All washing machines should use standard sizes and fittings. But there are variances in design across different manufacturers and a few potential problems as discussed in this article.
You will always get new fill hoses with a new washing machine. If it isn’t too much trouble, it makes sense to use the new hoses if possible unless you are happy that the existing hoses are still in excellent condition.
Fill Hoses
The main potential problem with fill hoses supplied with a new washing machine is that due to cost cutting they might be shorter and not reach your taps. If so, you may be forced to use the old ones, which are hopefully still in good condition. If not you could try buying extra long fill hoses washing machine fill hoses (standard hoses are 1.5 metres and extra long hoses are usually 2.5 metres).
Some washing machines may come with anti flood fill hoses, which have built in flood protection. They have the same end fittings but are otherwise completely different to normal hoses in that they are large, bulky and made of corrugated plastic similar to that of the drain hose with a large fitting at the tap end.
They can be difficult to fit in some circumstances. For full details about this type of hose and whether you need to use it or not read this article – Aqua Stop Hoses
Some hoses supplied with a new washing machine may have filters built into the ends, whereas your previous ones may not. If so you should use the new ones because the manufacturer has designed the washing machine to require these extra filters.
Drain hoses
The drain hose on a new washing machine should be extremely similar to your old machine’s but it may well be shorter causing problems for some. Cost cutting has resulted in shorter fill hoses, drain hoses and even mains cable. If the new drain hose is too short it is not so simple to use the old one like you can with the fill hoses because it needs connecting to the water pump. This is possible to do, but just too involved for most people.
You can extend a drain hose using a universal drain hose extension kit. You may need to cut down the old one a little to make sure it doesn’t end up much too long but great care must be taken to ensure you don’t have any leaks from the connection afterwards.
Keep a close eye on it until you can trust it’s not going to leak and make sure it’s a good tight fit, if it came disconnected you would get quite a massive flood.
The final potential issue is that you will most likely only get one. This is because they are virtually all cold fill only these days. If your old washer was hot and cold fill and you therefore have two taps and hoses this will raise some questions such as what do you do with the now unused hot water hose and tap? And can you still somehow use the hot water – maybe by connecting it to the washer instead of using cold? All these issues and more are answered here –
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Andy Trigg (Whitegoodshelp) says
Hello David. Yes water levels are controlled by measuring the level of the water so the thickness of the inlet hoses won’t make any difference. I’m not aware of any real advantage over the thinner inlet pipes other than presumably they use less material and are cheaper to produce. Any washing machine hoses as long as they are in good condition should work perfectly okay.
Alex says
Hi Whitegoodshelp,
I want to buy a Bosch washing machine and I have moved to a new property and it does not appear to have a connection for the drain hose socket under the kitchen sink.
I was told by the estate agent that the previous owner had a washing machine installed previously.
Can a washing machine be used without connecting a drain hose?
Please help.
Alex
Andy Trigg (Whitegoodshelp) says
Washing machines can be used with the drain hose pushed into a drain pipe at the back of the machine (the old fashioned way). Most are now pushed onto a small spigot off the u-bend. If neither are available then that’s unexpected and very unusual. If there’s definitely nothing there the only way the washer could have been used is with the drain hose hooked onto the edge of the sink.
This method is doable but very undesirable. First the drain hose can fall out and flood the kitchen. Secondly something like a dishcloth, bowl or other blockage can block the sink and cause it to overfill and flood the kitchen. You need to get it plumbed in properly if you are sure there’s no plastic spigot on the u-bend. Otherwise to use that method you need the plastic shepherd’s crook that comes with a washing machine but often discarded as not needed if connecting under the sink to force a hook into the end of the drain hose.
Kate Tarpey says
Hi I will be buying a new Indesit washing machine. The machine will be right beside the sink. The machine only has cold water inlet and the flat is plumbed for hot and cold, is okay to buy a washing machine that can only be plumbed to the cold water tap. Also, do the inlet pipes need to be fitted with washers before the hose is connected to them and if they do what size would I need to buy.
Andy Trigg (Whitegoodshelp) says
Hello Kate. Virtually all washing machines are cold fill only these days. On a washing machine should come with a new fill hose which will have rubber seals inside. The old hot water tap will no longer be required. In theory you should have it removed. However I already know of at least one new washing machine that has reintroduced the hot water tap. There’s always a possibility that eventually they might all go back to having a hot tap. However, for the last 10 or 15 years they have been cold fill only. The arguments for and against have been discussed in great detail and some of my articles. You might want to have a look at these 2 at least What do you do with the old hot water tap? | Cold Fill Washing Machines
Alison anderson says
Just got replacement hose for a second hand machine as woman had just cut it off but one end is too big for the machine or sink end will a garden hose connector work to make the hose longer
Joseph O'Connor says
Hi.
I am having a similar issue. We have just moved house and the tubes on our Zanussi washer dyer are too short. I have bought and fitted some 2.5metre hot and cold inlet hoses. That was easy. The hard bit is the drain tube. The zanussi has its drain hard wired so to speak in the base and I cannot replace it.
I have tried extending it by adding a spigot and buying an extension tube but the extension tubes available from Screwfix, B&Q and Selco all have a rarrow opening on one end (perfect) and a wide opening on the other. The larger diameter is way too big for my connection under the sink. Do extension tubes exist with the same narrow opening on both ends?
Andy Trigg (Whitegoodshelp) says
Hello Joseph. Here is a drain hose extension kit
Joseph O'Connor says
Hi Andy.
Yes I tried. It was way too loose in the larger end of the hose so I cut off the large end with the aim of pushing the connector (spigot) into the remaining hose.
That didn’t work either ( The connector is too big ) and I’m left with a useless hose.
Joseph O'Connor says
This is getting a little difficult to explain. A picture would be easier as I could annotate it.
The hose exiting the washing machine has an external diameter of 25mm, internal of 21mm.
It has a dual 19mm connector coming out of it.
The extension hoses I have seen, including the one I bought from yesterday are odd.
The actual internal diameter of the hose is 17mm but it has two moulded openings, one with an internal diameter of 22mm and the other of 28mm.
I decided I would cut off the large end but the connector now does not fit inside the cut tube.
Do I try a 21mm to 17mm connector?