Why does the washing machine shock? And how to fix it?

The washing machine should not pose a danger to the people who use it. Moreover, the purpose of this type of household appliances is to create more comfortable conditions for human existence. She washes, rinses and spins the laundry. And this benefits us, the people who use it. But what should you do if your washing machine gets an electric shock during or after washing?

Perhaps, when touching the body of your machine, you felt a slight tingling sensation from a light electrical discharge. The same minor troubles can occur with a refrigerator, a dishwasher, and other electrical appliances. It is clear that it is all about electricity. In order to check this guess once again, you can turn off the power to the device by removing the plug from the socket. And after that, touch the metal body again. Usually in this case, tingling does not occur.

Why is the washing machine electrocuted?

From the experiment conducted above, we can draw a completely unambiguous conclusion: voltage is applied to the body of our household appliances. And it is more than 30 volts. Since the voltage is less than this threshold, as a rule, it is not felt when touched with a dry hand.

It is not surprising, but we can receive light electric shocks even from a completely serviceable and working washing machine. This may happen because you plug it into a standard outlet in Russian homes. The one that is not grounded. The cause may be a surge protector. If you don’t go into the specifics of its operation and put it simply, modern machines are designed to be used exclusively through three-wire grounded sockets. And if you use such sockets, the washing machine will not shock.

But, unfortunately, in most apartments and private houses the USSR standard is used. That is, a regular socket with two wires and without grounding. And it’s not uncommon for us to experience discomfort from electric shock when we come into contact with metal parts of household electrical appliances.

How to get rid of electric shocks?

It is highly undesirable to disconnect the filter wire from the wall of the washing machine. Yes, this will reduce the possibility of electrical discharge when touching the washing machine. But this will not completely solve the possibility of a problem.

Also, over time, the wiring inside the machine can deteriorate. And this can also lead to stress coming out to the housing.

In order to avoid this possibility, we can use an RCD (residual current device). This device will automatically de-energize the wire if there is an electricity leak to the ground. Thus, it can protect you from prolonged strong electric shock. Unfortunately, you can't do without a blow at all. Since in a two-wire wiring diagram, which is used in many homes, it will not work perfectly. But this is clearly better than a strong and prolonged effect of current on our body.

What needs to be done to prevent the washing machine from shocking us at all?

To ensure that our washing machine does not shock us at all, we should use a special case grounding. This precaution removes the voltage from the machine body and transfers it to the ground electrode.

Do not use water pipes for grounding. It is forbidden. If your wiring only has two wires, then you need to make sure that the electrical panel body is grounded. In this case, you can ground yourself through it. You can find out whether your shield has such protection from organizations that provide household services for your home. For example, in the housing office.

Let's sum it up

• If the wiring in your apartment has three wires (phase, neutral and ground), and the washing machine still produces current, you need to make sure that the ground wire is intact. You can simply check with the help of a “tester” whether there is voltage between the phase and the housing.
• If your wiring is standard, that is, with two wires (phase and neutral), then it is highly advisable to make a separate grounding for the machine body. Water pipes cannot be used for this.
• If the wiring is two-wire, but there is no way to ground it, then you can at least use a residual current device built into the outlet.

Yes, it’s worth clarifying separately that these options are well suited for a working washing machine. If the problem is that the insulation of the wires inside the machine is broken, then it is worth solving this problem first. If before the machine worked normally and did not shock. And recently I suddenly started, this is not normal. And most likely, the problem is a violation of the integrity of the insulation. In order to eliminate it, you need to find a place with faulty insulation and insulate it. You can use electrical tape for this.

Also, temporarily you can simply not touch the machine while working. And touch it only when it is de-energized. However, you should not use this method if your household appliances have obvious breakdowns and malfunctions. This will not help solve them and will be very dangerous!