The basement floor drain is highly essential in every home. However, despite its importance, it is somewhat useless if it does not have proper venting.
Every draining system needs adequate venting and a proper drainage system will not function optimally without it.
The basement floor drain needs a vent for proper air inflow to ease the pressure in the plumbing fixes in the house. The vent will enable the whole system to keep flowing properly. However, a basement floor drain does not need a vent when it is not more than 15 feet from another vented line.
Read on to know how venting helps basement floor drain and why they are necessary.
Does My Basement Floor Drain Need a Vent?
Venting your basement floor drain can significantly enhance its performance.
Nevertheless, whether or not you can vent your basement drain depends on several factors, including your state’s plumbing codes and laws.
For instance, the NYC Plumbing Codes for 2014 state no need for venting basement floor drains located 15 feet or less from its connected vent line.
Since the floor drain is connected to the entire house, including the shower drain, it needs a trap.
The drain piping needs to be vented properly for the trap to work efficiently.
Nevertheless, if you hardly use the drain (maybe for only emergency cases), you might not need to connect it to your entire plumbing system. All you have to do is connect a straight pipe into a basement sump pump.
Also Read: Where Should My Sump Pump Drain To?
Can I Run My Basement Floor Drain without Venting?
You can run your basement floor drain without venting but for a limited distance.
The recommended distance for running your floor drain without venting depends on the maximum and minimum value in the pipe diameters.
It is worth noting that different pipes have different diameter values, and you should consider that when running your floor drain.
It is recommended that you do not add a vent for pipes with a diameter of four inches or less.
If a pipe is two inches wide in diameter, it should have a distance of five feet from the vent.
Generally, pipes with three inches diameter require a distance of six inches from the vent.
Importance of Good Floor Drain Venting
Vents are like the windows of drainage systems. The right vent would allow adequate airflow into the drain to avoid the chances of a vacuum.
The wastes flowing in with the water are broken down in bits, thanks to the oxygen in the air. Furthermore, it helps to stop sewer gases from entering and polluting the air in your home.
Vents are very important to every plumbing system.
Chances are you might have seen an “S” or “U” bend below your sink. Those bends are very important to the plumbing system.
Whenever water passes through a fixture, the bend holds back some volume of water.
The water held back in the bend serves as a trap, preventing water waste odors from entering the kitchen or bathroom sink.
Hence, it is important for every drain system to have a trap – it is also part of the New York City Plumbing Code.
If a trap is missing in your drain system, sewer odor will find its way into your home, whether there is a vent or not.
However, a vent is also as important as the trap. Without venting, you might experience a siphon effect whenever you drain water from a fixture.
Interestingly, a vent helps to regulate air pressure, which helps to prevent this siphoning effect from happening.
Reasons to Pay Close Attention to Your Floor Drain
There is more to plumbing than drains and pipes. You have to pay close attention to every detail of your floor drain to avoid certain situations.
Here are some of the reasons why you should pay attention to your basement floor drain:
1. To Sanitize Your Basement
The basement is one of the most important parts of the home, and keeping it clean and sanitized should be one of your top priorities.
The basement floor drain is a sanitary fixture; it functions as a shower, sink, or toilet.
Like the shower, sink, and toilet, the basement floor drain also has a trap. The trap holds water to keep away bad smells from the basement.
Hence, if you want the basement floor drain to serve its purpose very well, you need to ensure its trap and vent are in good condition.
Changing the trap regularly would also improve the drain system. With an adequate vent, the drain would keep odors away from your basement, ensuring it is well-sanitized, clean, and odorless always.
2. To Avoid Ruining Items That Need Drainage in the Basement
Many people have items that need draining in their basements, such as laundry sinks or washing machines.
Chances are your sinks and bathroom are also connected to the basement floor drain.
If that is the case, you want to ensure you pay close attention to the floor drain to avoid ruining the items connected to it.
A proper drainage system would ensure everything flows smoothly, and proper drainage consists of a good trap and venting system.
3. To Prevent Flooding In Your Basement
Another important reason you should pay close attention to your floor drain is to avoid the basement being flooded.
A constantly flowing basement floor drain can save you from having much water damage if a pipe breaks in your home or water enters through other channels.
Sometimes, you might not be aware when the flood starts.
In situations where you are caught off guard, having a floor drain would help prevent damages to your home.
However, having a floor drain is not enough, but it should be functional and free-flowing. You also need to maintain it regularly to prevent clogging.
You Should Read: Does a Sump Pump Need a Perimeter Drain?
4. Backflow
Do you know you can prevent backflows into your basement when you have a good floor drain with the right accessories?
If the sanitary system in your city backs up somehow, chances are the sewage might backflow into your floor drain and probably into your basement.
The best way to prevent this issue is to ensure that your floor drain has a backwater valve installed on the sanitary central drainage system.
This issue is not common, but you can avoid it easily when it occurs.
5. It Is Not for Waste Disposal
Many people misuse their floor drain by disposing of small waste particles. They see it as a place where they can shove small junk pieces into, and water will take them away.
That is a very big mistake that you should avoid at all costs.
It will clog your drainage, and you might not know until the drain stops working.
That might even result in the flooding of your basement if you do not notice it in time.
Sometimes, it might not be you but the kids. Hence, you need to pay attention to ensure your kids do not put any form of waste or garbage in the drain to avoid blockage.
Another thing that causes floor drain blockage is rare usage.
If you do not use your basement floor drain the way you should, the trap holding water might dry up.
When that happens, odors will flow into your home.
As such, we highly recommend you use the drainage occasionally to keep it working properly.
Run some water down the drain from time to time to ensure the trap does not dry up.
Do floor sinks need venting?
Floor sinks require venting to work properly. However, whether it is necessary to vent a floor drain or not depends on the local plumbing laws in your city.
Generally, traps need venting for smooth and optimal performance.
Can I drain my washing machine into a floor drain?
You can drain your washing machine into a floor drain. However, you can only do that when the drain is connected to a sewer.
If the drain is connected to a sump pit, check your city plumbing code to see if it is allowed.
The local code usually discourages the mixture of draining water with detergents and chemicals.
Why is my floor drain backing up?
Many things are responsible for the continuous backing up of floor drains.
However, one of the major causes of this issue is toilet paper.
If your toilet drain or floor drain keeps backing up, the culprit might be toilet paper.
All toilet papers are not equal, as some are better than others. Hence, you need to pay attention to the brand you choose.
Final Thoughts
The basement is one of the useful parts of a home. To remain useful, it needs to have a highly efficient drain system.
However, for your basement floor drain to work optimally, it needs the right venting and trap.
While a trap is mandatory for all basement floor drains, you need to check with your local plumbing laws if the level of your floor drain requires a vent.
