How Does My Washing Machine Work?

It is very easy to take modern appliances for granted, but have you ever considered how their inner workings go about performing what can sometimes appear to be a mundane task. Although it is true to say that computer circuit boards make the process appear almost effortless, there are still plenty of parts that keep the machine going and act as the real workhorses behind the process.

In this article we will look at a typical washing machine and examine how all those appliance parts work in tandem to get the clothes washed and illustrate that it really isn't as complicated as you might think.

Washing the clothes

Obviously, anyone (like me) who has put a red sock in with a white shirt knows the importance of separating their washing into appropriate piles, so that we not only keep coloured clothes from dyeing our whites, but also so that we can let the washing machine thermostats regulate the temperatures to ensure we don't end up shrinking that favourite knitted jumper Aunty Elsa gave us for Christmas (if only).

The actual washing process is quite simple really. After putting the clothes in and choosing the right setting and time sequence, the machine fills up and agitates the clothes. This is usually aided by the presence of some detergent such as washing powder. The machine then drains, fills up again to further clean the clothes and wash away any powder, empties then spins around really quickly to drain the clothes off.

That all seems relatively straightforward, so now lets get onto how it does all that, shall we. Inside the shell of the washing machine are 3 main components, which are a steel drum, a heavy motor and a concrete block. Yes, you read correctly - a concrete block.

You see, the motor spins the drum around so quickly that if the concrete block wasn't there to counter balance the machine it would wander across your kitchen floor, the pipes would come out the back and flood your house, which I think you'll agree is not a good thing and certainly washes more than you bargained for.

Now that the really technical aspects have been dealt with lets have a closer look inside.

The Drum

This is made up of an inner drum and outer drum. The inner drum holds the clothes and has ridges which act as the agitator and perforated holes to allow the water to drain in and out. The outer drum is water tight and acts as a casing for the inner drum. This is the bit that is attached to the side of the machine and has to be mounted in a way that prevents it bashing into the sides of the machine when in a full spin cycle.

The Motor

This, as the name suggests, is the appliance part that drives the drum and allows it to spin. The motor is also attached to a gearbox which tells the motor what cycle it is on, ie how fast to spin. The motor is very heavy and is counter balanced at the bottom of the machine by; yes you guessed it, the concrete block.

The plumbing

A washing machine is nothing without the water that cleans the clothes. The water enters into the machine through the pipes at the back. Often there are two pipes, one for hot and one for cold and a water control valve will regulate how much of each enters into the machine depending on the required temperature, although most modern machines have a thermostat to regulate the temperature anyway.

The water is then fed into the machine, some of it going through the powder dispenser draw. The most important part of the plumbing is probably the anti-siphon, which ensures used water does not go back through the pipes, contaminating the water supply, but instead goes down into the drainage system. All this water is pumped around the washing machine by one of the most important of the appliance parts, appropriately called, ahem - the pump.

Of course this is just a simple guide to help you understand how a washing machine works and I accept there are more parts that make up the appliance. The good news though, is that this article proves it isn't rocket science and that with only a little bit of research, if your washing machine is feeling a bit under the weather you don't have to cast it aside and buy a new one, you can look at repairing it yourself.

The overall working of the machine is not really that difficult to understand, so why not instead search for the required appliance spare parts online and fix it yourself.