Leaky Washing Machine: Maybe its Your Drain Pipe.

Learn why a leaky washing machine may actually be a problem with your drain pipe. Find out how to test your drain pipe with a garden hose.

LESLIE: Shannon in Illinois listens on Discovery Radio Network. What can we do for you?

Shannon: Hi. I was calling because I have a weird leak in our washing machine. We have had a repairman out (dog barks) quite a few times to look at it and they’ve never found anything wrong with it. But every time we run the wash cycle and the rinse cycle, it leaks out the bottom. I cannot figure out for the life of me what in the world is wrong. So we went out and bought a new one. Now the new one leaks (chuckling). And it’s brand new so we had the repairman come out and we’re having the exact same problem.

So what should we do next?

TOM: Maybe it’s not the washer. Maybe it’s the drain. Have you checked the house drain without the washing machine being hooked up?

Shannon: No, I wouldn’t even begin to know what to do there.

TOM: Well, there’s a drain hose that comes out of the washer. And that gets installed into the drain for the house, correct?

Shannon: Yes.

TOM: OK. So what I want you to do is to pull the washer out, unplug it and pull the drain hose out from wherever it sticks in the wall. Do you have like a cup area, a dug-in area of the wall where the drain is?

Shannon: Yeah.

TOM: So pull that out. Then what I want you to do is go get a garden hose and stick it down in the same pipe and then run it and see if any water comes out to the bottom of the wall across the floor. Because I bet you that the problem isn’t with the washing machine. The problem’s with your drain pipe. You had it – the same thing happened with two separate machines. It’s not likely to be the washer. It’s more likely to be your plumbing system.

Shannon: I never though of that.

TOM: And if you – and if it turns out that it is, then just cut open the wall right in that area and figure out where the pipe’s leaking.

How old is this house?

Shannon: About thirty-five years.

TOM: Ah, you know, you could have a steel pipe in there that’s rusted away and that might be what’s causing it and that’s why it leaks every time you do the wash. Because that pipe’s only going to be active when the washing machine is draining.

Shannon: Oh, OK. That makes a lot of sense. I appreciate it.

TOM: Alright, Shannon. Good luck with it. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.