What to check yourself
Step 1. Turn off both taps
Both of them, before touching anything. The hoses are under mains pressure and will empty themselves over the floor otherwise.
Have towels ready: even with the taps closed each hose holds a surprising amount of water.
Step 2. Swap the two hoses over
Unscrew both at the machine end and swap them. The inlets are marked H and C on the back panel, and the hoses usually have red and blue markings or a red stripe on the hot one. Hand tight plus a light nip with pliers is enough; overtightening splits the washer inside the fitting.
Step 3. Check for drips and run a cycle
Turn the taps back on slowly and watch both connections for a minute before starting anything. Then run a short cycle to confirm the code is gone.
Step 4. If the hoses are right, check the plumbing behind the wall
Worth knowing before you start unscrewing things: on some installations the hot and cold supply pipes themselves are crossed behind the wall, in which case swapping the hoses at the machine is exactly the right fix and the plumbing stays as it is.
When to call a technician
Rarely needed. If the hoses are demonstrably on the correct inlets and the machine still reports HC, the temperature sensor is misreading, and that is a service call.
What the repair costs
| Repair | Part only | Fitted by a technician |
|---|---|---|
| Swapping the hoses over | - | Free |
| Temperature sensor diagnosis, if the hoses are correct | - | $70 to $200 |
A new machine of the same class runs $500 to $1,500. Once a quote passes about a third of that on an older appliance, the repair stops making sense.
Codes people confuse this with
Questions people ask
- The machine has worked for years and now shows HC. Nobody touched the hoses.
- Then look at what else changed. A water heater replacement, work on the supply pipes, or a plumber swapping a valve can reverse the supply behind the wall without anyone touching the machine. The fix is the same: swap the hoses at the machine end.
- Does it matter, if the clothes come out clean?
- It matters more than it looks. A cold wash running on hot water sets protein stains such as blood and egg instead of removing them, and it fades colours faster. The fix takes ten minutes.
Which machines this applies to
Applies to
Whirlpool top load washers and Cabrio models in particular, plus Maytag and Kenmore equivalents that detect hose reversal.
Last checked
2026-08-04