URGENT Hi everyone. I am having a new kitchen designed and want to move the washing machine across one space from where it is now. I need some advice.

[Songbird]

Hi. I am having a new kitchen designed and installed and need some advice about whether what I wish to do would work well enough.

Currently my freestanding washing machine is in the corner of my kitchen, next to an outside wall. The plumbing and standpipe are right next to it, so it all works very well. See photo for where the machine is currently located. (The wall to the right of the standpipe is outside wall. The wall behind the standpipe is an internal wall). However in that location I now wish to have a tall wall unit to house an integrated oven and microwave. To accommodate this, I would have to move the washing machine one space to the left, where it would no longer be next to the standpipe, water connections, or an external wall. However, it wouldn't be very far, as its only moving one slot to the left (60 cm, as that is how wide the tower unit is). Also I would want the machine to be an integrated one, not freestanding.

My question is would it be ok to keep the plumbing where it is and have the washing machine drain hose running from the back of the washing machine, down then under the tower unit and back up to the standpipe? I know it's certainly possible to do, but am concerned about the possibility of having stagnant water in the drain hose sitting under the units, which can lead to foul smells. Due the gradients involved i.e. drain hose going down, then under across the bottom of the tower cabinet and then up the side of it to reach the stand pipe, I guess the machine pump has to work harder to get the water fully expelled through the drain hose and into the standpipe.

Am I being overly concerned? Are washing machines able to effectively pump out all the water into the standpipe, when the machine is only moving a few feet away from the stand pipe, without leaving some residual water in the hose where it will sit on the floor?

I was wondering if it would be possible to have a standpipe behind the new proposed location of the machine but I'm guessing it's not as it won't be then next to an outside wall.

Any advice from professional plumbers would be very much appreciated.

 

[gpbeck]

Design of typical tower unit would probably allow you to run 35mm waste horizontally (slight fall) behind it from old drain outlet in floor to a new stand pipe 600mm to the left. Or if adjacent to a sink unit can connect under there without a stand pipe at all.

 

[Ric2013]

If you're only moving the machine one slot to the left, I suspect you are indeed being overly concerned. If you are planning to use an extended drain hose then it would be worth checking if the manufacturer approves this idea and has a maximum permissible length.

Since washing machines have the drain pump at the bottom, they necessarily pump up to the standpipe - they are designed to work in this way as pumps generally LIKE to push against a resistance - and smell is hardly ever an issue as most machines have a kind of valve above the pump that means the stagnant water cannot come back into/evaporate via the machine itself (and it's generally fairly clean rinse water anyway).

 

[Ben-gee]

You will not have room behind an integrated machine to have a standpipe anyway, often there is not even room to have a plug and socket.
Just use the existing standpipe.

You say you’re having the kitchen designed and installed - it’s not really your problem , they will sort it out.