Connecting the washing machine to hot water

The washing machine in most cases heats the water on its own. But there are people who for some reason think that if you connect the washing machine not to cold, but to hot water, then "brutal" savings on a communal apartment are surely formed. We decided to dispel this myth, and at the same time talk about cases when the washing machine was connected to hot water, when it is really needed. But first things first.

Is it possible or not?

The vast majority of washing machines should be connected to cold water, as the manufacturer intended. But there are models of washers that connect immediately to both cold and hot water, as a rule, these are expensive and “smart” washing machines of very famous brands.

What will happen to a conventional washing machine if you connect it not to cold water, as usual, but to hot? At first glance, it’s okay, but the following problems will surely “come out” during operation.

• Ten washing machine will fail in the shortest possible time, although at first glance it seems that on the contrary it should work longer.
• The quality of washing will decrease markedly, and do not be surprised that the washing machine will openly ruin some things. If water reaches a temperature of about 60 in the washing machine⁰C, which means that things will be erased in it, even if a washing program is launched at a temperature of 30⁰C, the machine doesn’t know how to cool water.

For example, some types of colored synthetic things can be washed only in slightly warm water so that the paint does not come off and they do not fade. If your washing machine is connected to hot water, such things cannot be washed.

• A large amount of dirt from the water supply can get into the washing machine, especially if not protect the inlet hose with at least a flow filter. In a good way, the coarse filter is not enough here, you need a fine filter, but it costs quite a lot.
• The inlet hose of a conventional washing machine is not designed for hot water, so that significant and quick wear is ensured.

As you can see, there are a lot of minuses of connecting the washing machine to hot water, but what about the pluses? Will there be notorious energy savings? If you look at current tariffs, it turns out that hot water is more expensive than electricity, so most likely you will not only not save, but pay more. Conclusion: if you are the owner of a conventional washing machine, without the bells and whistles in the form of an additional connection to hot water, it is better not to suffer and connect to a pipe with cold water - you will not have to regret it.

What you need to connect

If you are the proud owner of a new-fangled washing machine that can be connected to hot water along with cold, then further information is presented for you. In such a situation, the washing machine does not have one inlet hose, but two, which means that the usual way to connect to hot and cold water is not entirely suitable. We will need:

• plumbing wrench;
• FUMA;
• или inch rubber or silicone gasket rings;
• two main valves of a tee on ¾ with a lateral exit to a bulk hose;

If you plan to put a faucet-tee in a prominent place, for example, on a faucet in the bathroom, then take a faucet more beautiful with a chrome surface.

• adapters to ¾.
• flow filters on ¾.

The adjustable plumbing wrench must be used with care so as not to damage the surface of the chrome-plated mixer nuts. It would be better to stick pieces of electrical tape on the edge of the nuts during operation, so that the chrome does not become scratched.

Working process

The washing machine can be connected in different ways to hot and cold water. It will be possible without special “troubles” to install both main tees in front of the mixer, how to do this is described in our publication How to connect a washing machine to the mixertherefore we will not dwell on this in more detail.

You can also put tees in front of the inlet hoses of the mixers under the sink. This method is considered more aesthetic, since the connection point will be securely hidden under the sink. So let's do it.

Remember to seal all joints with FUM tape to reduce the risk of leakage.

Although your washing machine works well, taking both cold and hot water, you still need to make sure that less dirt gets into the system from the water supply, so for starters we will tee the taps with flow filters. Next, we will make the following manipulations.

1. We block the risers with hot and cold water.
2. We climb under the sink and find the junction of the metal-plastic pipe with hoses going to the sink mixer. Disconnect hoses and pipes.
3. Then it will be possible to wind our tees on both pipes through adapters, which are already assembled with flow filters.
4. We fasten the hoses from the mixer to the tees.
5. We fasten the bulk hoses from the washing machine to the tees. Here you need a bag, without it, nowhere, because all connections must be airtight.

Now it will be possible to turn on the water and check how the washing machine connected in this way will work. During testing, pay special attention to tees and hoses, make sure that nothing drips anywhere.

In conclusion, we note that connecting the washing machine even to cold, even to hot water is a simple task. Perhaps there is no difference. But does your “home assistant” need this? Most likely, it is not necessary, if, of course, your washing machine from the factory does not have the function of double connection to hot and cold water!