• This topic has 30 replies, 24 voices, and was last updated 8 years ago by andyl.
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  • Installing a washing machine – will I die?
  • michaelmcc
    Free Member

    Recently moved house, so all new furnishings in. I got the washing machine in the kitchen and it’s sitting by the hole in the wall where the last people in the house had it. Do I need a plumber to install it or can I just wing it by watching YouTube videos etc? The kitchen has plumbing for it already

    michaelmcc
    Free Member

    Cheers

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    Attach the hoses to the taps, do up tight. Pop the drain down the drain hose with the bend clip to hold it up and then power into the plug

    garage-dweller
    Full Member

    Very easy providing none of the connectors are broken. A quick Google or you tube im sure will turn up better instructions than I would write.

    nickjb
    Free Member

    It’s pretty easy. I would locate the stop cock first just in case.

    alibongo001
    Full Member

    It really is very easy.

    Possible issues:

    1, An older installation may have hot and cold water inputs – most newer machines just use the cold one. The ends of the water pipes should have taps (coloured red or blue) – just leave the hot switched off.

    2, The exit pipe may be to short

    That’s about it – don’t forget to tighten up the inputs reasonably tight as a slow leak might cause problems with the floor/ cabinets

    Yak
    Full Member

    3, and level it using the adjustable legs.

    4, Reward your efforts with a ride. It’s nice out 😀

    thegreatape
    Free Member

    It is a piece of piss to do, but, and I learnt this the hard way, if you can leave it out for a couple of cycles and check that everything behind is dry – paper on the floor or something. About two months after moving here we discovered water had been seeping out because there was a tiny gouge on the rim of the water connector on the end of the copper pipe. It was only dripping two drips a minute but resulted in a new kitchen floor and units. Still no reason not to do it yourself though.

    phiiiiil
    Full Member

    Tie some rolled up kitchen roll around the connectors so it’s obvious if there’s a leak, however slow…

    martymac
    Full Member

    the great ape+1

    tweeky
    Free Member

    What they’ve all said. A new machine is likely cold water feed only. Check the machine instructions.

    Leave the machine out from the wall so you can check for drips/leaks.

    Connect one end of the hose to the back of machine. Use any washer or filter supplied.

    Connect the hose from the machine to the supply pipe with the blue tap. Use the rubber washer which should be supplied and hand tight is sufficient. You don’t need a wrench.

    Switch the cold feed on. This should only need about one eighth turn. You will hear the water flowing into the machine.

    Wrap some bog roll or kitchen towel around the supply pipe/hose connection and machine connection. This will show up any leaks.

    Run a short cold water cycle. Keep an eye on it, checking for leaks.

    If it’s all okay, move the machine into position, being careful not to snag or pull the hose.

    If it does leak, switch off the water and run a spin/drain program to get rid of the water.

    Disconnect the hose and try again.

    dooosuk
    Free Member

    If people aren’t able to install a washing machine when all the plumbing is already in place, then I really do fear for mankind these days.

    beinbhan
    Full Member

    If it a new washing machine remember to remove the transportation bolts from the drum instructions will tell you how

    Flaperon
    Full Member

    Second what beinbhan said. Easy to forget.

    finishthat
    Free Member

    You can do it .

    Strongly advise getting new washer for the water feed , they go hard over time so a new one will do a proper job.

    FuzzyWuzzy
    Full Member

    I’d use PTFE tape to

    soobalias
    Free Member

    dont let your house rabbit escape behind the kickboards, it will chew through the waste pipe.

    #nichewashingmachineadvice

    zanelad
    Free Member

    Make sure that they haven’t put a stopper in the spur that the drain hose pushes onto.

    I spent a joyous Sunday afternoon trying to work out why my daughter’s washing machine wouldn’t empty.

    The lad (idiot) who’d installed it hadn’t removed the bung and therefore the machine wouldn’t empty.

    To be fair it was a new house, but really! 🙄

    andyl
    Free Member

    I remember dad fitting his new kitchen and not realising he needed to remove the stopper from the dishwasher waste. Son 1, Dad 0 on the DIY front that evening 😀

    For the hoses do not be tempted to use some kind of wrench to tighten them and if you do use PTFE tape don’t use loads as it will just make it harder to screw on by hand meaning you either don’t compress the washer enough or resort to some grips.

    Inspect the fitting for any signs of damage/stress (cracks, whitening etc) that may have been caused by tools and check the washer is nice and soft still.

    The hose only needs to be put on my hand (firmly) as overdoing it will distort it and can cause it to leak or split. Use toiler paper or kitchen roll around any join and check after your first couple of runs.

    johndoh
    Free Member

    If people aren’t able to install a washing machine when all the plumbing is already in place, then I really do fear for mankind these days.

    Is not a particularly helpful comment.

    I wager the OP can do something you can’t do.

    lemonysam
    Free Member

    If it a new washing machine remember to remove the transportation bolts from the drum instructions will tell you how

    This cannot be stressed enough…

    dooosuk
    Free Member

    I wager the OP can do something you can’t do.

    I don’t doubt he can, but I’d be hoping it was something that required specialist knowledge and/or experience and not something as simple as screwing two pipes together and pushing the waste inside the drain pipe.

    There just seems to be a culture these days of not even attempting stuff. How did our fathers and grand fathers get by? People just need to crack on and have a go; most stuff isn’t that difficult or scary…especially now we have a million YouTube videos showing us how to do stuff!

    johndoh
    Free Member

    But you see it as simple and that anyone should do it, but it doesn’t means someone else will be able to (or is willing to risk it).

    ransos
    Free Member

    There just seems to be a culture these days of not even attempting stuff.

    The OP was asking for advice specifically because he wants to do it himself, so your point is completely irrelevant.

    johndoh
    Free Member

    ^Is a very good point 🙂

    bigyinn
    Free Member

    I’d also recommend you push the waste water feed hose as far as you can down the waste water pie, using the U bend clip supplied with it.
    Don just shove it down the hole like I did at a friends house, then discover a few days later that they’d done some washing and flooded their downstairs neighbour. The water pressure had forced the hose up and out of the waste water pipe. 😳

    bigyinn
    Free Member

    @doosuk, so you came out of the womb knowing how to install and connect up a washing machine. Or perhaps your dad did it once and you watched. Perhaps the OP’s dad died before he was born and the OP never had his dad show him how to install a washing machine, or ride a bike, or take him for beer, or have “that” talk about sex when he was a teenager, or teach him how to drive a car, or all the other things dad do for their sons.
    Why dont you just cut the OP some slack, he’s had a tough time without his dad.

    Or perhaps they just used a launderette.

    dooosuk
    Free Member

    @bigyinn 🙂

    You forgot teaching him to read, so that he could peruse the simple instructions that came with the washer 🙂

    benji
    Free Member

    @bigyinn my dad never taught me how to plumb in a washing machine, he showed me numerous demonstrations of domestic violence, I thankfully ignored those lessons, and have succesfully plumbed in numerous washing machines over the years for my Mum and Sister.

    woody74
    Full Member

    If you can fix a puncture on your bike or connect up a tv to PS3, etc then a washing machine is easy. For some reason there is a long run perception that a plumber is needed for a washing machine like they are some complicated thing. My mum is moving house and adamant she needs a plumber. As long as the pipe work is in place then takes 15 minutes including having a cup of tea.

    andyl
    Free Member

    I’d also recommend you push the waste water feed hose as far as you can down the waste water pie, using the U bend clip supplied with it.
    Don just shove it down the hole like I did at a friends house, then discover a few days later that they’d done some washing and flooded their downstairs neighbour. The water pressure had forced the hose up and out of the waste water pipe.

    can be worth tying the outlet pipe to something so that it cant be pulled (or fired) out of the waste pipe if you have one of the vertical drop in types.

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