How to connect a washing machine properly

Have you any misconnections? What is a misconnection?

A misconnection is when a pipe carrying waste water from a house is connected to a surface water drainage system instead of the main sewage system, or conversley, to the main sewerage system when it should be connected to the surface water drainage system. (sounds confusing? Please read on)

There are normally two different types of drains connected to a house -

1. The main (foul water) drain, which leads to the water treatment and sewage works
2. The surface water drains, which are designed to carry only uncontaminated rainwater from the guttering on our houses and garages to local rivers

1: Everything inside the home that needs pumping out of the house should be connected to this system. The sink, washing machine, dishwasher, toilet and bath should all drain into the main pipe that goes to the sewage treatment plant where chemicals and contaminants are removed.

2: This water goes directly to a local river, stream or soak away. Water from any source other than rain will pollute and contaminate our rivers.

See helpful diagrams - plumbing misconnections | plumbing misconnections 2

You may not have heard of misconnections, but you need to check if you are inadvertently part of the problem because ..

Someone else may have connected some part of your waste water plumbing from the washing machine, dishwasher, toilet, bath or sink incorrectly in the past. Many homeowners do not realise that they, themselves, may be contributing daily to the pollution of rivers and streams in their own area.

Regardless of who did it, whether it was accidental or through negligence, the householder is responsible for putting it right. Leaving the misconnection can contribute to serious environmental damage of our rivers and streams.

Water companies are taking this issue seriously. Wrong connections are not only harmful to the environment but they are illegal. In most cases it will be a simple matter to reconnect to your dirty water drain. Get the advice and services of a good qualified plumber.