FAQ: Neutral and Ground Wires are not Interchangeable

[Navat604 (R.)]

@Toasty

An electrician is not going to be able to tell you this is OK, but they could tell you off-the record that it will work. Grounds and neutral wires all go back to a common bus bar in the breaker box. If the neutral is a ‘home run’ and not tied into any other circuits, the only difference is the color of the wire. Everybody here had better know what they’re doing when working with electrical circuits - scaring them into calling an electrician or worse is not going to change their minds.

Don’t want to turn this thread into something else but I highly doubt it any decent electrician would say it’s ok even off the record. A ground is not a neutral period. The last thing you want is the chassis of your washer as a current carrying conductor. If your house has a bonded neutral and ground then it should be at only at one connector and that is your circuit breaker panel and nowhere else. This is actually a huge safety issue.