What HC Means
HC appears at the end of a wash cycle on Maytag top-load HE washers and means exactly one thing: the hot supply hose is connected to the cold inlet and the cold hose to the hot inlet. Nothing is broken. The washer noticed that the water arriving on the cold valve was hot, which tells it the plumbing was crossed during installation.
Common Causes of HC
- Inlet hoses connected to the wrong valves during installation
- Hot and cold taps behind the washer themselves reversed
- Hoses swapped when the machine was last moved for cleaning
🔧 One Safe Check You Can Try
Close both taps at the wall before touching anything, because the hoses are under mains pressure. Put a towel down, unscrew both inlet hoses from the back of the washer, swap them so the hose fed by the hot tap goes on the inlet marked H and the cold hose on the inlet marked C, and tighten them by hand plus a quarter turn with pliers. Open both taps again, check the couplings for drips, then run a short cycle to confirm the code is gone. Because this is almost always a fresh installation issue, it is worth checking the taps themselves as well - on some plumbing the hot and cold taps behind the machine are the crossed pair.
⚠ Why You Shouldn't Go Further Than That
- The hoses carry mains pressure, so both taps must be closed before either coupling is undone.
Opening a panel to inspect or repair something yourself doesn't automatically cancel your manufacturer's warranty — but it can risk accidental damage, and some manufacturers do have specific service conditions. Check your product's warranty terms, or ask us, before deciding.