Washing machine is a hot and cold fill, but I only have a cold water supply

If you want to connect up a washing machine that uses hot and cold water but you only have a cold water supply (such as in a basement or garage) you can use a Y Piece connector to connect the hot and cold fill hoses to a single cold water supply (external link to 4Washerhelp spares).

The washing machine will then work OK. Simply screw the Y-Piece onto the tap, and then screw the hot and cold fill hoses to the Y-piece and connect the other end of the fill hoses to the washing machine. (You may also be able to buy this part from a DIY store like B&Q)

If you don’t connect a water supply to the hot valve then some wash programs will not work as some only fill with hot water. The fact that you have connected cold water to the hot valve is irrelevant, the washing machine will just heat the water up to the correct temperature. The washing machine may use slightly more electricity but if it’s less than 10 years old it shouldn’t be significant unless you use a lot of 60 or 90 degree washes. On 40 degree washes, manufacturers argue it’s more efficient to fill with cold water only and slowly heat up the water to 40 degrees.

Written By Washerhelp on July 30th, 2007 with 2 comments.
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