Dehumidifier Pump Drain into PVC drain pipe

[@aroundoz]

Thank you for posting this! Instead of having to run the drain tube outside and digging a small drywell, we did this, and it was finished in 15 minutes.

[@pmtips4482]

Glad it helped!

[@richardscott4215]

Used this idea down to the drill bit size. I have a crawlspace with no real option to drain the water out. I purchased the Aloriar LGR Extreme with the built-in pump. 2 feet above where I set my dehumidifier is a gray water pipe used for my sinks. Install was simple and I couldn’t be happier. When I powered on the unit the LCD showed 86% humidity in the Crawlspace. For almost a week it was periodically pushing water into the line (120 PPD) and now my crawlspace is at 51%. I really appreciate your video sir.

[@pmtips4482]

Great! Nice job and real good results. Thank you for watching!

[@zxcbvnm90]

Just chiming in to say the same exact thing, for the same exact dehumidifier, took all of 20 minutes to do a nice clean job. Thanks!

[@Rud-y-l3z]

I got the same dehumidifier in my crawl space. I’m tired of dumping buckets of water every couple of days. I was looking for a permanent solution when I go on vacation. This video and comments really helped me. Thanks for posting

[@bradlee1495]

Do you have to shut the water off or anything? Was thinking about doing the same thing

[@outcast7899]

Thanks, I was about to add a pvc tee to tail piece and already bought several pieces to plumb it in, including the brass fitting. Your idea worked perfect. Great idea

[@pmtips4482]

Sounds great!

[@mikelarochelle5244]

This was the perfect information I needed, $4.50 or thereabouts from Lowe’s, project completed. Didn’t want to keep putting it into my water softener system that eventually went back into the drinking water.

[@pmtips4482]

Thank you for watching and commenting! Glad it worked out for you.

[@fcruzdj2]

This was awesome! I'm planning on doing the same from a Little Giant condensate pump (dehumidifier) to a section of the PVC drain pipe to my bar sink. I think I can tap it either at 12 or 1 o'clock. Thanks for a great video. 👍🏽

[@pmtips4482]

Thank you for watching!

[@NeverRetro]

I am setting up an auto water change system on my saltwater aquarium, and this video is just what I needed to complete the project. Thank you!

[@pmtips4482]

Glad I could help!

[@gzilla37]

Super helpful. Thank you so much! This will be a big help for the damp basement in our 1910 home.

[@pmtips4482]

I wish you the best of luck on your project! Work safe and thanks for watching!

[@laurar8486]

Thank you! Easy to follow. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge! Now we don't have to empty 2 dehumidifiers!

[@pmtips4482]

Glad it was helpful!

[@surelywoo]

Excellent sir. Just what I needed to install drainage for my dehumidifier. Thank you.

[@pmtips4482]

You're welcome and thank you for watching!

[@ShadowF305]

Thankful for this video , i have to drill a hole in my intake tube with a barb so i can connect the pcv so this helped give me an idea how to do it

[@pmtips4482]

Thank you for watching!

[@drryanweaver]

Really helpful video. High quality, simple explanations. I can tell you do high quality work!

[@pmtips4482]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@robertpohida5619]

Incredible video

[@pmtips4482]

Thanks!

[@Cumbernauld1963]

You just solved my water softener drawing issue. Thank you.

[@pmtips4482]

You are welcome!

[@bobnajman3852]

Question: Can I hook up a dehumidifier to drain it even though it doesn't have a pump? Currently, it has a 3/4 inch garden hose connector and obviously, I would need to use a 3/4 inch to 1/4 inch adapter. Thank you

[@pmtips4482]

Yes you can but that is a pure gravity drain system. In a basement situation that can be tough thing to do. I built a scaffolding platform for our gravity drain (like yours), and at about 7 feet up from the floor, the humidity remained too high at the floor to bench top height. It could work in your case as it can depend on air flow and humidity levels at the floor. Thanks for watching!

[@bobnajman3852]

@@pmtips4482 thank you so much for your response and video

[@markogilvie969]

This is exactly what I am working on. Thanks!

[@pmtips4482]

Glad it helped! Thanks for watching!

[@paulstanley8088]

Thanks for this post! I'm planning on putting the dehumidifier drain into the air handler drain pvc because it is inches away.

[@pmtips4482]

Good luck on your project! Thanks for watching!

[@daniela.6424]

I want to do this on the 3rd floor near a bathroom sink. I’m just scared to mess it up and create a bigger problem. Once I make a hole, I can’t take it back, so it needs to be perfect. I also don’t care much about code, but I know I would probably fail an inspection. Any way I can make this a legit setup if I’m only draining by gravity without a pump in the attic?

[@pmtips4482]

Yes, the gravity drains are nice as they eliminate a pump which will always go out at some point in time. Use a good quality clear hose so you can see the draining just by inspection. Thanks for watching!

[@MrItsthething]

Make sure you put some kind of trap on it to prevent sewer gases from making your house smell, even just bending the plastic tube in a loop to trap some water.

[@pmtips4482]

Thanks for watching and the comment! On my particular dehumidifier drain, the pump will shut off leaving about an inch of water in the catch tank, therefore preventing any odor escape. As you say, putting a loop in the hose will create a "P" trap effect. Thanks!

[@beckyschwantes5287]

@@pmtips4482 that fitting is on the stand pipe for your washing machine drain right? So you must have a trap at the bottom of the stand pipe you don’t need another one. But that would fail an inspection though. You need an air gap. You should check out air gap USA and gap a flow. They have a sweet setup that will create an air gap for you condensate drain and also leaves from for your washing machine drain hose

[@yousweetpotato1]

@@beckyschwantes5287 can I go directly to my sewer main exhaust? My washing machine is first floor, but I want to drain the basement humidifier’s condensate.

[@ThrasherGnar]

This is just the video I was looking for, thank you so much for the upload!

[@pmtips4482]

Thank you for watching!

[@patrickobrien4636]

Great viedo, Is there an issue to use tread sealant just to be on the safe side? thanks

[@pmtips4482]

It would be perfectly fine to use sealant on the threads. Different schedules of PVC or DWV will have varying thicknesses, but all will accept a threaded brass or stainless steel fitting. Just don't strip it out. Thanks for watching!

[@jeffb5463]

Excellent! I was looking for a way to connect ac condensate pump drain to the interior pvc, to eliminate the clear tubing from going out the exterior wall, since in the winter time it will occasionaly freeze up and then shut the system down.

[@pmtips4482]

The condensate pump only pumps while the air conditioning is working, in winter you will not be running A/C, your heat pump will be operating therefore no condensate generated. What am I missing?

[@jeffb5463]

It is a split system (that may not be the technical name for it) heat pump/natural gas. Operates as traditional heat pump until temperture drops below 35 or so, then kicks in the natural gas burners. It does not generate much water flow compared to summer season, however enough to freeze at the exterior wall on really cold/windy situations.

[@pmtips4482]

@@jeffb5463 One of those:) The HVAC world is not simple. If you have access to interior PVC drain, this is the answer, most in basement residential A/C units will pump out this way. Good plumbing! Thanks for watching!!

[@chrishuyler3580]

My HVAC guy ran the hose out the side of the house even though he installed a humidifier that uses the same drain (it’s a trickle down system, set to run by thermostat when heat is on and humidity is low). Last night the drain hose froze so I just cut it off the wall and plumbed it like this video. Will sewer gases be an issue with no p-trap? Don’t know, but it would have to push all the water out of the hose and pump reservoir before I smelled anything.

[@pmtips4482]

Hi Chris, if you think the hose will be completely emptied, you could put a bottom loop in it to act similar to a P trap. As you say, it will probably hold water in the line and at the pump level to prevent any odors. Thanks for watching!

[@thomastheis9319]

High quality in-depth video. why such a big PVC pipe? any issues you see with 1" pvc piped to the side of the house?

[@pmtips4482]

The 2 inch was in place for the washing machine drain. I just tapped into it. 1 inch pvc would handle any condensate drain. Thanks for watching!

[@jeremystalla756]

Nice video. I tried this setup with my dehumidifier in the basement but for some reason it's not working? The dehumidifier is only a year old and I know the pump works because I used to drain it outside. Any ideas on how I can trouble shoot this?

[@pmtips4482]

Hi Jeremy, the pump on my unit is only 4 to 6 psi. That's enough to pump it up to the 6 1/2 feet to the drain pipe, but it is slow. It sounds as though you need to check and see if your pump will push the drain water up to 3 feet? then 6 feet? and go from there. Good luck on your unit. Thanks for watching!

[@scottf8136]

Just what i needed, thanks!

[@pmtips4482]

Glad I could help!

[@bradleyhovan9390]

Thank you

[@pmtips4482]

You're welcome!

[@danabartlett3206]

This was just perfect. It is what I Needed.

[@insidetornapart]

Super helpful thanks.

[@pmtips4482]

Glad it was helpful!

[@cycledcnva]

This is a great video. I’m installing an ice maker drain. The concept here should also apply to tap into a sink drain. Yes?

[@pmtips4482]

Yes, you should be able to tap into it. If you have concerns over a drainage backup situation just put a loop in the line on the high side near the tap. Thanks for watching!

[@AidanSkoyles]

not unless the sink drain is schedule 40; which it probably isn't.

[@cycledcnva]

@@AidanSkoyles I tapped into the drain after all. Works great and pumps out like it should! I am happy!

[@stillthisappeal]

I'm trying to drain my dehumidifier into the cap on a sewer pipe in an unfinished bathroom area in my house's basement. My dehumidifier drains with a 5/8" garden hose. What kind of hose adapter could I use? Ideally, I'd want something that requires a smaller hole, like 1/4", but I'm not having much luck finding anything that would work.

[@pmtips4482]

Thanks for watching! If I were you I would visit the three big box stores and check out the plumbing section. Last week I had to do some serious plumbing with 3/4 hose thread and noticed at the blue store in the brass plumbing section they had lots and lots of adapters. Also keep in mind you can always go to the brass or plastic "barbed" fittings if you have to and those come in different thread size options too. The only fitting you might have difficulty in finding is the 5/8 hose thread. I was going to grab one just to have in my shop and they did not have one. Go to Google and type in "5/8 inch garden hose adapters" then go to images, there you will see options you can go with. Note: If you have a discharge PSI above 10 I would keep it 5/8 inch, if your discharge psi is around 4 to 6 you can safely drop it down to the 1/4 inch size. Also, if you can not locate a one piece adapter you can always just use reducers to get there, like 5/8 to 1/2, 1/2 to 3/8, etc. Good luck!

[@fredbergmann5352]

Great video!! Thanks!

[@pmtips4482]

You're welcome!

[@karablack1917]

my humidifier has a regular garden hose spigot. What size vinyl hose do I need and what size barb do I need. My PVC pipe is about 2-3mm thick...can this be done?

[@pmtips4482]

Kara, you can go to a big box store and check out the brass fittings back in plumbing. Garden hoses come in 3 sizes, 1/2 , 5/8, and 3/4 inch ID, that's internal dimensions. You can get good fittings in male or female, with barbs on the hose end. Once you get that part, you can go the hose selection and match your barb to a good hose that is flexible but will not collapse. Then get a good hose clamp. Good luck to you!

[@tudupas]

Glad I found you very informative video. I am hoping to tie into a 2” PVC line that currently only has a utility sink draining in it, but in the future could have a washing machine connected to it. I would like to drain my water softener regeneration water to this pipe, about 42 gallons during the regeneration and also Reverse Osmosis system waste water. What I’m trying to prevent is sending this water to the ejector pit fearing a pump failure and flooding. Would your idea work or would adding a 90° wye with a cap and putting the barbs so the water from the tubes are entering on an angle in the direction of the exit. Am I explaining my situation well enough? Thanks

[@pmtips4482]

Yes, you explained it well. My situation is a 1.5 inch PVC drain that has the kitchen sink draining into it (with dishwasher) and at the very end is a wye with the water softener regen plumbed into it. The clothes washer has its own 2 inch PVC drain going all the way through to the main outlet. I tapped into that 2 inch line. I think what happened is the clothes washer overwhelmed the 1.5 inch line and it forced water into the AC condensate drain. Then they added the 2 inch dedicated line for the clothes washer. That is the only thing that makes any sense as to why put the regen drain in a wye and the very end. Our Samsung clothes washer pumps out in about 10 seconds so it seem fast to me, but i have had no problems with the humidifier drain working. Personally I wouldn't be afraid to plumb that 2 inch PVC line. I would go with a 45 degree wye and plumb the regen into the end cap, that way you'll never have a problem with regen anyway. Then add your future upstream appliance drains and if you have any issues you can address them then. Thanks for watching and good luck to you! Stay safe!!

[@EYECOMEINPEACE]

Good video but just questioning now while i type this. Couldnt i just tap into my existing drain with a dishwasher wye that has the 1/2 or 3/4" nipple ?

[@pmtips4482]

I don't see why not. I'd give it a try. Thanks for watching and good luck

[@ryan.maccallum8213]

Great idea i have some salt water tanks in my basement and bring bucket of water up stairs is a pain , would this work to a kitchen sink drain pipe thats also in basement , so I could pump it out , question would putting a a valve on the hose work when not pumping to pre vent any backflow from the sink? upstairs?

[@pmtips4482]

Hello, you could make a loop like is done on a dish washer drain line (basically a P trap), that might work. You could also observe the transparent tubing to see if you are getting back flow. You could also run a check valve as you say but you need to consider just how powerful your pump is. Pumps on the typical condensate drain systems are typically 3 to 6 psi (very low). Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@bobmonzo3137]

Can this be done with black ABS pipe? I need a way to drain my dehumidifier. I’m afraid that pumping it to the outside is just going to cause a muddy mess.

[@pmtips4482]

Bob, yes you can plumb this into your existing ABS DWV piping. If you do have to glue any PVC or CPVC to your black ABS, be sure to use the cement made for it. If you just need to drill and install a barbed hose fitting, it's done the same way as any plastic piping. Thanks for watching!

[@understructurerepair7132]

Thanks. This is good

[@pmtips4482]

Thank you too!

[@AndrewScarella]

I have a question for you. My dehumidifier does not have a pump. I have been using the gravity method where the dehumidifier was up high with a garden hose attached and then draining into the washing machine PVC pipe house drain. I'd like to have my dehumidifier closer to the ground to make it easier to operate and read. Could I drill a small hole like you did at the bottom of my washing machine drain and screw in a similar screw with the tubing? I would need to convert from garden hose to 1/4 tubing somehow as well. Thanks

[@pmtips4482]

Andrew, is your washing machine gravity drained or a pumped drain? Ours is pump driven and you have to consider the pressure and the amount of water being pumped through the drain pipe. It could easily force it in your dehumidifier drain outlet. If yours is gravity drained, you shouldn't have any problem. If it is pumped, you need to take a look at what's happening during the discharge. Good luck to you and thanks for watching!

[@raymonda5476]

Where can i find a metal adapter to connect the flexible tubing to a pvc pipe connector that is threaded for a garden hose that has a 5/8” diameter (inside) and 1” outside. The pvc pipe connector came with the dehumidifier. I need to connect the pipe coming out of the dehumidifier to the flexible tubing that needs to go into the condensate pump.

[@pmtips4482]

Hi Raymonda, I think your best bet is the big box stores and if that doesn't pan out, I would visit a plumbing supply house. Take the fittings with you and show them what you are trying to accomplish, the counter in a plumbing supply house has lots of experience in the required fittings to "make things work". Thanks for watching and I wish you the best of luck in getting your project done!

[@spetro6147]

Nice video but you forgot to consider sewer gas backing into the dehumidifier allowing a potential health hazard. No mention of a P-Trap or check valve.

[@pmtips4482]

Good point. There may not be any gasses backing into the dehumidifier to the point where it's noticed because the drain outlet is in the very bottom and it fills to that point within an hour or two. The pump has very low pressure of 4 to 6 PSI but strong enough to pump 16 feet straight up according to the manufacturer. I'll look into a low PSI check valve. A P trap would be easy to make with a formed U. Thank you for commenting!

[@daniela.6424]

Ok Mr inspector. Sewer gas will find the path of least resistance. Hopefully you have a vent which is way bigger than a dehumidifier drain.

[@grimrecords19]

@@daniela.6424why be a prick? He acknowledged and responded accordingly.

[@daniela.6424]

@@grimrecords19 Hey, not trying to be a jerk, but that was sarcasm. The point is that this is obviously a do-it-yourself project, so most people don't care about the code. What people care about are practical solutions. If you stick to every rule in the world, you'll never get anywhere.

[@prowlman]

How is this as far as what's in the cabo book?

[@pmtips4482]

cabo?

[@tonyk2796]

I know for my heater since it's high efficiency, produces a lot of condensate during the winter months. Last winter I had to pump it into 5 gallon buckets several days because the discharge line kept freezing (since it was running outside). I'm going to try your method and install it on my hot water heater drain pan line with the P-trap suggestion above. Is there any reason you didn't use teflon or glue? Thanks for the video!

[@pmtips4482]

Hi Tony, I did not use any tape or glue due to the low pressure of only 5 psi. If I had seen a leak or even a drop, I would have teflon taped the threads. Thank you for watching and commenting!

[@richardfossani6421]

If you were to tap it, what size tap would you use?

[@pmtips4482]

Richard, if you want the most practical sizing due to various hose and barb diameters, the 1/4 x 18 NPT will require a 7/16 drill bit. A quarter inch NPT tap would be good too. Good luck to you!

[@cliffmorgan6511]

Installing a dehumidifer in the crawelspace. The main drain to the septic tank is 6" PVC pipe, This looks like a great setup for the drain line from the pump. Any concerns draining into the septic tank? Just had the tank drained and cleaned recently.

[@beckyschwantes5287]

Yes, it’s would not meet code. First, the drain should have an air gap. Second you need to create some type of p-trap before connecting directly to a sewer drain. The air gap ensures no sewage would enter the drain line in case of a back-up, the p-trap ensures that sewer gases don’t escape into the living area.

[@understructurerepair7132]

If you have to put the nipple on the bottom, they make a plastic check valve (water flow is allowed only in one direction) . Cheap . I use on every job

[@pmtips4482]

Thanks for the info!

[@DasSnakeBoy]

Any leaks? Nice video- I was going to cut the pipe and add fittings but this’ll work great

[@pmtips4482]

Hi Billy and thanks for watching and commenting! I have no leaks in this setup, but my dehumidifier pump is only 4 to 6 psi. If your pump pressure is similar, you should be fine, if higher you may need to use the small hose clamps on fittings. Have a good one!

[@nicholasmessmer1197]

My dehumidifier doesn't have a pump, but can drain via a garden hose and gravity. Is there any way to thread a garden hose into a PVC drain pipe?

[@pmtips4482]

The big box stores has lots of brass and PVC specialty fittings, and mainly, adapters. Yes, there is a way and I would start there with the inside diameter of your garden hose and go from there. Good luck to you! Thanks and stay safe!

[@richdesautels1405]

Do you foresee any issues if my drains are ABS

[@pmtips4482]

Rich, I do not see any issues. It's worth noting that ABS is a stronger pipe than PVC, but it will still drill and thread in just fine. Thanks for watching!

[@deanle604]

fail will leak

[@pmtips4482]

No leaks. Super low pressure pump of 3 to 5 PSI. Thanks for watching!

[@beckyschwantes5287]

That’s really needs an air gap. That’s a code violation and could be very insanitary. Also you are negatively impacting the integrity of the pvc pipe.

[@pmtips4482]

Air gap is at the top. Code violation? Codes change every 24 months so who knows? Negatively impacting the integrity of the PVC pipe? PVC pipe is tough stuff. Thanks for watching Becky!

[@beckyschwantes5287]

You could call the opening to atmosphere at the top of the stack a vent but it’s not an air gap. It’s a common code that goes for condensate drains, water softener regeneration, some dish washers, any RO system that drains. Thoughts process being if you had a back up of sewage it could possibly enter that line. You can make your own air gap for that stack pretty easy with a variety of fittings and some properly placed cuts so you will always drain into the stack with no problem but a back up would hit a high spot where it would simply overflow and the sewage would never come close to contacting your drain circuit. I actually did exactly what you suggested in the video for a softener regen and I just made a high loop but technically it could cause trouble. I found that the shark bite laundry box with two drain holes with. Wye installed in the stack makes a great place for a washer drain (and dryer drain if you got a fancy new dryer) but usually washer drain and softener regen air gap in the box. Your right, that tapped hole didn’t effect the integrity of a dwv pipe.

[@pmtips4482]

Any kind of sewage or septic tank backup is certainly cause for alarm. I noticed the water softener installer put an air space drop in their little discharge line too, going to same PVC pipe I used. Thank you for the information!

[@jamesthornton5499]

Awesome video thank you!

[@pmtips4482]

Glad you liked it!