How to connect a washing machine with your own hands

The washing machine must be connected immediately to three networks: water supply, sewerage and electricity. Therefore, it is necessary to choose a place for installation so that all three systems are located nearby or it is possible to bring them there. A bath, a toilet and a kitchen are considered optimal for installing a washing machine – they have all the necessary communications. Most often, they require a little refinement, but connecting the washing machine to communications is not very difficult and you can do everything yourself.

Accommodation options

There are several places where you can put a washing machine:

• restroom;
• bathroom or combined bathroom;
• kitchen;
• corridor.

The most problematic option is the corridor. Usually there are no required communications in the corridor – no sewerage, no water. We’ll have to “pull” them to the installation site, which is not at all easy. But sometimes it’s the only option. In the photo below there are some interesting solutions for how you can put the typewriter in the corridor.

There are all communications in the toilet, but in typical high-rise buildings the dimensions of this room are such that it is sometimes difficult to turn around there – there is absolutely no space. In this case, they put washing machines above the toilet. To do this, make a shelf so that sitting on the toilet does not touch it with your head. It is clear that it should be very durable and reliable, and the machine with very good shock absorbers. In addition, they must be set perfectly, otherwise they may “jump” during the spin cycle. In general, with this method of installing a washing machine, it does not hurt to make a few slats that will prevent it from falling off the shelf.

In the bathroom and the combined bathroom, there is usually not much space either, but still more than in the toilet. There is a choice here. If there is space, you can put a washing machine next to the sink. From above, you can install a countertop, which will be a logical conclusion, and also solve the problem of water getting on the case. To make everything look organic, you need to choose a typewriter of such a height that it fits into the size, and the sink itself is better than a square one – then they will become wall to wall. If there is not enough space, you can at least slide part of the body under the sink.

There is a more compact way – to put the washing machine under the sink. Only the sink needs a special shape so that the siphon is installed at the back.

The next option for installing a washing machine is on the side of the bath, between its side and the wall. Today, the dimensions of the cases can be narrow, so this option is a reality.

Just keep in mind that putting such equipment in bathrooms or a combined bathroom is not the best idea. Due to high humidity, the case begins to rust quickly (tested from my own experience). However, there is usually not a lot of space, although in principle, you can put the car under the washbasin or hang shelves above it. In general, it’s up to you.

Another popular place to install a washing machine in the kitchen. It is built into the kitchen set. Sometimes they close the doors, sometimes they don’t. This is at the discretion of the owners. Some interesting photos in the gallery.

Removing shipping bolts

Before you connect the washing machine, you need to unpack it and remove the mounting bolts, put plugs in their place.

This procedure is required immediately after unpacking. If you leave the bolts and turn on the machine, it will break. And this is not a warranty case. The number of bolts varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, but the installation diagram is in the instruction manual, and they are visible on the back wall. Just take a screwdriver and unscrew, close the opened hole with a plug.

Water connection

First, about what water the washing machine is connected to. Actually, cold. The water is then heated as needed by the heating elements. Some owners, in order to save money, connect to hot water. This means less energy is used when washing. But the savings are doubtful, more hot water is spent. If a meter is installed on the hot water supply, then it is cheaper to pay for electricity than for hot water. It is also worth considering that connecting a washing machine to hot water is not very good in relation to linen: the proteins curl up from the temperature and then do not wash well.

This was about ordinary washers, but there are models that connect to both hot and cold water. They have not one water inlet on the back wall, but two. They are very rare in our country, there is too little demand, and the prices for such equipment are much higher.

Now about the connection itself. The washing machine comes with a rubber hose that you need to connect the washing machine to the water. Its length is 70-80 cm, which is not always enough. If necessary, in stores selling plumbing, you can buy a longer one (3 meters is not the limit, it seems).

This hose is screwed onto the corresponding outlet on the rear wall. There should be a sealing rubber gasket, so there is no need to rewind. Tighten the union nut of the hose (plastic) by hand, if you use wrenches, then just tighten it by half a turn. Not more.

The other end of the hose must be connected to the plumbing system. If you have a free outlet somewhere, ending with a tap – great, if not, you need to make a tie-in.

The easiest way is with plastic, polypropylene or metal-plastic pipes – they bought a tee (with one transition to metal), soldered / installed. If the water supply is diluted with a metal pipe, you will have to embed the tee by welding.

In any case, a crane is placed after the tee. A simpler and cheaper ball. Here, when installing it, you can wrap linen tow on the thread and grease it with paste.

There are tees with taps for connecting washing machines and other household appliances. A ball valve is already installed in one of the outlets and everything is done in one body. It looks more compact, but if the tap fails, you will have to change the entire tee.

Sometimes it is advised to put a filter before the tap. Of course, it will not be superfluous, but if there is a filter at the entrance to an apartment or house, then there is no urgent need for it.

Where to lead the drain hose

If there is a sink or sink siphon nearby, there is no problem. You don’t even have to redo the sewer. It will be necessary to buy a special siphon with a tap for connecting washing machines and other household appliances and install it instead of the old one.

Another option is to connect the washing machine to the sewer directly. For this you can:

• change the sewer tee that goes to the sink;
• make a separate withdrawal.
  

All these methods require alteration of the pipeline, but the connection will be capital. There is one point: the diameter of the drain hose is much smaller than the size of the sewer gadflies. To ensure tightness and guarantee the absence of odors, special rubber cuffs are inserted into the outlets. They just plug in a hose. The elastic edge of the cuff compresses it, the connection is ready.

There are also temporary connection options. The drain hose is simply lowered into the bathroom, toilet or sink. This method, of course, is very simple, but not the best – the hose can fall, you can forget to put it in place after turning on the machine, etc. Then the water drains directly onto the floor, and cleaning up the flood is not very pleasant, and even the neighbors from below won’t be happy.

With any method of connecting the drain hose from the machine to the sewer, it is necessary to ensure that it does not bend or loop. The corrugated drain hose is prone to clogging, so the minimum bend radius must be observed.

All these data are usually written in the instructions, but usually the minimum bending radius is 50 cm, the maximum is 85 cm. In order to be able to control the position of the hose, there are special plastic clamps that are put on top of the corrugation and hold it in position.

Electrical connection

Since the power of the washing machine with the heating elements on is decent, it is advisable to connect a separate power line from the shield to it. The circuit is simple, the phase from the input is fed to the circuit breaker, from it it goes to the RCD, then by wire to the place where the outlet is installed.

All manufacturers emphasize that the outlet must be grounded. Only in this case, factory warranties are valid.

Now about the denominations. The circuit breaker is selected according to the current that the device needs. This figure can be found in the passport, or you can calculate it. For a quick calculation, use the online current calculator. For an independent solution, you need to divide the power of the washing machine by 220 V, we get the current consumed. For example, your unit has a power of 3,5 kW. We get 3500 W / 220 V u15,9d 6 A. We take the nearest larger circuit breaker at face value. They come in 10 A, 16 A, 20 A, 25 A, 16 A. For our case, a XNUMX A machine is suitable.

Let’s move on to the choice of RCD. In terms of current, it is taken one step higher than the nominal value of the machine, that is, for the example given, it is 32 A. But the RCD has one more characteristic – leakage current. For devices connected to a dedicated line, the recommended value is 10 mA. So, for a washing machine with a power of 3,5 kW, you need a 16 A machine, a 32 A RCD with a leakage current of 10 mA.

It would also be nice to calculate the wire cross section. Today, cables with copper conductors are mainly used for wiring. They are more flexible, less heavy. The calculation is done by power or current consumption, but since the power spread of washing machines is limited, we can immediately say that for devices up to 4,1 kW, a core cross section of 1,5 square meters is sufficient. mm copper conductors, up to 5,5 kW – cross section 2,5 sq. mm.

And the last thing about electricians: about sockets. When choosing an outlet, keep track of not only the presence of a grounding contact. You also need to look at what voltage this outlet is designed for. On normal products, there is a marking on the back side. The maximum operating voltage is indicated there, but sometimes the rated current is set. If there are no inscriptions, it is better not to risk it. Most likely this is a cheap Chinese consumer goods.

The last step is setting the level.

Connecting the washing machine to the water supply and sewerage is not all. It is necessary for her to provide normal conditions for work. In order for the washing machine not to jump during the spin cycle, it must be set strictly vertically. The position of the body is adjusted by means of adjustable legs. They take the building level, lay it on the lid, change the height of the legs, ensuring that the bubble in the level is strictly in the center.

Check by laying the level parallel to the front, then shift to the back wall. Then the procedure is repeated, but the level is applied to the side walls of the case – on one side, then on the other side. After the bubble is strictly in the center in all positions, we can assume that the washing machine is level.

If there is no level, you can try to set the machine by placing a glass with a rim on it, into which water is poured. The water level is up to the rim. Change the position until the water is exactly on the rim. This method is less accurate, but better than nothing.

There is one more thing. Most often, washing machines are on a tiled floor, and it is slippery and hard. Therefore, even a perfectly set machine sometimes “jumps”, the vibration cannot be extinguished during spinning on a hard floor. To cope with the situation, you can put a rubber mat or rubber pads under each leg under the machine. This will be a great shock absorber.