How To Hookup a Washer and Dryer - Complete Guide

In this video I'm going to show you how to set up a new washer and dryer. If you've never done it before it can be a little intimidating, so I'll go step by step on connecting the hoses, electric cables, as well as the parts you'll need, and I'll have them linked below. If you only need to connect one or the other, feel free to skip ahead or click on the timestamps I have linked. With that said, everything's ready, so let's go. The washer and dryer hookups are really not too complicated. Going left to right there's a 50 amp plug, the ventilation, a plug for the washer, and the hot and cold water hookups with the drain. If you're using a gas dryer there's going to be an extra gas hose as well. I'm going to use an electric hookup for this video. To start out I'm going to hook up the dryer. The first thing I'm going to need is a ventilation duct hose. These metallic hoses are fire resistant and transfer the heat from your dryer away from your home so it doesn't cause a fire. I recommend getting a longer hose so that it's not stretched going from the dryer to the wall. Also make sure that it's approved for gas or electric depending on your dryer. Now let's open it up. Inside is the compacted duct vent which can be stretched out, as well as a circled clamp. You'll want to unscrew it so it becomes loose enough so that it will fit around the hose. If it's possible to unscrew it all the way so you don't have to slide it on like this, it's much easier. Slide it on so there's a 2 or 3 inch gap from the end, but be careful not to tear or puncture the vent. It's much easier if you can undo the clamp completely. Next step is to move the dryer forward, away from the wall, and clean up any debris that may be behind it. Make sure to clean around the floor and directly inside the vent. With that clean, grab the vent, but make sure the clamp is unscrewed entirely or slid down like this. Place it on the dryer vent, but again be careful not to puncture or tear it. Check that it completely covers the vent, then tighten it down, but not too much, so that it doesn't bend or crush the vent coming from the dryer. Next step is to connect the hose to the wall vent. Most homes will have a hookup that you can attach to just like the dryer, but I'm going to show you how to hook up to a vent box like this. These boxes are useful because after connecting to the vent, you can push the hose into the storage cavity. This allows the dryer to be pushed against the wall and prevents the hose from being crushed. It may be a little confusing when you go hook the hose to these vents because they generally have an oval shape instead of the round circle like the hose. To make it fit, do not try to bend the wall vent, but what you'll want to do instead is either take off the clamp or slide it down like this, then get four to six inches of the end of the hose, and then squeeze it or bend it into an oval shape. Just work your way up and down the hose so that it naturally forms into the shape of the vent. If you can't take off the clamp, you'll also need to slightly bend it. When it's ready, don't pull on it as you might accidentally pull the holes off the dryer. Instead, grab it in the middle like this, then stretch it out to the needed length. Now that we have it to shape, we can put it on the dryer vent. I recommend starting on the corner with the longest wire, then work your way around until it slides on. Again, it's very critical that we don't puncture or tear the hose. You'll want to slide the hose up far enough so that there's about three inches covering the vent. Once the hose is in place, you'll need to secure it by tightening the clamp. As I mentioned earlier, you may need to bend the clamp so that it fits the oval covering. Double check that it's secure and you're good to go. Now that we have the hose hooked up, we can push the dryer against the wall. However, before you push it back entirely, you'll want to take a minute to clean everything off. There can be a lot of dust and dirt buildup, so have several rags ready. As we push the dryer against the wall, you can see that the hose is going to fit inside the vent box, which again allows the dryer to sit flush against the wall. With the vent in place, the next step is to plug it in. Look behind the dryer and locate the outlet that looks like this. This is different than a regular outlet because it has four sockets and also uses a 50 amp breaker. A regular 15 amp plug could not handle the dryer. The plugs for these outlets are much larger and also have four prongs. There's two types of four prong plugs in the US, with the major difference being the 90 degree bend on the bottom prong. The dryer is currently using the plug on the left and it's not compatible with this outlet. Looking more closely, you can see why it's not compatible, and that's because this bottom prong is straight. So I'm going to show you how to replace it. But first, I noticed this plug was made in the Philippines. So mabuhay mangakapatid, mahal ko kayo. Sige na, let's continue on and replace the power cord. I picked up this power cord for about $16. You can see that the plugs are nearly identical, except the bottom prong has a 90 degree bend. This presumably helps it from falling out of the socket. At the other end of the cable are four multicolored wires, which align to the four prongs on the plug. If your home was built before 2000, it may only require three prongs. Alright, now that we have a cable, I'm going to show you how to replace it. Slide the dryer out so you have enough room to work. Then find the location where the cable goes into the dryer. The cable runs through here and is connected to the dryer underneath this panel. So we'll need to remove it. Take out any screws and the panel will slide right out. Underneath you'll see where the wires are connected. However, before you proceed, absolutely make sure that your dryer is unplugged. If it is plugged in, you shouldn't be replacing the cable, unless for some reason you forced it into the socket by mistake. And if you did that, you probably need to call an electrician. If you've never worked with electric components, this can be intimidating, so I'll walk through what we need to do. As mentioned, the cable runs up through here and splits into the individual wires. Red is hot, the two whites are neutral. Black is also hot. And green is the grounding wire. This clamp holds the cable in place. Each one of the wires feeds into one of the four metal ends of the plug. As mentioned, these plugs are nearly identical. So we're able to replace the wires color for color. Now before you go and replace all the old wires, I want to share out a little tip you can do so you don't accidentally hook them up in the wrong place. Simply get out your cell phone camera and take a picture so you know how the wires are currently connected. With that done, get out your screwdriver and remove all the screws. Be careful when pulling them out as they can fall down inside the dryer wall. When you take it apart, you'll notice that there are two white neutral wires as these correspond with the two red and black hot wires. Take out the ground wire, then remove the clamp. The clamp is a very simple design with threads only on the bottom portion and not on the top. With the clamps removed, you're now able to pull out the remaining four wires. Next step is to grab the new cable and slide it in and connect the wires exactly how they were disconnected. Now before you go and connect everything together, it's a good idea to double check and make sure everything's set up correctly. If it's a new dryer with no reference, generally the silver plated connections are designed for the white neutral wires. Also when you're hooking up the wires, make sure they're as vertical as possible so they don't accidentally touch each other. When you insert the clamp, remember that the threaded side goes on the bottom. Make sure that it's secure enough so there's no give in the cable. Final step is to put on the plate and insert the screw. With the plate secure, you can now plug in the dryer. Then slide the dryer in place. You can now turn it on to make sure everything works. And that's it for the dryer, so now we're ready to hook up the washer. The good news is that washers are easier to hook up than dryers. The first step is to pull the washer away from the wall so you have enough area to work. On the back we have the cold and hot threaded valves and a cable for a 15 amp plug. There's also a drain hose usually found on the bottom of the washer. We'll start by hooking up the drain hoses, which can be picked up at most any hardware store or some supermarkets. In the kit you'll find two hoses, as well as these rubber sealing washers. It's very important that you use the washers, or else the ends of the hoses will rust and lock up or leak on the threads. Put the washers inside and push them back so they sit against the hose. When you connect the hoses to the washer, be careful not to do it too tight so that it doesn't break the plastic ends. Although here I'm only using my hands, I did go back with a wrench and tighten it down. The other end of the hoses will go into these hot and cold water valves. The drain hose goes here underneath one of these caps, which are usually marked by the plumber. If it's never been used like mine, you'll need to cut off the plastic cap. I also recommend getting a protective cover like this. These are important because it looks better and the hoses move around when the washing machine is going, which can then damage the sheetrock. Next up, connect the hoses to the hot and cold valves. Then we're going to hook up the drain hose. You'll notice that on one end it's curved into a sharp U shape. It's curved shape allows it to sit inside the drain pipe and stay in place. There's no threaded connection you need to screw on. Instead it just sits directly into the pipe. With the hoses hooked up and the drain pipe set, we can now turn on the hot and cold water. Flip the valves and you'll hear the water go through the pipes. With those on, you're now good to plug in the washer and start using it. However, there was not enough slack in the five foot drainage hose, so I decided I needed to replace it. If the drain hose is too short, you can replace it by locating the drain valve coming from the washer. However, before taking off the clamp, make sure you have a bowl or bucket in place to catch the water. Otherwise, water will spill everywhere and your kids won't respect you. I ended up going with an eight foot hose. You'll want a longer hose because the washer can shake when running heavy loads. If there's not enough slack, the hose can come loose and flood the room. When you open the package, you can see that one end of the hose has different measurements. These allow you to cut it down to fit the drainage valve on your washer. Take a measurement of the drain valve in the back, then get a knife or scissors and cut it down to size. Then clean around the cut so that it will sit flush on the end of the valve. After we connect the hose on the drain valve, we're going to want to use this clamp to seal it tight. Make sure to slide it down before you connect the hose. Once the hose is set, just grab a flathead screwdriver and seal it tight. Finally, grab the drainage hose and place it in the drain pipe. With the longer hose, there's a lot more slack and it eliminates the risk of disconnecting from the washer. Final step is to plug in the washer and test that it works. It immediately turned on and you could also hear the water draining correctly. I checked the hoses and nothing was leaking, so that means you're done hooking up a washer and dryer. And now that you know how to connect a new washer and dryer, you can go out and help someone else hook up theirs. If you found this helpful, check out my other repair videos, and have a great day.