Why am I doubling the construction time by removing the washer concrete slab?  There are several good reasons: 1.) I need to repair the common wall between the Laundromat and our neighbor, 2.) I want to move the Big washers to the front of the Laundromat and make it more convenient for our Best customers, and 3.) I want to replace the existing drain line with a new Drainage Basin system.

In a traditional Laundromat Drainage System, all of the washer drains would be connected together into one main drain line and we created a "connected In-Direct" drain line. In the connected In-Direct drain line (see 1st photo in sidebar) all of the washers are connected together and at the end of the drain line before it connected to the sewer, we would protect the drain line with a vent & a trap. The trap is designed to prevent sewer gases from entering the washers and the vent  is to protect the trap.

In the last 20 years Laundromats have been discovering a better way to drain the washing machines; by using a Drainage Basin. The Drain Basin is nothing more than a small bathtub with a drain at the bottom which allows washer waste water to enter the basin before it goes down the drain. So what is the big deal about the Drainage Basins?

The Drainage Basin has many benefits to the Laundromat owner & operator. Some of the advantages are:

1. The Drainage Basin has a Lint filter to pre-filter lint before it enters your main drain line. Any time we can remove lint from our waste water it is a good thing and the filter helps reduce the maintenance of the sanitary or main drain line.
2. The Drain Basin is a reservoir and will hold the washer water and allow the main waste line to drain the water when it is able. Sometimes there is a partial blockage or maybe too much water dumping into the main drain line from other washer islands for the main drain line to handle all of the water at once.  The Drainage Basin will allow the washer to dump the water in the "reservoir" and then continue on their merry way.
3. The Drainage Basin is a suds-zone where extra soap suds can bubble away and not interfere with the flow of water through the pipes.
4. The Drainage Basin drains washer leaks.  The Drainage Basin when used with concrete washer slabs can also take any leaks from the washers and direct the water down the drain, rather than on the floor.
5. The Drainage Basin will reduce the maintenance caused by bra wires and clogs in the washer drain lines. Because the washers are draining into a basin rather than connecting to a pipe nipple there is not the front edge of the nipple that can catch more junk that is coming out of your washers drains.  Drainage Basins reduce drain line clogs. 

For Drainage Basins to work properly, the Drainage Basin needs to be properly sized and installed correctly. The Drainage Basin needs to be able to hold 100% of the maximum amount of water from all of the washers. Imagine if all of your washers were operating at the same time and if all of the washers were at a high water level and then there was a power outage. All of the washers would drain at once.  The Drain Basin needs to be designed to hold the entire expected discharge of water.

In addition, the Drainage Basin needs to be pitched towards the main drain line. Typically an 1/8" pitch is required for the basin to drain the water. This means for every 8' of basin that there needs to be 1" of vertical pitch to the basin. 16' = 2" etc...  We do Not want standing water in the Drainage Basin.

Lastly, the Drainage Basin needs a cover to reduce the amount of humidity behind the washers and to control the over sudzing of soap.

The Drainage Basins are one of the many improvements that quality distributors are suggesting for their customers. The drainage basin will make your plumbing inspector happy and will reduce the number of problems associated with your Laundromat drain lines.

More of the renovation process as it happens...