How to check if the washing machine is heating the water?

The heating element in an automatic washing machine is responsible for heating, without which sometimes you cannot wash off difficult stains or run a delicate wash. If you suspect that the heater is not working, there is no need to try to put your hand into the drum during the cycle. There are safer and more realistic ways to find out if the washing machine is heating the water. Below we will look at what is required for the simplest test and when to urgently sound the alarm.

Does it heat or not: methods of determination?

The washing machine heater is checked for functionality in several ways. At the same time, there is no need to open the case and look for many tools - a timer and a free hand are enough to carry out the procedure. The easiest way to test the heating element is as follows:

• Load some laundry into the drum so as not to wash empty,
• Select the cotton mode or another program with a set temperature of 60-90 degrees,
• Press the start button,
• Wait 15-20 minutes,
• Place your palm against the glass of the hatch door.

If your hand feels warm, it means the heating element has heated the water. But an icy door does not always indicate problems with the heater. It is likely that the time was calculated incorrectly; the machine has already switched to rinse mode and is drawing chilly water from the water supply. It is better to repeat the check and have time to apply your palm at the washing stage. There are other methods for testing heating elements.

Feel the top cover of the case, which also heats up noticeably 15-20 minutes after washing at 60 degrees. Suitable for both front and vertical machines. This is especially true in the latest machines, since the first method does not work due to the missing glass door.

Touch the drain hose while draining wastewater. Here you will have to be patient and wait to accurately determine the moment of draining. Then all that remains is to take the hose in your hand and feel whether its walls are heated. There is a more indicative alternative: loosen the clamp on the drainpipe, drain the water into the bathtub or sink and measure its temperature.

Pay attention to the electric brush. 7-10 minutes after starting the cycle, the washing machine will begin to intensively consume energy due to the activation of the heating element, which will be indicated by a flashing light on the meter. The main thing is to turn off all other household electrical appliances during the test to eliminate interference.”

None of the methods listed above guarantees a 100% result. Ideally, the experiment should be repeated at least 3 times. Often, the heating element malfunctions due to accumulated plaque and scale, which provokes surges in water heating. A deviation from the norm is warm waste liquid, not heated to 50-90 degrees. If this is noticed, the heating element must be cleaned or replaced with a new one.

Part Search

If you have doubts about the performance of the heating element, you will have to ring it with a multimeter. First you need to find the device itself in the machine. Its location depends on the manufacturer’s brand, for example, in Indesit and Ariston it is located at the back, in models from Bosch and Siemens it is at the front.

If there are no instructions, then we look for the heater ourselves:

• We examine the back wall of the machine. Often a large panel indicates a heating element located behind it,
• put the body on its side or tilt it back to investigate the bottom and try to detect the heating element near the washing tub,
• remove the back cover and carefully inspect the space around the tank,
• We take a flashlight, shine a light through the inside of the drum and try to determine by eye the location of the heater.

The task is simplified by the fact that the heating element is always in the washing tub. It is only necessary to specify its location. There is no need to remove the device - you can “ring” the heater without removing it. We will tell you how exactly later.

Heating element test

First, disconnect the washing machine from the power supply and turn off the water tap. Next, we provide free access to the heater and, if necessary, remove the back wall or bottom. Next, take a multimeter and start testing.

• We photograph the heating element to record the connected wiring and eliminate errors during future installation.
• Disconnect all connected wires.
• We set up the multimeter to measure resistance and set the selector to 200 Ohms.
• We attach the probes to the contacts.
• Let us evaluate the result.

A working heater always shows a fixed value of 26.8 ohms. Slight deviations from the norm within +-5 are possible. If one is displayed on the screen, then a line break has occurred inside the heating element and a part change is necessary. When the tester showed “0” or another number less than 1, a short circuit was detected, and the element burned out.

Often, checking for resistance is not enough, since if the external condition is good, the dielectric inside can leak into the housing and cause a current leak. To ensure safe operation of the machine, it is recommended to check the heating element for breakdown. It is enough to turn the tester into buzzer mode, attach one probe to the contact, and attach the second to the body of the multimeter. If there is no piercing squeak, everything is fine. Otherwise, it is necessary to urgently change the part and not use the machine until the repair is completed.