Easy Laundry Washing Machine Lint Catcher Filter Trap

We moved into an older home and the previous owner suggested we try to minimize the amount of lint going down the drain to prevent a blockage which happened once before but not necessarily because of lint.

Inspiration coming from the instructable "Porch Screen Lint Trap" by RamDude007 and also a shout out to all the other ones that are similar in concept using mesh.

I think it is pretty self-explanatory and I will update this with a better version 2.0 as soon as we finish the next bottle of Parmesan cheese.

Cheers!

Supplies

Recently used empty bottle of Parmesan Cheese or equivalent plastic bottle with wide opening

Elastic bands

Something to make shape openings in plastic doesn't have to be perfect at all - Drill bit / X-Acto Knife etc ...

Window porch screen material - Smaller holes the better enough to wrap around the bottle at least once or twice

Step 1: Bottle Preparation

Looking around the house I found the parmesan cheese container in the recycling bin.

I also considered using a pop bottle but size wise this was just about right.

It also has built in ring indentations that the elastic bands can fit perfectly on for a better seal.

I made multiple holes in the middle section of the bottle spaced apart but not too many to affect the bottle integrity.

There will probably be some trial and error to figure out how many holes to ensure good water flow out of the bottle even when the lint trap starts to get clogged.

Added bonus : using a drill bit created plastic burrs on the inside that seems to help catch additional lint.

If worried, I would recommend one hole at the very top outside of the mesh for overflow protection and a pinhole at the bottom to drip out leftover water trapped at the bottom.

Cut a piece of window mesh accordingly to wrap the bottle once or twice and then tightly wrap multiple elastic bands around it to keep it in place.

When enough lint is trapped I imagine I can just shift the mesh up or down the bottle slightly and there should be open mesh areas for water to flow through easily again.

Step 2: Placement

The drain hose from the washer has a hook shape that goes into the bottle.

I put some fruit bag mesh in the opening to keep the hose in place and block any water splash back but if you put enough holes in the bottle it shouldn't be a problem.

While testing keep an eye on the water level inside as it drains out.

As you can see I originally used a strainer in the utility sink for the as a primary lint trap which wasn't ideal. There is another strainer trap in the drain hole as a final trap but so far it hasn't caught as much as before.

I will eventually fashion a wire hanger and hang the bottle along the side of the sink in the corner out of the way.

I imagine that it will last months before needing to be cleaned or the mesh taken off and rinsed out from the inside.

I'm sure this can be improved upon and will keep an eye on it to see how effective it is but from a material cost and labor maintenance perspective this should work well!

For Version 2.0 I am going to add some exterior rings or spacer material to bulge out the mesh a little bit more so that it isn't tight against the bottle which will increase the overall lint catching area.

Good luck!