Can I put a sink over the washing machine?

Saving living space in small apartments or houses is a sore point for a considerable number of people. When there is not enough space to accommodate the most necessary things like a washing machine, you begin to come up with various tricks to make the most of the available square meters. Placing the washing machine in the sink is one of the good decisions that will save space and conveniently put the "home assistant" where it will not hinder anyone.

Is it possible to place the machine in the sink?

Many people doubt the technical feasibility of placing the washing machine in the sink. And indeed, it doesn’t cost anything to cram a washing machine under the sink, but what to do with communications, where to put the siphon? Under normal conditions, the siphon is located vertically and goes down into the drain pipe right in the center of the sink, but after all we put a machine there, how will the waste water go into the sewer?

In fact, this is not the only question that may arise for a beginner who first encounters the problem of installing a washing machine in a sink. What will happen to the machine if water gets on it, because the sink cannot be called a dry place. Just a few milliliters of water falling on the control unit and the machine may well be in the trash, not to mention the risk to the owners associated with electric shock.

Important! The control unit is very sensitive to excess humidity, like any electronics, and given that its cost can reach up to 10-12 thousand rubles, you don’t really want to risk such an expensive part for the convenient placement of the machine.

In fact, with the right selection of components and the correct installation, the machine can be completely safely placed under the sink. The main thing is to carry out all installation work in strict accordance with the rules and advice of professionals. What do we need?

• A suitable water lily sink with a drain that is offset from the center back to the edge of the sink.
• Special siphon.
• Special sink mounts.
• A washing machine, the dimensions of which will be less than the dimensions of the sink.
• Cabinet made of moisture resistant materials with doors.

Keep in mind that the sink should be wider and deeper than the body of the machine on all sides by at least 3 cm, preferably a little more. Firstly, it’s less likely that water will get on the machine, and secondly, it’s easier to install a cabinet. In general, experts do not recommend placing the washing machine under the sink without a cabinet, because its walls and doors provide additional protection for the “home assistant” from splashes.

For the same reason, preference should be given to deep sinks than to shallow and flat ones. From a flat sink, water is pretty much sprayed around. You may not notice this, but your washing machine will notice. Subsequently, you will notice when at the most unexpected moment you get an electric shock by touching the control panel. The siphon also needs a special one.

1. It should be compact and easily fit under the sink with the machine, while there should be a gap between it and the machine body.
2. Parts of the siphon must be bent so that it can be more conveniently placed in the sink between the wall and the washing machine.
3. The siphon should be vertical, since horizontal siphons are more often clogged, and it will often be difficult to clean the siphon with a machine under the sink.

Also need special fastenings for the sink, with which it can be securely attached to the wall. In this case, rigid fixation of the shell is strictly required.The cabinet under the sink must necessarily be made of moisture resistant materials, it will hide the washing machine from prying eyes and at the same time will become an additional barrier to spray.

Note! When choosing a washing machine, immediately correlate its dimensions and the dimensions of the sink under which it will be hidden, and the cabinet can always be ordered later.

Pros and cons of such placement of the washing machine

We made sure that it is technically possible to place the washing machine in the sink. It is only necessary to have the right materials, calculate everything correctly and carry out the installation at a high professional level, but is it worth it? Let's look at the pros and cons of installing a washing machine under the sink, perhaps this will help to get an answer to such an important question, and we will start with the pros.

• The washing machine does not take up much space if you hide it under the sink, and in the vacated space you can put some other necessary things.
• If you put the machine in the sink, the bathroom will look much more aesthetically pleasing, especially if the machine itself does not fit the room in color or design.
• If the car is correctly closed in a cabinet under the sink, it will be less audible during operation, for some people this is very important.

Talking about the pros, it should be noted the disadvantages of such a placement of the washing machine, especially since there are quite a few disadvantages.

1. To install the machine under the sink, you need to redo almost all communications in the bathroom. It is necessary to connect the washing machine, which means to make an outlet, partially recess the pipes into the wall and draw conclusions for the machine, raise the mixer higher, because under normal conditions it is placed too low.
2. An ordinary siphon is not suitable, a special one is needed, in addition, if there is a need to clean such a siphon, it will be difficult to do since it will be closed by a washing machine.
3. An ordinary washing machine, most likely, will not work and you will have to buy a special narrow one with front loading, since you cannot put a machine with a vertical loading under the sink.
4. There is a chance that a nuisance will occur, and water from the sink will fall on the electrical and electronic parts of the washing machine, which will cause a short circuit and breakdown.

Note! To the machine entered under the sink, you need to hang it at a sufficient height. Some people don’t like that the sink is too high, but there’s not much that can be done.

Features of the work

There are not so many options to install the machine in the sink, we will give the most common, which is used by masters throughout Russia. What should be done?

• We are preparing communications for connecting a washing machine. The task is as follows: it is necessary to calculate the position of the pipes and outlets so that it is possible to connect the inlet and drain hoses and at the same time they should not interfere with the installation of the machine under the sink. Separately, we prepare safe electrical communications so that you can safely connect the washing machine to electricity.
• Securely fasten to the wall mounts for the sink. Here you must calculate the height at which the sink will be placed so that the machine comes under it, and there is a gap between the bottom of the bowl and the top lid of the washing machine.

Important! Install the fasteners, keeping the width between the fasteners and level so that the sink lies on them perfectly evenly.

• If you plan to use one faucet both for the bathroom and for the sink, then you need to make sure that it is located at a sufficient height.
• We install a sink with a mixer and connect it.
• Next, we connect all the hoses and pipes necessary for the operation of the washing machine.
• We connect the siphon and make sure that it does not interfere with the installation of the washing machine.
  
• We install a cabinet under the sink and push the machine towards it.
• We connect the inlet hose to the machine, the drain hose coming from the machine is screwed to a siphon (or sewer).
• We push the washing machine under the sink, connect it to the network and make a trial run.

Remember! The gap between the washing machine casing and the sink, as well as between the side walls of the cabinet should be at least 3 cm, so that when the machine is working as hard as possible, the casing dangling does not hurt the sink.

In conclusion, we note that installing a washing machine in a sink, of course, has a lot of nuances that you will have to face in the process of performing work, nevertheless, you can do everything yourself from start to finish. If you are stuck at any stage of the work, then you can always turn to specialists for advice.