Drum rocks back and forth during rinse cycle

[art120]

Hi there, we bought a Samsung WW90T554DAW 2.5 months ago. The washing machine machine had been fine with no noise or movement until about 1.5-2 weeks ago. It looks like the drum rocks back and forth during the rinsing part of any programme which then rocks the whole machine back and forth. The washing and spinning cycle seems to be fine. We also noticed some rising on the bottom edges of the machine and on the feet screw nuts but we've never seen water leaking anywhere. 

We had a support engineer come in earlier this week and he said everything was fine with the machine. He then suggested the culprit was the floor as there's a 1.5cm difference between the where the front of the machine is vs back. He suggested adding a tile or something hard and stick to the wall to raise the space where back feet are. We did that which removed about 1cm of difference, re-levelled the machine and recalibrated it. It's still rocking back and forth even after adding a tile.

What would you say is the most likely reason for the washing machine behaviour?

 

Edited February 6, 2025 by art120
Remove the video to replace with a new one

[Whitegoodshelp]

Hi. Is there anything at all inside the drum on that video, even a dish cloth? It will affect how I interpret it.

[art120]

Thanks for the reply, Andy.

Yes, this is the behaviour with a load in. When I recorded a video, it was filled up to about 2/3 of the drum with just underwear and socks. Regardless of what we put into the drum, the same behaviour happens. If the drum is empty and we run a 15min cycle, the machine behaves as expected.

[Whitegoodshelp]

Thanks for that. Yes it looks pretty normal. If it looks like that when empty, then I would say there was a problem but soon as you put laundry in, you will get the inner drum swaying from side to side and up and down. Ironically, it can sway and swing much worse with less laundry inside than when it has a nice full load. This is due to balancing issues. A washing machine may struggle to balance small loads. 

The following article explains a lot about loading the washing machine - https://www.whitegoodshelp.co.uk/wont-spin-one-item-or-small-loads/

If your problem is that the whole of the washing machine is moving and rocking side to side then it is very likely to be due to it not being level. If you think about it, if the inner drum is swinging from side to side then much of that motion is going to be transferred to the outer casing. I thought most washing machines these days had adjustable feet? At least at the front. If so, you should try adjusting the feet and using a spirit level. Don't forget to try and make it level front to back as well as left to right. You don't have to be exact but it does need to be fairly level.

If you can't do it because of a very uneven floor you need to find something for the feet or wheels to sit in or some thin piece of plywood or a rubber mat etc. to level it out.

A cause for concern is if the inner drum is so out of balance that it is thumping and hitting the casing. If it is just the actual main body of the washing machine that is moving about this is always due to a level floor issue. The only exception is if by any chance the transit packaging has not been removed when it was installed. Transit packaging locks the suspension in place and stops the drum from bouncing up and down on the suspension. This would cause the washing machine to rock about quite badly. It doesn't really look like that is the case for you though.

[art120]

Thanks, Andy. 

Yes, the washing machine has adjustable legs that we tried to level as much as possible. The space at the back of the machine is hard to reach so we can't check the level at the back using a spirit level. It stands on the leftover tiles we had but they aren't cemented or attached. I'd say that it's moving only at the beginning or end of the rinse / spin cycle now. There's also a noise coming out of it as if something is hitting it. The second I push a bit against the top or put my hand on the right hand side, the sound stops. I'm attaching pictures of the side profile and a video with the washing machine moving a bit.

Here is the video of whats happening:

Thanks for the help!

[Whitegoodshelp]

The back tiles could be moving a little if they aren't fixed. The back times also seem slightly lower and the front feet are raised. So its possible the washing machine may be sloping backwards. That could allow the rotating drum pulley to catch on the back panel. 

The only thing you can do is level it as best as you can and put up with the movement or get it out and have the floor properly levelled.