Washing machine cold water feed

Darwin · 12-03-2022 11:08AM #1

Hi, we are getting a new washing machine on Monday and I have to install it as the retailer provides no installation service where I live. The existing machine has both hot water and cold water feeds (its 25 years old now). The pipes haven't been touched in all this time, but I can get the hot water valve to close by turning it clockwise (please ignore the colour of the hoses):

The cold water feed is a problem, I can't get the valve to budge at all (in any direction) and there is no room to turn it clockwise as the pipe is nearly flush against the wall:

The valve appears to be a different design from hot water one, am I missing a trick here? i.e. should I be turning it clockwise?

My plan is to shut off the mains water supply to the house, keep the existing hose in place and at the washing machine end, take the rubber washer from the new hose and put it in the old one.

Just wondering if this sounds ok? Thanks!

astrofool · 12-03-2022 03:18PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058237001/washing-machine-cold-water-feed

There's a little screw holding the plaster lever on (usually flat head), you can unscrew and take off the lever and then use either a water pliers or vice grip to turn the valve (just mind not to deform the bit of metal).

If it really is seized (after trying oil on the joint) you can turn off the water supply to swap over the pipes, and/or replace the valve at the same time (though it looks a bit awkward to access).

Most new machines just have a cold water inlet now. Fancy new machines (usually dishwasher) can be plumbed to the hot water as a single feed and save on electrically heating the water in the machines (Washing machines would probably need both supplies so they could reliably perform a low temperature wash).

Darwin · 12-03-2022 04:33PM

Thanks very much, I've sprayed it with some 3 in 1 oil and will see if it budges tomorrow.

If not I will just turn the water off. I might leave the hose in situ as I'm afraid of starting a leak if the pipework is disturbed.

10-10-20 · 12-03-2022 06:45PM

BTW and not wishing to contradict astrofool, but there is very little point these days in having either a washing machine or dishwasher on the hot supply as they only consume 1-2 L per cycle, so they rarely ever get any hot water from the tank. Just plumb in the cold and you'll be better off as you're not going to be reheating the same water twice.

martin6651 · 13-03-2022 10:44PM

When you turn off the water you can loosen the bottom nut slightly and turn the valve to a position that you can shut it off if needed again.

Darwin · 14-03-2022 08:18AM

Thank you, I'll give that a go later.

Washing machine cold water feed

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