LESLIE: Now we’re going to help Dennis in South Carolina who’s got a washing machine that seems to be acting up. What’s going on?
DENNIS: Well, when it gets to the wash cycle, it discharges and it fills up and overflows out of the standing pipe.
TOM: OK.
DENNIS: And I’ve snaked it but it still overflows.
TOM: And you’re sure it’s out of the stand pipe itself; it’s not out of the washing machine? In other words, the water is definitely getting to the drain on the washing machine and then it’s going down the standpipe.
DENNIS: It’s going down the standpipe, yes.
TOM: Well, there’s one thing and one thing only that’s got to be causing this. There’s got to be an obstruction in there, Dennis. You’re just not catching it with the snake.
DENNIS: OK.
TOM: That’s the only thing that could be happening. Have you – where have you snaked it? Have you snaked it right from there?
DENNIS: Right from there and I actually had a plumber come and snake it from the roof as well; from the …
LESLIE: Hmm.
TOM: Yeah, somewhere you guys are missing this. One of the things that you might want to think about doing is a lot of the drain cleaning companies have cameras that they can run down the pipe these days.
DENNIS: OK.
TOM: And you can actually watch the camera go through the pipe system on a video screen.
LESLIE: You can see exactly what’s going on.
TOM: And see exactly what’s going on and where the clog is.
DENNIS: Okey-dokey.
TOM: Yeah, that’s what’s going on. I just wanted to make sure it’s not clogged up in the washer itself. I’ve actually had socks go into the drain lines on washing machines by accident (Leslie chuckles) and that just causes the whole thing to overflow.
LESLIE: So that’s the mystery sock-eating monster.
TOM: Yeah, the mystery sock will turn up in the oddest place. But if it’s getting down the standpipe but it’s backing up from there, then it’s got to be the pipe.
DENNIS: Alright, thank you.
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