How can you hook up your washing machine to your kitchen faucet?

There are many variables here. Essentially you'll need the following:

# A cold feed for the dishwasher, and for the washing machine. # A waste outlet for the dishwasher and also for the washing machine. # Electric supply points for both appliances. You may also need a hot supply for the washing machine, though many are now cold fill only. A fairly common arrangement is to have these quite close to a sink unit, in which case this can be adapted to house all of these services.

Sinks are usually found in kitchens and utility rooms. If you already have Plumbing for these appliances, you may find it easy to fit the machines - see below. If you are replacing appliances, you'll first have to get rid of the old ones, which may be non trivial. Disposal of old appliances needs to be done with some care - remove the plugs, and take the doors off.

If you have no plumbing you'll have to start from scratch, and getting this right will save time in the long run. In the UK, many builders put pipework behind the area where the appliances are to go, but this is really not always a terribly good idea.

It should always be possible to turn off the water supply and the electricity supply to these appliances. Additionally, putting electric points behind appliances, apart from the accessibility problem, may also cause the plugs and sockets to get too hot, and is not recommended. Lastly, clearance for fitted in devices is often quite tight, so keeping space behind is important, otherwise your device will stick out.

Some machines are much more difficult to fit. Many have simple pipework, but some, such as certain Miele models have special inlet pipes. Miele has something which it calls Waterproof which is supposed to provide protection against leaks. Why leaks can't be avoided by simply making sure everything is tight and firm in the first place I don't know. These Miele models have a box at the end of the inlet pipe, and this can make fitting much more difficult, as the size of the holes to cut in the units will be considerably greater.

For fitting under devices, you will probably have to take the top off at some stage. For new machines you are likely to need a Torx screwdriver to do this. T20 is quite a common size. You may also need other tools, such as plain screwdrivers, and Posidrive or Philips screwdrivers, and electric drills. If you are going to do plumbing, you may need a range of tools, such as pipe wrenches, blowtorches, pipe benders etc. You may need to cut into the kitchen units. Using small padsaws and/or mallet and chisel can work, but leaves messy holes. If you have a drill you can use a rotary cutter for some holes, or you might want to use a jigsaw or similar to get other shaped holes.

Some outlet pipes simply hook over a vertical wastepipe, and are easy to fit. Others must be clamped onto a waste outlet, and you'll probably need Jubilee clips for that.

For fitted units clearances can be very tight. 2 mm clearance is what is allowed on some 60 cm machines. The machines are 59.8 cm wide and the gap is 60cm. You will very probably have to adjust the vertical orientation of the machines in order to fit them in. It is always recommended to level the machines anyway, usually by adjusting the feet, but for machines with such a tight fit you will have to do this in order to get the machines into their slots.

See also the following :

* http://www.diynot.com/pages/pl/pl016.php * http://www.uknetguide.co.uk/Homes_and_Gardens/Article/How_to_Plumb_a_Washing_Machine.html * http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_install_a_dishwasher

* http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/plumbing_in_a_washing_machine_or.htm * http://uk.answers.Yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060730074406AAWbnaQ For many washers and dishwashers the job is quite easy. You can also employ a plumber. I'd say that half a day would be feasible, though in some cases it'd take a day. Costs could vary between £40-£150 or so, depending on area and rates.

For the Miele models, unless you are living in Germany, or in a kitchen which has been designed to German plumbing standards, I'd say that it could take considerably longer. If you haven't already bought the appliances, consider how difficult it will be to fit them.

The Miele models are very good, very quiet, and very reliable. They are quite expensive, and you may find that they are also time consuming and expensive to fit. Against that they are reported to last a very long time. Some other models are cheaper, and can be fitted quickly, though may only have a short lifespan. They will probably also be noisier in operation, and not do such a good job of washing.

I also spoke to a kitchen fitter who said that he knew about these models and could fit them in one hour. I think he's good, but I doubt that I'd do it in an hour, but maybe he could one in a morning. A few more points about those German models - such as Bosch, Neff, Miele. Many of these now have this type of water protection unit at the end of the inlet pipe. However they are not all installed the same way. The Miele ones should hang vertically, with the washer connector vertically above, while some of the others are intended for horizontal installation. This information is known within the trade, but you may have to do some serious research to find the manufacturer's recommendation if you fit one of these models.

If you can find a good fitter to install these appliances for £100 or less (for both machines) it could be a good deal, but make sure that the fitter really has experience. More traditional models with simple pipes are much easier to fit, and you can do it yourself or you should be able get someone to do it for rather less than £100.