Is it a problem to have a washing machine plugged into a GFCI outlet?

Question

I have heard conflicting information about the proper receptacle type for clothes washing machines. Appliance repairmen have told me not to plug in to GFCIs, while electric code mandates that receptacles in laundry rooms be GFCI protected. NEC mandate makes sense: there's water, and sometimes it's very close to the receptacle.

But why do appliance people claim the GFCI is a bad idea? I had understood GFCIs to be a non-intrusive measuring tool that makes no difference in the nature of the electricity coming out of the outlet unless there is an imbalance between the current on Hot and Neutral. Is there something the differential current transformer is doing that might harm the circuitry in the laundry machine? (I'm thinking in analogy with the effect of photoelectric sensors on LED light bulbs, where the bulb's electronics get burnt by the constant current that the sensor draws.)

Answer 1

Some electric motors cause some GFCI circuits to trip. One reason is strong magnetic fields passing a small amount of current by induction into grounded components. For this reason it's best not to plug a refrigerator or freezer into a GFCI outlet. A nuisance trip could cause all the food to spoil.

A consumer laundry machine should certainly be plugged into one. Mine has been for years. What better example of electricity and water mixing? If there is a nuisance trip, which is extremely unlikely, there is no heavy cost. But a GFCI trip should not be regarded as nuisance. It is almost always because a problem has developed, either with the machine or with the outlet. Regard it as a warning, not a nuisance.

Answer 2

I'm not sure if the majority of appliance people say it's bad to connect your washer to a GFCI. There are instances where washers will trip a GFCI but that's due to moisture getting into the outlet either from water splashing or even high humidity in the room. Those trips can be prevented by installing a weatherproof outlet box. I've never heard of circuitry problems due to GFCI connections

Answer 3

But why do appliance people claim the GFCI is a bad idea?

Same reason home builders think radon detectors are a bad idea, and RV dealers think dealer warranties are a bad idea.

If you don't have safety warning devices in place, then you won't know about problems. And if you don't know about problems, you don't make warranty claims.

The appliance installer is the guy who gets called out on these, so his perspective is narrow.

And unfortunately, the washing machine industry studiously ignored upcoming changes in the electrical codes, hoping to impede those changes with lawyers rather than updating their products to be more compatible with GFCIs. Motor appliances often have miniature ground faults since stopping the motor is interrupting an inductor. This can be fixed simply enough, but lawyers are cheaper than such fixes. Anyway, this "kick the can down the road using lawyers" trick did not work for as long as they were planning it to, and when the requirements landed, they were not ready. See also the NEMA 10-30 fiasco - decades to fix the problem and yet you can still buy 3-wire dryer cords to for use with 10-30 receptacles and replacement 10-30 receptacles for when the old ones die, when what should happen is replace the receptacle and cord/plug with 14-30.