WASHING MACHINE WATER

[Talkabtit101]

Hey all, first property so never had to deal with any issues before, I opened my washing machine earlier without looking and a bunch of water flooded out, I cleaned it all up and tried to put the washer on a spin cycle as advised, this filled my FULL OF DISHES kitchen sink up with water included stuff that looks like old food out of the pipe.

Once again flooding my kitchen, I've already called landlord and he said he'd be out later to check and to not try and use the washer or sink again until he's seen it.

But what do I do with all my plates and cutlery that was in the sink..... can I keep them? I know that sounds silly but the water stinks horribly like rotten eggs, and I do have plastic plates in there too.

I have children's plates / silicone items in there aswell as knives with plastic handles I don't know if this makes a different.

Posted for traffic... sorry.

Also - yes my kitchen sink was full of dishes, I've been working nights for 4 nights and sincerely couldn't be bothered.

Just wash them again. There is no need to get rid of them.

I can't understand the logistics, is your washing machine on the counter, how did the water get in the sink? And why is there food in the washing machine pipe?

However, I would just rewash the dishes.

Wash them in the bath / shower or bathroom sink.

Was the washing machine already there, or did you bring it with you and install it when you moved in? Is the waste pipe at the back definitely in properly, and connected to the correct one?

Just re wash the dishes thoroughly in very hot water.

My mum had a problem like this and it was caused by a problem with her drain. Everytime she used her washing machine, it backed up into the sink. It was an easy fix for a plumber.
As for your dishes, I would steep them in boiling water with antibacterial washing up liquid.

@Talkabtit101 obviously it's needs a plumber to sort (depending on how capable your landlord is!! Most wouldn't be able to sort it, but my Dad would have)

your dishes will be absolutely fine. Just take them out of the water, put them on the side until the plumbing is sorted (don't arse about trying to wash them in the bathroom). Then do a few at a time in very hot water & fairy liquid (if you can afford a bottle) and rinse them under VERY. Hot water.

im a bit (ha ha LOT) fussy so I'd let them air dry, then do them again. Others will say that's not necessary, but it's what I'd do.

Hope it gets sorted quickly!

If there's bits of food washing back into your sink, you're not scraping your dishes into the bin enough before washing them. It's causing a block down the pipe. Do you have a plunger? That's the first thing I'd try. After that, if I needed to use it quickly, I'd go out and buy some pipe unblocker. If that doesn't work your landlord will need a plumber. But it could be a very simple fix.

Just wash the dishes, they will be fine. I suppose anything porous like plastic or anything that has chips or cracks might have absorbed the dirty water. If they smell after washing, you might want to throw them away. TBH anything with chips or cracks could be harbouring bacteria from food, dishwater etc.

If there's food in the pipe, it sounds like you're not scraping the plates before you wash them - food WILL block the pipes

The waste pipe for my washing machine shares the waste pipe with my sink - I've known the sink the back up with washing machine water

I'm confused though - why would you need to throw away your plates & cutlery? Just wash them....

My washing machine is next to my kitchen sink.... the food has came up through the drain.

I'm not washing food in my washing machine.

Ok so thank you to everyone for your quick replies.

Here's some answers to the questions.

• the washing machine is just over a year old, it was a new one that's the landlord had put in for when we moved in.

• landlord has told me he'll send someone to fix it however that might be tomorrow, has told me to not use sink or washer until it has been sorted.

• the food being scraped off plates.... I have children who throw plates directly into the sink without cleaning them, and another who puts all rubbish into a cup which still has liquid in it, ergo I don't realise until I empty liquid out of said cup.

I also work nights, very long hours so sometimes I don't bother to check every single dish.

I won't be using the bathroom for the cutlery and dishes as that seems like a huge faff, I've got them at the minute in some boiling water from the pan and fairy soaking in the washing up bowl. And then tomorrow when the plumber has came I'll empty the water, rinse and then wash them again.

Once again thank you to everyone, from someone who's never dealt with anything like this before, it was just a huge panic - only wanted to wash my bed linen.

Sounds like the pipe is blocked. Maybe with food that you haven’t scraped off your plates before washing them? Then when the machine empties it comes back up into the sink. As to why the machine didn’t drain properly in the first place you maybe overloaded it? Mine does this.

Sorry to answer your actual question. Wait until you're all sorted then just wash up as usual.

@Tlolljs

The washing machine had been empty ( clothes wise gfor a few days! it was only today I went to wash my bed linen, opened the washer and a flood of water came out.

Oh I didn’t realise thought it hadn’t spun properly.
Definitely blocked somewhere. If it’s your landlords machine at least it won’t cost you anything.

There's nothing wrong with the washing machine. The drainage pipe is blocked. And it's probably a simple fix if you don't want to wait for a plumber tomorrow. Go out and buy a plunger.