How To Connect A New Washing Machine Yourself For Free

Getting a new washing machine can be expensive especially if you have to pay someone to fit it. Some major washing machine retailers offer an installation service which can range between £25-£45.

As you would have already paid several hundreds for the appliance wouldn't it be nice if you could connect the washing up yourself, gain a skill and save some money in the process ?.

Well this is what I decided to do and to help anyone else in my situation I created this step-by-step guide so they wouldn't have to go through the hardship of figuring it all out.

How to install a new washing machine

1. Disconnect and remove your existing washing machine - If you have not completed this step already I have provided a guide called 'How to disconnect, remove and dispose of a washing machine for free'.

2. Maneuver the washing machine into position - Not an easy job as they are quite heavy but move the washing machine roughly where you want it to be, which is probably where your old one was. Make sure to leave enough room to access the rear pipework and power cables.

3. Attach the cold water feed hose pipe to the back washing machine - Your washing machine should have been supplied with a cold water feed pipe. The pipe has two different ends, one that looks like a hook and another that is straight. The end that looks like a hook is the one that needs to be connected to the back of the washing machine and can be easily screwed on (See right).






4. Check hose pipe and cable length - You will now need to check that the power cable, waste drainage hose pipe and cold water feed cables are long enough. Take the power cable and hold it to the plug socket, take the waste pipe and hold it to the relevant connector (in my case sink U-bend) and take the cold water feed pipe and hold it up to the cold water isolation valve.

If you find that the waste hosepipe from the washing machine doesn't reach then please follow my instruction within the post 'How to connect a washing machine with drain waste hosepipe extension'.

However, if you are happy that everything will connect then proceed to the next step.

5.  Connect the cold water feed hosepipe - The cold water feed hosepipe is the easiest to fit as it has a threaded end so just screw it onto the cold water isolation valve.

6. Connect the drain waste hosepipe - Fitting this hose pipe can be quite tricky depending on the position of the pipework it connects to.

The first step is to place the loose hose pipe clamp ring over the unattached drain pipe. You do this first because trying to add it after the pipe is in position can be a nightmare.

Slide / push the waste hose pipe over the drain pipe (in my case included as part of my sink's U-bend). This will be a very tight fitting so it may take some effort to get it properly located.

Once in position slide the hosepipe clam ring into the position shown on the right and use a screw driver to tighten.

7. Just add water - Release the water from the isolation valve into the washing machine by moving the tap into the 'Open' position. You should hear a rush of water at this point.

Check for leaks







8.  Plug in the power lead - All you need to do now is plug in the power lead and you are ready to use your new washing machine.

**Side notes**

• Read the instructions that come with your washing machine. The appliance will likely have bolts inserted into the back that keep the drum and other components still in transit which need to be removed before installation and use.
• You will find that your washing machine is wet in certain places when you receive it. This is nothing to worry about, it is just residue from when they test it at the factory.
• Apologies for the slightly grotty pictures from under my old sink. We have a whole new kitchen now and hopefully less dead spiders !!

I hope you found this post helpful, please let me (and others) know how you got on with your installation in the comments below.

How much does it cost for an electrician to rewire a 3 bedroom house

When we moved into our house we noticed that not only did we have too few electrical sockets but the ones that we did have were located in strange places and were surface mounted. For example most of them were on the skirting boards which made it almost impossible to plug certain items in as the plug was almost on the ground and the wire leading out from the plug was pressing against the carpet.

In the living room we had two double sockets on one chimney breast and a single socket (with burn damage) by the television.

As a result, we made the decision to rewire our entire house. Our builder recommended a guy he had worked with previously so I contacted him with a list of what I needed.

Under stairs : New consumer unit and light switch
Living room : 7 double sockets, light switch and fitting of two ceiling pendants
Hall : New light switch and fitting of a previously purchased light fitting
Landing : New single plug socket, New light switch  and fitting of a previously purchased light fitting
Bathroom : Boiler timer, New light switch and fitting of a previously purchased light fitting.
Rear Bedroom : Two double plug sockets and ceiling pendant
Front Bedroom : Two double plug sockets and ceiling pendant
Box room/Office : Two double sockets and ceiling pendant
Kitchen : We would be replacing the entire kitchen at a later stage so we didn't need rewiring at this point.

Italics show items we had purchased previously so they weren't included in the electricians quote.

The electrician offered us two options £1200 without him supplying materials or £1500 supply and fit of everything. In the end we went for the £1500 'all in' option as the wires, pendants, sockets, consumer unit and boiler timer etc would all add up. Also it was just less hassle for him to get everything he needed.

The work took a week to complete and did cause a lot of damage to the walls so my advice would be to make this first job you do when you move into a new house. Thankfully we did this so it didn't cause us too many issues.

If you have any re-wiring experiences you would like to share, please leave a comment below.