Washing Machine Flooded, tradesman error - HELP / ADVICE

[meerlaan]

Hi All,

 

So not really sure where to put this one, (hope general boating applys) I am still new to the forum and have been reading so much and learning lots from the forum. So thanks to everyone for the knowledge, experience and kindness to share this.

 

I have been having some issues with the plumbing on my new boat, so I had a plumber come along to fix a few leaks (he came recommended by a boatyard) I wanted to get a washer dryer fitted as he would be doing some work. I got a Miele 2670 washer dryer and he installed the waste to the same outlet as the sink waste, which was how it was before. He said he would cut another hole in the boat to make them both have a separate waste but not until his next visit he had to wait for some parts.

 

I have only been on my boat at the weekends so on firday I turned the water on and had been using things as normal, come sunday eve I noticed a puddle around the washing machine not another leak! I started mopping it up and then checked the filter on the washer (at the bottom of the machine) I emptied 10 buckets of water before getting pissed of doing this. I then opened the washing machine door, admitedly a stupid move. Of course it was FULL of water !! I slammed the door shut straight away, my next idea was to run a spin wash on the machine, this then started to drain the water. But also almost overflowed the sink, as the water was pushed out of the machine it came up the plug hole. I ran another spin wash but the machine kept leaking for a few hours after as there was water all inside the machine. I tiped it on an angle and left a towel to try and drain the machine itself.

 

As you can imagine a stressful and anoying thing to have to do on a sunday evening. Now I an annoyed and frustrated and am not sure what to do, the plumber has to come back to finish some work. He never said I couldnt use the sink !! in fact he tested the sink to make sure it was working ok, I am under the impression the waste water has gone into the washing machine. Can anyone shed any light on what might have happened? or give some adive on what I should do next, I have emailed miele to see if I could have done any damage to my new(to me) washer dryer.

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Look forward to your replied.

 

Martin

[Tony Brooks]

Yes, if the joint where the washing machine and sink outlet was below the level of eh sink and the washing machine outlet did not have swan neck on it to above the full sink height I would expect some sink water to drain into the washing machine.This is made worse by the fact that boats tend not to have much (if any) fall on their sink wastes so, unlike in the domestic setting, there is no water in a vertical waste pipe to create a "suction" to draw water from the sink.

 

Personally I would use flexible hose to form a swan neck right up tight under the work surface and hopefully that will solve the problem until you can get the separate outlet fitted.

[Guest]

Yes sounds like sink drain has taken path of least resistance and emptied into the washer. In my experience a washer on a boat definitely needs a dedicated drain.

As Tony suggests you can put a swan neck in the washer hose as a temporary work around.

[mickp]

Run a wire through the skin fitting it maybe partly blocked so water from sink and washer might be backing up.as others have said seperater waste asap

[meerlaan]

Thanks for all your responses, much apreciated !

[Rickent]

Run a wire through the skin fitting it maybe partly blocked so water from sink and washer might be backing up.as others have said seperater waste asap

 

 

 

 

I had exactly this problem when i fitted my washing machine . Once i cleared out the crud in the skin fitting , all was well and i no longer had a sink full of washing machine water.

[nicknorman]

Our washing machine and sink share the same skin fitting with no problem, however the WM drain hose needs to have a high point to prevent the sink draining into the WM. So the OP's problem might be addressed simply by clipping the drain hose to the bottom of the worktop around the sink area.

[ditchy]

What hole cutters a good enough for the odd hole or two in the hull. My families washing machine outlet is connected to the other drain on the bit between the sink and the drainernot the overflow). So I might offer to change this for them. No swan neck either but a stinky smell sometimea when the washer is on

[ditchcrawler]

What hole cutters a good enough for the odd hole or two in the hull. My families washing machine outlet is connected to the other drain on the bit between the sink and the drainernot the overflow). So I might offer to change this for them. No swan neck either but a stinky smell sometimea when the washer is on

Something like this from Screwfix if you only want to do a couple of holes but use a good lubricant http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-bi-metal-holesaw-29mm/87545

[Guest]

What hole cutters a good enough for the odd hole or two in the hull. My families washing machine outlet is connected to the other drain on the bit between the sink and the drainernot the overflow). So I might offer to change this for them. No swan neck either but a stinky smell sometimea when the washer is on

I have used Starrett hole cutters (the yellow ones) for 99% of my working life. Like all hole cutters they need some cutting lube and a slow drill. I find them to be very good and good value.