Author Topic: What is this black rubber tube for?  (Read 3548 times)

holicanmc

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What is this black rubber tube for?
« on: February 24, 2016, 02:17:13 PM »
The majority of my house has a crawl space but two rooms, a laundry/utility room and a family room, are on a slab.  We think a previous owner probably enclosed what was maybe a carport.

The laundry room is next to the crawl space so I can see the cinder block and a grate which I assume used to be a sort of external vent for the crawl space.  Before I bought the house a previous owner had cut a hole in the grate/vent and there was a ~1" diameter black rubber hose sticking into the laundry room. 

The hose was connected to nothing, it just curved up next to a utility sink and I could feel air coming from it so there wasn't anything in the hose.

The other side went into the crawl space and again connected to nothing, it was just laying there.

What the hell was this for? Has anyone seen anything similar before?  I'm mostly curious because the guest house behind the main house has something similar, no crawlspace near the laundry room so there the hose just goes under the wall and outside, nothing connected on either end.  I just don't understand what the point could have been?

Any ideas would be appreciated!

bacchi

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Re: What is this black rubber tube for?
« Reply #1 on: February 24, 2016, 02:22:17 PM »
Gray water hose?

Gone Fishing

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Re: What is this black rubber tube for?
« Reply #2 on: February 24, 2016, 02:56:42 PM »
Gray water hose?

+1

I was probably used for washing machine discharge.  Then cut off or shoved down the vent when the previous owner moved.  Is the house on a septic?

holicanmc

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Re: What is this black rubber tube for?
« Reply #3 on: February 25, 2016, 07:58:51 AM »
It is indeed on a septic system.  Well that's good news, I removed the tube and sealed up the crawl space and was hoping it wasn't something I needed :)

Thanks!

bobechs

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Re: What is this black rubber tube for?
« Reply #4 on: February 25, 2016, 09:03:59 AM »
It is indeed on a septic system.  Well that's good news, I removed the tube and sealed up the crawl space and was hoping it wasn't something I needed :)

Thanks!

And now the poor wretches chained in the secret dungeon will have no air at all. Thanx.

paddedhat

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Re: What is this black rubber tube for?
« Reply #5 on: February 25, 2016, 10:24:14 AM »
It's pretty common to discharge laundry gray water on the ground, in rural areas. That said, it is often illegal, per local and state codes, and unfortunately in your case, it is often done to take a load off  a marginal, or failing septic system. Hopefully the seller was just doing what a lot of folks do, to lighten the load, and not because the system was backing up, and clogging because the clothes washer was overloading the septic?

holicanmc

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Re: What is this black rubber tube for?
« Reply #6 on: February 25, 2016, 02:42:39 PM »
Ah see now you're getting me started on the septic system, warning, off-topic ahead.  The tubes weren't connected to anything and I don't have any reason to believe they were for a long time, all washers currently drain to the house waste plumbing. We paid for a well and septic "inspection" prior to purchase from a very well-reviewed and pretty expensive company.

They said the leach field was probably saturated (it was winter and there was 6-8" of snow on the ground when they came out) and more than likely we would need a new leach field to the tune of ~$7,000.  Absolute worst case scenario according to the inspector was $10-12K to do a mound system.

This was my first well and septic home and I was willing to fix things so we got the seller to cut a check for $4,000 at closing for this potential repair even though they claimed it worked fine.

Since then we've had septic companies come out to pump and we've gotten some more opinions.  There appear to be some other contributing issues we weren't aware of when buying:
1) The water table here is high and we have drainage issues, the ground is very flat. Thus, no nearby spot will perk according to one company. We could install a pump and install a new leach field approximately 500ft away on a slightly elevated part of my pasture.
2) This county is a real bitch about septic systems. If we were 1 mile away in another county there would be more options for fixing the system.
3) Of the 3-4 companies we've had come out most appear pretty uninterested in providing a solution.  They look around, dig a bit with an auger and go"yep, it's not too good but if it were me I wouldn't do anything until you have it backing up into the house."

Needless to say, my first experience with a septic system has not been a good one.

Gone Fishing

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Re: What is this black rubber tube for?
« Reply #7 on: February 25, 2016, 03:29:37 PM »
Might not hurt to hook that hose back up!  If you don't have them, water saving shower heads and toilets can help some as well. 

If you notice your leach field becoming particularly saturated, you can get your tank pumped to give it a break.  The effectiveness of this method depends on how big your tank is and how much water you use, but I know a fellow that has been using the method for decades.  The cost is sunk, but it may beat the alternative. 

Did the former owners have a large family compared to yours?  A few less people can go a long way to reducing the load on a septic system.

When we have large get togethers at our current house with septic, we ask the gentlemen to use the "outdoor bathroom" (trees). 

Hey, at least you know.  I was sold a house in a suburban area that was supposed to be on city sewer.  I noticed the grass would die in strips in the back yard during droughts and deduced that there must have been a drain field at one time and thought the grass was dying over the old gravel. The two of us lived there for 4 years with nary a problem before we moved and started renting the house out. Our first tenant decided to run a daycare out of the house.  After we evicted her, the second tenant always seemed to have short term company every time we visited.  After a particularly wet summer, sewage started pooling in the neighbor's yard.  That is when we found out the house was actually connected to that "old" septic system and the green stripes were actually the drain lines, not the other way around.  We pumped it a few times hoping the weather would dry out to no avail.  We finally connected to city sewer for a grand total of over $6k (mostly tap fees).  Did I mention I hate septic systems?