In Trouble, I Broke A Laundry Washer Machine Not Mine

[colcapp]

Hello, im living in a apartment temporally and i think i broke the washer machine, i load the machine with a heavy mat and now the machine is hitting hard on one side... what i should tell to the owners? How much it will cost the repair?

Should i tell them that i load the machine with heavy laundry clothes?

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Hello. A heavy bath mat is one of the worst things to put inside a washing machine because they can be very difficult to balance and especially if put in on their own can cause violent out of balance spin. However, everyone needs to wash bath mats. If the bath mat has a wash label indicating that it can be washed inside a washing machine then arguably you have done nothing wrong by simply trying to wash such an item.

Read my article carefully to understand this problem, washing machine jumps and bangs on spin. Most modern washing machines should refuse to spin because they should all have out of balance protection built-in.

If the washing machine went into a violent out of balance spin it is possible something has got damaged. However, it is also possible that nothing got damaged and it will wash perfectly okay with a normal load. Try putting a normal load in, and watch it carefully to see if it is okay. Watch out for leaks.

[colcapp]

Actually it was not a mat was a carpet, the ones you use when you get out of the shower to step on it. Heavy... The sound that is making is like if i were kicking one if the sides. When i open the lid i can see is all unbalanced And inclined to one side. Let say it need to replace an item... How much it will cost the repair?

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

It's impossible to say, as no idea what parts would need replacing. try washing a normal load to see if it's ok. If it looks as if something is clearly badly wrong though you'd need an engineer to inspect it.

[colcapp]

oh ok, i load it with a full load of towels and is not hitting on its sides, it only hit on its sides when i load a single towel, but when if full is not hitting. Then i think is only out of balance? I will read your article to see if i can balance it my self.

This is how it look when i open it, is inclined at one side right? i would only have to balance it? because the machine is working fine now with a full load...

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Yes it should only hit the sides if the load is out of balance. Most loads will just naturally balance themselves as they settle all around the sides of the drum prior to spin. But sheets and towels are particularly prone to getting unbalanced, especially if there's only a few of them. Heavy bath mats or toilet mats are the worst because people naturally wash them separately. They can't spread equally all around the drum, there just isn't enough there. So they tend to bunch to one side of the drum. When the drum then spins it is completely out of balance. It would take a very severe and probably prolonged violent out of balance spin to cause any damage so the chances are it is perfectly okay. Just keep using it as normal but keep an eye on it.

Read my article carefully, it is written for frontloading washing machines, but the principles should be exactly the same.