Workshop community! Let me tag some members to assist with your question: @JacobZ, @LePallet and @Santullo.

Jason

JacobZ

Hi @threemonkeys,

Thank you for your question.

That's certainly an interesting concept that ChatGPT has come up with.

Is this a rental or do you own the home?

If you were the owner, I would seriously consider having a plumber come in and install a proper outlet for your wastewater hose to connect to.

If it is a rental, I would be speaking with your property manager or landlord about having something installed, because this is certainly not ideal.

If there are no other options, the only way I can see to improve the current set-up is to attach the end of the hose to the side of the shower base so it is not in a location where it can be tripped over. You could use something like this Naleon 3kg White Super Suction Hook to hold it in place against the glass.

Also, allow me to tag @TedBear, @JoeAzza and @Noyade to see if they have any ideas.

Let me know what you think.

Jacob

threemonkeys

Hi JacobZ. It's an entry level studio and I'm looking at selling soon so I don't want to over capitalize. It doesn't have the plumbing options found in larger properties and the plumbers who've been out said there is nowhere to run a waste pipe, it can only really be addressed superficially or during the course of a complete bathroom tear out which isn't practical.

I want to put in some kind of superficial down pipe to drain into the shower so it's fixed and I don't have to remove the hose when I shower, I think it's the best that can be hoped for given the circumstances.

Apparently one of the other units has a square pvc section down the wall instead of a stand pipe but I don't know where it goes to at the bottom or even if it works properly. I'm assuming it goes around the bottom of the shower frame into the pan but I don't know how that volume of water would drain fast enough if it had to go too far and around corners. I'm concerned if I attach anything to the glass or try to drill through it it would shatter the screen, I could raise the screen, put the pipe and a fill section underneath but that screen is in there pretty good. I'm a little wary of attaching anything even to the aluminium frame because of the glass, the drain hoses jump around a bit.

EricL

Hello @threemonkeys

If you recall in one of your posts in regards to removing the drainpipe near the basin. We addressed this very topic about finding a drain for your washing machine. Re: How to seal off old washing machine ... | Bunnings Workshop community. Have you decided not to remove or refurbish your shower? It would have been the ideal opportunity to add an extra drainpipe for your washing machine while the shower was disassembled.

All the items you've listed in regards to the shower enclosure is correct. You can't cut through the glass and mounting anything to the aluminium frame is risky as it is right next to the glass as well. Adding a pipe inside on top of the shower itself is not ideal as it becomes a tripping hazard. I suggest drilling a new hole in your wall and installing a new drainpipe and linking it to either your basin waste or shower drain outside.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

TedBear

Hi @threemonkeys , is there not a sink in the bathroom for washing hands, etc? If so, would it be possible to run the hose to that outlet? That's how it's normally done. They usually have a connection point in the outlet pipe for such a purpose.

I just saw your previous post with more pics of the situation... I now suggest that you get a square section (perhaps aluminium) that will accommodate the washing machine outlet hose and attach it along the floor across the front of the shower enclosure to make the hose look better, hidden within something presentable looking. Then you can attach it to the sink outlet, with a bit of modification to the pipe.

threemonkeys

The sink is on the wrong side of the room as well. It's a really weird layout. It would also mean I would need to replace the waste for the sink because it's original and doesn't have the fittings. I'll draw a diagram and post that in a sec.

threemonkeys

Here's a diagram of the layout, might make it clearer why I'm having so much trouble with where to locate the drain.

Thanks for linking the old post, I couldn't find it to recall where I left off. I didn't end up replacing the shower pan or doing further modifications to the bathroom. Comparing notes with the real estate seems the cost outweighs the benefit on a lot of things I was considering and they're happy with it as it is. It's just not the type of property where people generally invest the detail I've brought to it so far, it's too easy to over capitalise and I don't think people have high expectations for studios, apparently I'm posh just for putting in aircon 😂

The tiles and flooring are in good shape, replacing the pan would disrupt that so they want me to leave the shower alone (that was a reservation I had as well), they said comparatively even the shower pan wasn't that bad. The only thing they said I could do to improve it for the market would be to tidy up/paint the kitchen cabinets and maybe update a light fitting or two. There's a lot of little things I could do here and there that would cost a few hundred dollars each but that can turn into a bottomless pit of never ending tasks pretty quickly and it adds up. For now I'm just doing the things that bother me the most living here, like the laundry drain. I figure if it bothers me it's going to bother the next person who lives here as well.

I've had a few shifts in perspectives since the last time I was on. I had interior design 3D modelling done, knowing what to focus on and what to buy saved me headaches and a bit of money as will not having to have the property staged. I've been house hunting and seeing what else is on the market has been a real eye opener too. This was an entry level property for me, the properties I've been looking at are three times the price and I was shocked to see how some of them are compared to what I'm living with currently. They're bigger but that's about it. I had to go up an extra couple of hundred thousand to find a place that has as nice a feel as what I've ended up with so far.

EricL

Hello @threemonkeys

Have you thought about sacrificing the old basin fittings and getting a new PVC trap that has a washing machine exit on it? The waste hose will need to travel in front of the shower, but it is better than having the wastewater dirty up your shower tray. Plus, you'll never have to move it again as that spot will be its permanent position.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

threemonkeys

I had been considering it. The drain is pretty worn, the trap is a painted old cast iron one past its best too. I believe I would need an additional attachment to change it to PVC? From what I've looked up so far they aren't compatible with the metal pipe it attaches to and need to be modified. There's no way I would be able to get that out myself without risking damaging the pipe, it's pretty thoroughly rusted in.

I haven't been able to visualise how I'd run a pipe across to the sink without it making the shower entrance unnecessarily bulky (and potentially a trip hazard, I already stub my toes on the shower frame). A couple of plumbers I've spoken to about it can't picture it either, which is a bit of a problem if they're the ones that are going to be installing it.

Ideally I'd want a fixed pipe to hook up the hose next to the washer, I'm trying to get away from anything that looks makeshift. I wish I knew what was underneath that shower pan, one side of it's got a hollow when I tap on it but I don't know how far through that goes, if it goes to the other side near the sink I could potentially run it underneath the pan assuming the waterproofing isn't compromised. I would have thought it would have been easier to have just gone straight into the shower drain pipe if I was going to go underneath the pan, the original outlet attached to the downpipe for the shower waste so I'd say (excluding the shower drain getting jammed up with hair) it's built to accommodate it.

Something else I considered with running a pipe or hose across was the water would go down and then have to go up again. It would leave water pooled in the hose or pipe and considering my washer is a small one to fit in the space I don't know how the pump would handle sending the water the extra distance.

As far as solutions go I was happy enough for it to drain into the shower pan, I just didn't want the hose sitting in the pan interfering with the use of the shower, I don't shower and wash at the same time but moving the hose in and out is a pest and I'm sure one day I'm going to forget to put that hose in and end up flooding the place.

I'm thinking I'll probably leave it for now but if I come across a shower screen that will fit that section but is the little bit shorter I might see if I can swap it out, put a filler section on the bottom and run the pipe through that into the shower pan.

EricL

Hi @threemonkeys

I'm afraid the only other option that comes to mind is to move the shower tray temporarily out of place and cut into the concrete in order to add a proper drain for the washing machine through the shower waste. Once that's in place you can put the shower back into position.

Eric

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