Following on from this thread…
When the washing machine is on all other taps, including shower lose all pressure and become cold only, why is this?
I have tried googling it but all I can find is issues with peoples actual washing machines and not the rest of the system.
A bit of additional info, one of the taps to the washing machine has a slight leak and I think the whole water system is very old.
Thanks in advance!
I think you are on the money, I have only just moved out and both times I noticed it were when the washing machine has just turned on, next time I will wait and see once it is filled.
Thanks!
I kinda want to delete this in embarrassment but will leave it here in case others google what I did.
No worries! A lot of the newer gas hot water systems actually say on them how many litres/minute can flow through; for example, http://www.rinnai.com.au/hot-water/continuous-flow-hot-water… can handle 26l/minute
whereas http://www.rinnai.com.au/hot-water/continuous-flow-hot-water… can only do 16l.
Older systems you will have to do a little digging for the lable and discover it that way!
dassaur has hit the nail on the head. Other things to consider….the washing machine will cycle through multiple fills depending on the cycle set so if it's really bad just don't shower (and esp wash the hair LOL) when the machine is on. Also you can set the cycle to reduce the hot water used but then you'll probably simply lose overall pressure and have a shower that's the right temp still but reduces to a trickle.
The older (and cheaper) the pipes are the worse this'll be IMHO. I'd say the only solution comes with plumbing work and that'll be costly….if possible at all…rented premises??
Yeah rental with 4 people!
Another way to test is to turn on the shower, then go and turn on the hot water in the laundry, kitchen or elsewhere. It is not uncommon for houses to have insufficient hot water pressure to run two things at once. Some houses even have insufficient water pressure to run two taps at once cold or hot. Last night I turned on the hot tap in the bathtub and froze the person having a shower.
In our last house our hot water service had a valve failure that reduced the pressure so much we couldn't have a hot shower and all hot taps in the house went to a dribble. So there may be something wrong with your system too. I think ours failed the pressure check valve or something similar.
(Oh, and ozbargain tip: Set your washing machine on cold to save hot water and $)
Thank you for the tip, is this OK for all clothes and stuff? (Feeling like a noob at life atm).
I was going to say "haven't you heard of Google?" then I looked. Pretty typical of today, everybody has an agenda so an impartial review might be hard to find.
So I consulted wife.com, the experienced unbiased resource LOL.
Primary consideration "check the tag" for the recommended temp and follow any "do not"'s pretty much religiously.
The following take into account the primary instruction "always follow the tag" so do not override
She says she primarily washes in cold as that cleans casually soiled clothes quite well enough eg worn to the office and didn't do anything strenuous to raise a sweat.
For clearly dirty clothes or pongy (either BO or an over application of deodorant/perfume) she will use hot water as that will clean clearly soiled clothing, cold doesn't seem to shift the worst of soiled clothing.
She says never uses extra hot (if you have such a setting or similar on your machine).
Just as an aside and I want to say I do not know your situation so this may not be possible always give thought to asking your parents about "normal life" questions like these. They'll have had roughly 30-40 years of experience in dealing with "normal stuff" and bar electronics and gadgets the more things change the more they remain the same IMHO.
From my college days loooong ago. More powder does not necessarily mean a better wash! Don't forget you can usually find a setting to repeat the rinse cycle only if you feel things are coming out soapy/hard. Do not overfill the machine to save a wash cycle, the clothes need to be agitated to be cleaned, they need room to move. Boy, was I guilty of this one!
If you have a dryer you can use it for other than drying - a spin (with a just damp towel to lessen the agressive drying) can soften clothes/towels that seem to always come out "too hard and scratchy".
If you have access to outdoor drying always try and bring in the clothes while the sun is still on them, once they're in the shade they seem to attract just a shade of moisture esp in autumn/winter. If you're running late in bringing them in a short spin in the dryer. In damp weather it may be best to spin dry after hanging things out for a bit to get them to damp rather than dripping….things just don't dry properly or end up dry but a bit musty to the nose.
Hope this helps.
I got a similar problem in our house that's 6 years old.
At first the hot water pressure was great and we could use multiple showers at once however lately its pretty bad. I had a plumber come out and he advised it could either be mineral build-up in pipes near the boiler or tempering valve.
Stop using hot water in the washing machine for starters. It isn't necessary.
In showers, the lack of pressure could also be the shower head itself. I had a problem, changed the shower head to a normal one, problem solved.
You need to be more specific. Do you mean when the washing machine is on, or, when the washing machine is filling up in preparation for a wash?
If it's the latter, that's perfectly normal. You have a hot water system like mine - can only take so many litres through the pipes at any one time. Just wait for the washing machine to finish filling (usually between 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of the wash), then you can use your hot water again.
One way you can check if your hot water is being used (you say you have an older system, probably an electric tank) is stand near it when the washing machine is on, and compare the noise to when all the taps are off. You will hear the difference. YOu will know the washing machine has finished filling when the noise subsides.
If it happens the entire time the machine is on, even after filling, (which I think is unlikely), then you have a problem and I have no idea what that is.