# Forum Home Renovation Plumbing  Garden hose for washing machine connection

## mojorising

Washing machine connector hoses are quite expensive. 
They use the identical thread and seals to garden hose tap connectors. 
I have a temprary need to connect up a washing machine inside the house with a long 6m run. This would require joinging several washing machine lines together with male-male 20mm connectors. 
It would save a bit of money to do this in a single run using garden hose with one garden hose connector at each end. 
I have seen some youtubes of people demonstrating this method. 
It seems to be technically feasible but the risk is that the hoses are only held on at each end using garden hose clips rather than permanent plumbing connections. 
Anybody used garden hose connectors to plumb a washing machine? 
I am only doing cold water at the moment. Might use proper washing machine lines for the hot. Unless anyone has any experience using garden hose with hot water...?  :Smilie:  
The useful thing about using hose is that the hose can be fed through small holes drilled in the work units and then the connectors added. To thread washing machine hoses would require much bigger holes in the units since the connectors are fixed on to the ends of the lines.

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## phild01

I would not use garden hoses for that purpose unless I was there to watch it.  I remember one done for a short distance and the hose bloated to twice it's diameter over a number of years. Also, the flimsy plastic connectors can split after a while. The push fittings can eventually drip or blow the hose fitting off, depending on your water pressure.
I had an old Simpson dishwasher and the factory hose blew apart flooding my floor while I was away. I also had a locally made washing machine and the factory fitted plastic tap connector split. I don't trust anything other than pex and pressed fittings like you find on upmarket appliances.

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## commodorenut

I ran a machine for a few weeks off a garden hose (during the laundry reno).  Exactly as Phil noted above, the hose & fittings aren't made to hold constant pressure 24/7.  The other issue is depending on the machine, the fill solenoids are quite violent in their action, and will stress the already marginal grip in the connections between the hose & the ends.  I ended up having the tap end start leaking past the fitting to hose connection after only a few uses - luckily it was the end that was outside (on the tap) and not the end on the machine that was in the screened back verandah which was full of cardboard boxes of tiles, bags of cement, and other supplies. 
In your situation, I would do 1 or both of these 2 things: 
1. Manually turn on the water when you want to use the machine, and shut it off when done - this is what I did, as back then we only used to wash 3-4 loads once a week on a weekend, so it was convenient, but I still had the issue arise.
2. My eventual fix - and I still use this hose today to feed my pressure washer.  Get some decent brass connections, and some decent air compressor hose, and fit the hose with metal crimps - like how the braided hoses for flick mixers & the like are done - this is much more robust, and designed to be able to be secured with crimps or even worm-drive hose clamps if you don't have access to a crimper. 
Something like this fitting with some worm-drive hose clamps will happily hold 120psi, and is capable of holding the water pressure much more reliably than a garden hose. https://www.bunnings.com.au/kinetic-...l-kit_p4920388

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## SilentButDeadly

It can be done but not with garden fittings. Use nut and tail fittings instead with hose clamps. Plus only leave the hose pressurised for the time that it is in use. Otherwise use rated 20 mm pressure hose...just like a pre made washing machine hose! (Go figure?)

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## mojorising

^Thanks for the advice fellas. 
I looks like, despite the cost of the hoses, and despite losing the ability to thread through small holes, that joining regular washing machine hoses in series will be the simplest solution. 
Those nut and tail kits would be good but I would still need to buy some correct pressure/temp rated hose so I think it would be almost break even against just joining some regular hoses in series.

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## joynz

> ^Thanks for the advice fellas. 
> I looks like, despite the cost of the hoses, and despite losing the ability to thread through small holes, that joining regular washing machine hoses in series will be the simplest solution. 
> Those nut and tail kits would be good but I would still need to buy some correct pressure/temp rated hose so I think it would be almost break even against just joining some regular hoses in series.

  Will such a long hose put strain on the motor?

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## cyclic

> Will such a long hose put strain on the motor?

  Supply no
Pump out yes
Is it possible to place the machine in a bathroom or outdoors near a hose tap and drain.
Would solve a lot of problems. 
And those brass ring and tails shown above are actually dishwasher/washing machine compliant.
I used to fit them with double clamps.

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## Bros

> Washing machine connector hoses are quite expensive.

   I dont agree all you have to do is find out the washing machine cemetery like local dump and you will get all you want.

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## phild01

> I dont agree all you have to do is find out the washing machine cemetery like local dump and you will get all you want.

  Do those public dumps still exist!
Though street cleanup areas could be worth looking for too.

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## Bros

> Do those public dumps still exist!

   Where I live they certainly do ( but as Paul Keating used to say we don't live in Sydney so we are camping out) but old washing machines go somewhere. the local repair man would have heaps ready to go to the dump. 
Temp rated hoses? We never use hot water for washing I think the tap would be seized by now as it hasn't been used in at least 10 yrs.

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## Uncle Bob

I think I'd just make up longer a pipe by using two 'snake bite' fittings and the poly pipe that suits them.

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## Whitey66

I have my ice machine (water based variety  :Smilie:   ) hooked up for weeks over xmas with a garden hose. I use the good quality Gardena connectors and I've never had an issue.
Regarding finding old machines to rob parts off, many Harvey Norman stores have a pile of them outside the back of the store that they'll let you take for free.

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## RodEye

If I were in your shoes, I would you use 16mm sharkbite pipe & fittings or 13mm reinforced hose with barbed nut & tails. Either system is reusable and capable of being thread through relative hole sizes. Joining hoses in series is just not logical Mr Spock.

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## DaleBlack

I have to temporarily place the washing machine in the patio due to a laundry reno. 
I was going to connect it to the drain in the patio but its just going to soakwells. A few years back I pulled up all the bricks cleaned out 3 and put 3 x 900*600 concrete ones in.
However do i run the risk of silting them up with lint? its one thing for rainwater to run in there, the reason theyre installed, onto clean sand that drains away fairly quickly, but with lint I may cause a layer of semi impermeable waste sitting there.
Causing me to one day have to dig them all up again? 
Its most convenient in the patio under cover , but should i put it near a drainoutlet down the side of the house? 
or rig up somesort of filter? 
maybe like this?  https://www.amazon.com/Washing-Machi...tNum=5&sr=8-10

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## Bros

If you are worried about lint could you tie a sock over the end of the pipe and secure it with a big rubber band so you can clean it?
One thing you might have to do is pump the water into a large bucket and have a drain coming from the bottom with the hose attached that has the sock on as the washing machine will pump faster than the drain.

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## YoungBolt

> If you are worried about lint could you tie a sock over the end of the pipe and secure it with a big rubber band so you can clean it?
> One thing you might have to do is pump the water into a large bucket and have a drain coming from the bottom with the hose attached that has the sock on as the washing machine will pump faster than the drain.

  Ive done the whole-drain-washing-machine-into-a-bucket thing and it didnt work well. I used a 25L bucket with a 20mm outlet hose and it filled up quick.  
Im midway through my laundry Reno with my machine on the patio. For outlet hose Im using a old dishwasher outlet hose hoseclamped onto the outlet hole from the washine machine. I drain the outlet hose direct to the drain under the outside tap with a flyscreen mesh over the grill to catch any lint. 
And the inlet pipe screws onto my garden tap.  
It works, but Im looking forward to finishing my laundry... 
And as above, would not use a garden hose or fittings. Theyre not made for the pressure and will likely bust the fittings.

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## DaleBlack

> Ive done the whole-drain-washing-machine-into-a-bucket thing and it didnt work well. I used a 25L bucket with a 20mm outlet hose and it filled up quick.  
> Im midway through my laundry Reno with my machine on the patio. For outlet hose Im using a old dishwasher outlet hose hose-clamped onto the outlet hole from the washing machine. I drain the outlet hose direct to the drain under the outside tap with a flyscreen mesh over the grill to catch any lint.  
> And the inlet pipe screws onto my garden tap.  
> It works, but Im looking forward to finishing my laundry... 
> And as above, would not use a garden hose or fittings. Theyre not made for the pressure and will likely bust the fittings.

  thanks for the responses, 
 YoungBolt does much lint or anything else end up on your flyscreen mesh? 
is it just fly screen zip tied onto the end? 
I will have to use the existing washing machine outlet hose but connected to some leftover 20mm electrical conduit with the ribs or even PVC to get it to snake about 6m to a drain. 
Is there an issue with wearing the pump out by it having to push 6m instead of 2?

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## commodorenut

The pump is designed to cope with pumping the water up to the height just above the bowl, then gravity (and siphon) assists the rest of the way.   As long as the water is travelling downhill and the outlet is lower than that point on the back of the machine, you're not affecting the pump.  
For most of the last 23 years, I've run a 12m hose out onto the back lawn - the last 3m of it peppered with holes.  I've had to replace it several times due to UV breakdown, and other "accidents."   
I move it around to evenly water the lawn.  The only times we haven't run it, is when we've had a week of rain, and the ground is already saturated.  I have it hooked up at the trough socket in the laundry, but instead of going down into the drain, I run the hose down to floor level in the laundry, then out onto the back verandah (higher than the yard) and then out onto the grass.  I am careful not to go uphill, nor coil it back on itself - so it's a smooth passage for the water (and gravity helps draw the siphon). 
We ran the same washing machine for 21 of those 23 years, and it's failure became mechanical, in the reversing solenoid/mechanism.  Pump is still good.  New machine is running the same hose setup too. 
As far as lint, After 4-5 loads on a weekend, I find enough lint at the end of the pipe to probably fill say an average egg, but not tightly packed.  You could squeeze it down to a ball the size of a cherry.
The lint is obviously worse with towels and fleecy clothes, whilst business shirts & underwear produce hardly anything.  
I like the idea of a sock, or even some flyscreen mesh, as long as the surface area allows enough remaining flow once it starts to fill with lint. 
The hose I use is the same internal diameter as the OEM washing machine hose.  I wouldn't go any smaller, as that could result in back pressure on the pump.  Bigger is fine though. 
Oh - all of this was "approved" by my father, who, in a previous career, repaired washing machines.

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## DaleBlack

> The pump is designed to cope with pumping the water up to the height just above the bowl, then gravity (and siphon) assists the rest of the way.   As long as the water is travelling downhill and the outlet is lower than that point on the back of the machine, you're not affecting the pump.  
> For most of the last 23 years, I've run a 12m hose out onto the back lawn - the last 3m of it peppered with holes.  I've had to replace it several times due to UV breakdown, and other "accidents."   
> I move it around to evenly water the lawn.  The only times we haven't run it, is when we've had a week of rain, and the ground is already saturated.  I have it hooked up at the trough socket in the laundry, but instead of going down into the drain, I run the hose down to floor level in the laundry, then out onto the back verandah (higher than the yard) and then out onto the grass.  I am careful not to go uphill, nor coil it back on itself - so it's a smooth passage for the water (and gravity helps draw the siphon). 
> We ran the same washing machine for 21 of those 23 years, and it's failure became mechanical, in the reversing solenoid/mechanism.  Pump is still good.  New machine is running the same hose setup too. 
> As far as lint, After 4-5 loads on a weekend, I find enough lint at the end of the pipe to probably fill say an average egg, but not tightly packed.  You could squeeze it down to a ball the size of a cherry.
> The lint is obviously worse with towels and fleecy clothes, whilst business shirts & underwear produce hardly anything.  
> I like the idea of a sock, or even some flyscreen mesh, as long as the surface area allows enough remaining flow once it starts to fill with lint. 
> The hose I use is the same internal diameter as the OEM washing machine hose.  I wouldn't go any smaller, as that could result in back pressure on the pump.  Bigger is fine though. 
> Oh - all of this was "approved" by my father, who, in a previous career, repaired washing machines.

  great information thankyou

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## DaleBlack

So its connected in the patio now, initially i turned the drain hose at the bottom of the unit from facing up to the side and then around the unit and down to the drain in the patio. As it was filling it was also draining! 
something to do with a Siphon issue? anyway i returned it to how its normally setup, drain 90 degree plastic end at the bottom of the unit faces straight up, goes up and then back down and then across to the drain hole. 
I have used a stocking doubled over as a filter , ziptied on and it seems to be working, 2 loads have been run through it. The unit I have also has two lint collectors inside the tub   https://www.poweraussie.com/products...yABEgIuS_D_BwE 
so cleaning them out every second wash helps.

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## commodorenut

Yes, the outlet hose has to go up higher than the highest point of the bowl, otherwise the first bit of sufficient water that gets into it will quickly siphon the rest out of the bowl. 
Can't say I've ever seen the lint filters in the new machine (it's an LG) but I'm not allowed to touch it.... well, unless the wifi connection needs re-booting.... but it still lets some lint out of the pipe, so your stocking idea is perfect.

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## DaleBlack

The stocking worked but became clogged with lint at the bottom, causing a backup on the flow such that i had a problem with the rinse function again whereby it kept running out as quick as it was filling.
At least that was what someone told me when i described the rinse issue. I cut off the bottom of the stocking tonight and below you can see how much lint there is below, lint aside the full cycle passed with no rinse issues with a open flow.       
totally clogged the only reason any water came out was because you can see above I left about 100mm of stocking and this buildup was in the bottom. It also answers my question of whether lint is all caught in the machines lint filters or does some run out via the drainage pipe. Normally these are connected in laundries to the actual drain system so I am surprised more drains are not clogged with this stuff, but they get installed and run for years so I suppose not.
 The buildup was about 10 days worth and maybe 5-8 loads. 
I am running it through a colander for now , bigger holes then the stocking, as I still dont want this lint blocking up the soakwells under the patio.

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