Why is the water from my washer bubbling up out of the kitchen sink?

Question

The other morning I noticed a large puddle of water coming out from under my washer. This puddle appeared after I heard a gurgling sound. Last night I was in the kitchen washing the dishes and was running the washer at the same time, when the wash cycle turned over to the rinse cycle and the water was draining from my washer, it began to bubble up out of my kitchen sink! And it was dirty water too...it looked like stuff was floating in it, like the pipes are dirty inside. Why did this happen? It happened again this morning, that when the wash cycle turns over into the rinse, and the rinse cycle turns over into spin cycle, the water bubbles up out of the kitchen sink. The laundry room is inside the bathroom, which is right next to the kitchen. I imagine all of the pipes are connected somehow. My husband thinks the drain leading from the washer is clogged and told me to pour Draino into it. I do not think that is the answer. Thanks for your help!

Good point about the cold weather. I live in the northeast, and we have had several consecutive days where the temperatures have been in the teens and twenties during the day, then in the single digits at night. Maybe that has something to do with it?

Answer 1

You definitely have a partial stoppage downstream. Look outside below the kitchen sink. You should have a clean out (a pipe protruding from the wall with a remove-able cap). This is where you would use a "snake" to get to the obstruction. You can purchase one for about $15 at your local hardware store. The problem with using acids and chemicals, is what they do to your pipes. Sometimes the stoppage is so bad, that no matter how much acid you pour down the drain, nothing happens. Now you or a plumber have to deal with this concentrated acid, while you are trying the more conventional method with a snake. Since you say the water is coming up in the kitchen sink, the stoppage is a grease clog. No matter how good you wipe off your dishes, prior to washing, grease still gets into the drain pipes. Most people think that hot water is best, but that just moves the grease down a few feet, before the water, and the grease cools, and the grease attaches to the inner wall of the pipe. Only physically removing the grease will open the drain. As far as the puddle under your washer, you might have a leak , and you will need an appliance repair man. I hope this helps!

Answer 2

It sounds like you have the washer plumbed into the waste outlet pipe of the kitchen sink, which is fine if the pipes are clean and unblocked, however if the pipes become clogged up which they do over time and that is what the black stuff is then if the water can't go down the drain then it has to come out some where else, the sink.

Best solution is to simply clean the sinks pipes, a chemical cleaner or otherwise undo the sink u-bend and clean that way - make sure you put a bowl under the u-bend when unscrewing otherwise you will get a mess. It may smell a bit to.

Answer 3

There is a clog or restriction further down the line. Pour some Draino in the sink or washer drain, whichever is further down the line. If that doesn't work you can run a snake from the cleanout point in the drain outside the house. You may also be able to run the snake from under the kitchen sink towards the drain. A plumber will charge about $75.

Answer 4

Washer Sink

Answer 5

It sounds like there is some sort of clog after the washer and sink drains converge. I suggest pouring liquid drain cleaner down the sink. You may not want to pour it down the washer drain because the pipes connecting the washer to the main drain may not be able to handle it since it usually just drains detergent and water and no solids. Besides it sounds like the problem is after the 2 converge so it wouldn't matter which one you pour it down.
Did it not do this before? I only ask because maybe the draining washer and water from the sink is reaching the limits of the capacity of the main drain line (was the washer added after the unit was constructed? maybe no one planned on so much water being drained down the line)

Answer 6

You have a slow drain and it probably needs cleaning out. First I'd try some kind of foaming pipe cleaner and if that don't work then you'll need to have the line snaked out. If that don't work and you have a septic tank then you may have to have it pumped. If you have a septic tank and not sewer and the septic fill lines are 25 years or older then they may have to be replaced. I hope all you need is to foam out the pipe near the washing machine.

Answer 7

you have some kind of sewage blockage. If you live up north the main drain could frozen and broke. Or if you live in the country you might have a blocked septic tank. This is something you will need to get a professional to help with. It can be very dangerous to have sewage backing up. It can lead to many diseases.

Answer 8

This happened to me last week.

There is a chemical you can buy to pour down the drain, if that doesn't work you'll have to get it snaked.


Call a plumber

Answer 9

the pipes run together
the pipe they run into has a clog causing water to sit in the two pipes when one pipe fill the other will fill to.
you should fix the clog because you also have sink water runnig into your washer

Answer 10

Plumbing is blocked somewhere donw line causing it to back up