Washing machine in garage, drainage to soil?

I’m in the process of moving my washing machine out to the garage. Water supply is all done, now idly thinking about drainage. I’ve read a few American websites about draining grey water into your garden to irrigate the soil. Is this legal/a good idea? Failing that I have a rodding eye outside the garage but at the opposite end to the washer. Can the drain pump inside the machine pump the water high enough to run a waste pipe just above the roof joists and along/down to the external drain?

Can the drain pump inside the machine pump the water high enough to run a waste pipe just above the roof joists and along/down to the external drain?

This sounds unlikely, the manual for your machine will tell you the max/min the pipe has to be. It’s normally about worktop height or a bit above I think.

I’d check regs re connecting to an existing drain – they’re quite strict now.

Don’t think pump will do what you want, either, they really only have enough power to get the water up to the top of the washing machine. Also, when it stopped running any water in the ‘high up’ pipe would run back in wouldn’t it?

I’d be concerned about water with the amount of soap that a washing machine uses going on the garden without some sort of treatment/filtering/settling process plus there may be legal issues with effectively discharging waste water into a garden.

I don’t think you can run it to your soil as it’ll have detergent in so it would be classed as wastewater and needs to go into the sewer. You can get a Sanivite (basically a Saniflo without the toilet connection) which will pump it up and across but that’ll be a few hundred quid at least.

I’ve read a few American websites about draining grey water into your garden to irrigate the soil. Is this legal/a good idea?

Surely washing machine water isn’t “grey water”? It’ll be full of all kinds of lovely detergents that probably wouldn’t do your garden any good.

I did think it sounded like a bad idea having detergent getting dumped under the soil, just thought I’d ask! Maybe I’ll drain it into next door’s garden… 😉

There are actually 2 rodding points, will one be for waste and the other rainwater? What regs should I be checking? Forgive my ignorance I’m a sparky and therefore dislike water 🙂

All except rainwater goes to foul.

I would do whatever was convenient and not tell anyone about it. Soapy suds into the garden doesn’t sound great for your plants so I’d try to get the water running into an existing drain or soakaway.

It depends on your drainage system. If it all runs to a combined sewer you’ll be fine, even most of the new estates that have separate drainage systems eventually run into a combined sewer.
Some have completely seperate systems and if you put it down there, they will eventually will find you. Happened to my BIL, took about 2 years, didn’t get into trouble just had to rectify it.

Not allowed to discharge it into ground. Looked into it myself a couple of years back. Not only detergents but also potentially biological matter from clothing.

also potentially biological matter from clothing.

Ah, you have teenage son in the house too?

Not great to just shove it into a soakaway. Given that you’ve already put the washer out there, I guess it will just have to go into the nearest drain.

The nearest correct drain. Mis connected washing machines are a menace for local watercourses.

Ah, you have teenage son in the house too?

😆

I was actually thinking things like babies clothing and our farm and vet clothing but yeah you don’t want any of ‘that’ feeding your daffodils.

You can treat the water from a washing machine to discharge but only really worth the effort for eco reasons – which is a good reason. But possibly more efficient to let the sewage works process it for you?

even most of the new estates that have separate drainage systems eventually run into a combined sewer.

MOST? I would think not. Some yes.

To foul sewer only please, certainly not down the nearest drain that might be surface water.

I installed one in the garage and realised a few days later when unblocking an adjacent drain that it led to a soakaway.

I can confirm the pump is ineffective pumping uphill, however I discovered that the outlet is a good push fit onto garden hose (hozelock non-kink green anyway) and it now runs about 10 metres gently downhill and into a foul drain at the front of the house.

Make sure it is well insulated and/or drained down in winter. Otherwise you’ll have expensive repair bills when it freezes….

Interestingly, it’s advised that you should wash a car on grass or gravel due to the filtration effects of the surface with detergents, rather than let it run off on a driveway into the storm drain. I think some countries have laws about it, i.e. no washing on driveway? Australia I thought.

Third post in and building regs gets a mention 😀

Thanks for the input chaps, I won’t be dumping it anywhere it’s not supposed to go, fear not! The garden hose draining into the foul drain seems like the best plan but ‘Er indoors mentioned wanting a sink at some point so I might have to dig it up and fit 1 1/2 plastic waste pipe anyway. Grr!

May as well just get it done now before the weather turns to nice to be doing DIY.

Living in the middle of nowhere and not on main drains, I know it’s common practice around here for only stuff from the loo to go into the cesspit as all else seems to hinder the normal breakdown by bacteria plus too much volume of (extra grey) water we all seem to generate these days tends to make them overflow and smell (exacerbated by reduced breakdown etc). Most folks have waste water off their roof and from showers/washing machines etc going separately into big deep soakaways. Not an expert and not sure if this is the the right thing but seems like a common solution if you are not on main drains and don’t have the means to get your own massive tank and getting it pumped out often.

I wonder what they do with the grey water from the Cafe, at the top of Snowdon… 😕

Anyhow, I had a simmillar dilemma many years ago, in my first house. I wanted the washing machine in the garage, but no drainage in place. But, we did have a downstairs loo behind the garage, with a high-level cistern. So, I ran the waste into a std waste pipe, & ran this into the loo. Then T’ed this into the pipe from the cistern to the pan, with a swept T.
It made cold morning sessions on the throne very pleasurable, if the washing machine was on & it pumped out.

It depends largely where you live.

If you are on mains then it is going to have to go to the mains sewer. The best way to do this would be either a small sump or a surface level chamber with a single small automatic vortex pump to push it where it needs to go.

If you are out in the Styx then you have either the option of doing similar or approaching the environment agency and see if they would entertain the idea of dropping it into a trench arch system or similar. Although by the time you have done that you are probably as cheap/cheaper just sticking in the pump and sump solution 😉

My advise would be to get a decent pump though – the cheap plastic fantastics have pretty limited life spans 😉

I wonder what they do with the grey water from the Cafe, at the top of Snowdon…

I believe the railway transports fresh water up and sewage down.

Which is more than you can say for many of the high alpine huts.