How to Plumb a Washing Machine
Plumbing in a washing machine is a job most people will have to do at some point in their lives. Delivery men will arrive with your new machine, but there will almost certainly be a charge of at least £30 to connect it. With a bit of know- how, you can do it yourself.
First, check your hoses. Coming out of the back of the washing machine there should be the electrical flex and three pipes. The pipes are colour-coded. The grey pipe is usually a waste outlet for the dirty water and needs to be attached to a drain. The blue pipe is the cold water supply and will need to be attached to the mains, and the red is the hot water supply and will be connected to the hot water system.
The grey pipe is often hooked and is attached to the rear of the machine by support clips. It can be routed to the right or left as required. It is normally placed in a stand pipe, or it can be positioned over a sink.
Second, attach the hot and cold feeds to the connectors, or tails, on your domestic pipes. The tails are just valves that can be turned to let the water flow through. The valves should be colour co-ordinated so it's easy to see which pipe goes into which valves. These valves also make disconnecting the machine easy if you move house.
When attaching your hot and cold pipes, make sure that you also attach any washers that come with your machine. This ensures that you have watertight joints.
There is no need to tighten the connections using tools. Hand tight is sufficient to stop leaks.
Increasing numbers of new washing machines work as cold-fill machines only. This means that the machine heats up the water to the required temperature. If so, you need only connect the blue hose to your machine. It is important to turn the red valve on the hot water pipe to off. This is the vertical position.
Old hoses may still be in place from a previous washing machine. While these will work with your new machine, it is better to replace the old ones. Some hoses supplied with a new washing machine may have filters built into the ends. The hoses do eventually degrade and leaks are more likely with older hoses, so replace with the new hoses supplied.
The washing machine must be level and all four feet should be in firm contact with the floor. Each foot is adjustable but normally it is only necessary to adjust one of the front feet to make it level. Failure to make the washing machine level may affect stability and vibration. Use a spirit level sitting on top of the machine to check the level before use.
Remember to plug your machine in.
Lastly, run a test cycle on your washing machine to make sure there are no problems with your fittings.
If all else fails call a
