Ian Hyzy

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Connecting a portable washing machine to a shower head

I recently bought a portable washing machine as I live on a 3rd-floor walkup with unreliable laundry service in the basement. The one snag I hit was that nearly all portable washing machines assume connection to a sink. I didn’t have a sink handy, but I did have a shower head, and I was convinced there was a way to do this.

Quite a bit of internet searching showed other people had done it, but nobody had posted the list of parts you needed to do this. Thanks to two hours in a Home Depot and several helpful employees, here are the things you need to buy from Home Depot:

Here’s the finished product

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If you found this article helpful or have a question, drop a comment below, or reach out to me on Twitter or Bluesky.

8 responses

  1. Jeremy Avatar
    Jeremy

    I have spent a lot of time on the web to see how others have done. I have visited many home hardware stores and finally I found the solution. You will need the following in the order left to right: From your shower hose —> Garden Hose adapter 3/4” MHT x 1/2” MIP -> Aerator M3732 Female hose ( you just need to remove the male part inside away ) —> quick connector (original from the machine ). That’s all. You might need some tape ($1 from Temu) and hose claim ( ring washer if needed ). All should be good and no leaking.

    Reply
  2. Toni Avatar
    Toni

    I like this setup, i think this is what I would need as well to connect my portable washer. Do I understand this right – during parts of the washing cycle when washer does not require intake of the water, in the setup that you have the water will flow automatically out of the shower head? Can you please comment on this? My worry is the pipes and the pressure build up when you turn on the water but it is not going anywhere when it isn’t needed for parts of the washing cycle.

    Reply
    1. Ian Hyzy Avatar
      Ian Hyzy

      With the three-way valve, you need to manually turn it to get water to come out of the shower head. For the washer I had, I left the water on the whole time it was running but I don’t think all models need that – it should say in your manual if it fills once at the start of the cycle or if it will fill up during the cycle.

      Reply
  3. Wendy Avatar
    Wendy

    Thanks for this! I followed your directions to a T, but still needed an additional part in order to be able to take the washer in and out of our bathroom as I need to do. In order to do so, I needed to get a 3/4 in quick connect adapter so that I can easily connect & disconnect the washer hose from the shower hookup. I also wish I would have seen the other comment regarding skipping the coupling with a different adapter, but either way my set up now works.

    Reply
  4. Iliana Quintanilla Avatar
    Iliana Quintanilla

    I’ve been trying to figure out how to do this while already having a handheld shower head. I need a diverter and the fittings to make sure that the hose fits the male thread on the diverter. I’m giving myself a headache because many of these are made for traditional shower heads, not handheld.

    Reply
    1. Ian Hyzy Avatar
      Ian Hyzy

      you mean you’re struggling to find a diverter that goes in between the shower pipe and the shower head hose?

      Reply
  5. Sophie Avatar
    Sophie

    Super helpful! For anyone else trying to do this I skipped the coupling and went straight to a 1/2” FIP to 3/4” MHT adapter (same section at Home Depot). I also purchased a 2-way diverter instead of 3-way as I just have a normal shower head and no handheld.

    Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

    Reply
  6. Gabby Smith Avatar
    Gabby Smith

    Just used this! Thanks!

    Reply

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