Short answer: reinforced concrete and solid brick are straightforward, drywall only with the fixing landing in the stud frame, aerated concrete and hollow brick only with the right specialist anchors. But the more important question is not "will it hold the weight?" It is whether the fixing will keep holding the alternating forces of the spin cycle, year after year.
Why static load is not the real question
A wall cabinet with 30 kg inside pulls steadily downwards. A washing machine does that too — but during the spin an oscillating force is added that pulls, pushes and tries to lever the mounting off the wall. This alternating load is why anchors "work" in a wall and can loosen over the years, even though the dead weight was never the issue.
So when mounting a washing machine to a wall: do not estimate. The manufacturer's specification for the bracket, the anchor type and the screw length is designed around exactly this kind of load.
Wall types at a glance
| Wall construction | Suitable? | What matters |
| Reinforced concrete | Yes | The easiest case. Watch for reinforcement when drilling. |
| Solid brick, sand-lime brick | Yes | Solid load-bearing material; standard anchors per the manufacturer's spec. |
| Hollow brick | Conditional | Internal cavities. Needs anchors made for hollow masonry, or injection anchors. |
| Aerated concrete (e.g. Ytong) | Conditional | Soft material. Only aerated-concrete anchors, generously sized. |
| Drywall / stud partition | Only into the stud | Plasterboard alone will not carry it. The fixing has to reach the metal or timber frame. |
| Boxed-in service wall | Usually no | A light construction in front of the real wall, not normally designed for this. |
How do I find out what my wall is made of?
Three checks that need no tools, or very few:
- Knock on it. A hollow, light sound is almost always drywall. A dull, solid sound means solid material.
- Look at the drill dust. A test hole gives it away: fine white dust suggests plaster or aerated concrete, red means brick, grey and hard means concrete.
- Use a detector. On a stud wall it finds the frame, and — more importantly — it finds pipes and cables. Worth doing before drilling into any wall that has a water connection in it.
With tiles, remember the tile is only the surface. What counts is what sits behind it.
How much load actually arrives at the wall?
For a wall-mounted machine with a 2.5 kg drum this can be put in rough numbers. The LECHO weighs 18 kg empty. Add the laundry and the water standing in the drum and tub during the cycle — roughly 10 to 14 kg depending on the programme. That puts the in-use weight in the region of 30 kg.
For comparison: a well-filled kitchen wall cabinet is in the same region. The difference is not the load but its dynamics — which is exactly why the installation belongs either in competent hands or, at minimum, strictly to the manufacturer's specification.
What about rented flats?
Drilling for ordinary domestic use is generally permitted for tenants, and the holes have to be made good on moving out. A washing machine on the wall adds two things that go beyond ordinary drilling, though: it is fixed to a wall that has to carry load, and the work usually touches the water installation. Both should be agreed with the landlord in advance and put in writing — not least because a water escape makes the question of who agreed to what very unpleasant after the fact. Read the tenancy agreement; for a binding answer, ask a tenants' association or a solicitor.
