I’ve had fewer headaches with dedicated drain lines, especially in older properties. High loops are fine if you’re on top of maintenance, but like you said,
For rentals, I’d rather avoid the risk.“out of sight, out of mind can come back to bite you.”
Had a call last winter—tenant’s dishwasher backing up, water everywhere. High loop was there, but gunked up solid. If I’d run a dedicated drain, probably would’ve saved everyone a headache. High loops can work, but in rentals? I just don’t trust folks to keep ‘em clear.
I hear you on the high loop issues, especially in rentals. I’ve got a couple of units myself, and honestly, I went with high loops at first because it was cheaper and seemed “good enough” for code. But after a year or two, same story—tenants never check under the sink, and I was getting calls about slow draining and weird smells. Turns out, a potato peeler and some rice can really mess things up fast.
But here’s my thing: is a dedicated drain line really that much less prone to clogging? I mean, if folks are tossing food scraps down there, won’t it still back up eventually? Or does it just buy you more time between headaches? I’m all for saving on upfront costs, but if it means more service calls later, maybe it’s not worth it. Anyone ever regret going the “budget” route and then having to redo it all later? Just trying to figure out what’s actually less hassle (and cost) long-term...
Honestly, I’ve been down this road more times than I care to admit. High loops are fine for passing inspection, but in rentals, they’re just asking for trouble. Tenants don’t care what’s under the sink, and if there’s even a hint of a clog, you’re the one getting the call.
Dedicated drain lines do seem to hold up better in my experience, mostly because they’re less likely to get gunked up with all the random stuff that ends up in a shared sink drain. That said, if someone’s shoving potato peels or rice down there, nothing’s totally clog-proof. But at least with a dedicated line, you’re not dealing with the double whammy of a backed-up sink and a dishwasher that won’t drain.
I tried to save a few bucks early on by going with the “good enough” setup, but after a couple years of service calls and annoyed tenants, I ended up redoing most of them anyway. In hindsight, I’d rather pay a little more upfront than keep crawling under sinks every few months. Just my two cents...
Honestly, I think you nailed it—cutting corners early on always seems to come back around. I’ve had my share of “quick fixes” under the sink that turned into weekend projects later. Sometimes spending a bit more upfront just saves so much hassle and risk down the line, especially when it comes to water damage. High loops are code here too, but they’re really just the bare minimum.