How To Unclog Laundry Drains
Most laundry rooms are designed with a drain on the floor that allows a waste water flow from the washer machine to drain out. If not flushed out the drain will become backed up and clogged by lint and other debris. When this happens it will overflow and cause a big mess.
You can call a plumber who can come to your home and unclog it for you. However, it would save you a great deal of money if you learned how to do it yourself.
Visit your local hardware store or tool rental store to buy or rent an electric power auger. Make sure that it comes with a large and long cable so that it is able to suck up whatever might be down there. Most plumbers will use something that is fifty feet in length. Place the auger next to the drain and plug it in. You need to set the motor to spin clockwise.
Have someone help you move the washer machine so that it is not in your way. Remove the drain strainer cover. Now use a wrench to remove the clean out plug located on the other side of the drain. Not all drains have this. If yours does not than you will need to run the auger through the drain trap instead of the pipe.
Push a few feet of the cable inside of the drain and turn it on. Push the cable slowly through the pipe until it cannot move any further. After a few minutes turn it off and switch the motor rotation to counter clockwise.
Turn the machine back on and pull the cable out a couple of feet. Stop and than turn the machine off again and switch it back to the clockwise rotation. Turn it on again and push the cable down again. Keep doing this until the clog is broken.
Turn the machine off and pull the cable out. Flush the drain out with hot water. This will tell you if the clog is gone.
Turn the auger off and draw the cable back up. Flush the drain with hot water a few times to ensure that the clog is gone. Put the drain plug and cover back on and move the washer machine back.