Washing machine drum is going crazy! What's happened?

[Gigagator]

Hi all,

Had the washing machine on earlier with a not particularly large load. I was on the sofa watching TV when suddenly I heard a bang. When I went to the kitchen to check I noticed the drum inside the washing machine was shaking about all over the place.

For fear of causing a lot of damage to the machine I immediately switched it off. What could have caused this and would it be possible for me to fix it?

I emptied the washing out and ran a slow spin with an empty drum and it span fine, it only happens when there's a load in there.

I am wondering if an unbalanced drum could have caused this - even though the load was small, it was basically all towels and bathroom rugs. Obviously these absorb a lot of water and they were very heavy when I took them out.

Has anybody any ideas as to what I should do? Thanks.

Machine is out of warranty now, its a Hotpoint WF000 1000 spin.

 

[rocks1]

You have answered your own question regarding towels and bath mats. Remove the lid and press down on the top weight is it springy. If so suspension legs are worn so the drum moves very freely.

 

[Gigagator]

Hi rocks1,
Sorry if I sound like a fool but what exactly is the 'top weight'?

I can inform you that the whole drum does move very freely.

 

[rocks1]

Take the lid off there's a lump of concrete on the top of the drum. Then push down on it. Is it bouncy , bit like testing the suspension on a car.

 

[wotan]

how do I get the top off

 

[Gigagator]

Alright then. I'll pull the washer out today, take the top off and have a butchers. From past experience this particular washer is immensely fiddly; I'll let you know how what I find.

 

[wotan]

To remove the top, there will be at least two screws to remove, then the top usually just slides backwards.
Look for broken suspension springs, sometimes they wear through the attachment lugs on the outer drum, if you are lucky you may find one has become detached, the big concrete lump when pressed and released, should bounce up and down.

Wotan

 

[Gigagator]

Okay so I've done what you guys recommended.

First off, the two springs either side of the drum appeared to be as they should be. They weren't detached nor were the lugs worn.

I pushed down on the concrete block and it didn't exactly bounce up and down entirely freely. I was able to push it down and it did return back upwards, but just with some difficulty. I'm not sure what this suggests.

I personally think that there's too much back and forth motion on the drum, rather than side to side or indeed, up and down. It can be pushed into a fairly substantial 'back and forth' swing with just my little finger.

Anyway, I've put the machine back together and reconnected it. I am just wondering, do you think it would be safe to use the machine just for a rinse and spin - even with a very light load? Because when the machine broke it was half way through a wash and it didn't get a chance to rinse.

Thanks

 

[wotan]

Right someting to consider, is the waste outlet pipe, it appears to be partially blocked, if the water does not drain away before the drum goes into high speed spin cycle, what you described about the wobble is exactly the result that happen.
Has the machine got a filter installed? if so check this as well, but my money is on a partially blocked waste pipe.

Wotan

 

[Gigagator]

You know what Wotan, you could be onto something there.

I've suspected for a long time that there may be some sort of drainage issue. Apparently my machine has some sort of cut out feature if it detects an unbalanced load, and it cuts out several times during a cycle all the time.

Also, nearly every time I use the washer, it seems it hasnt drained the water properly, as when it spins up, water comes out of the detergent drawer.

I think the filter is in the back somewhere. I tried to clean it out last year but its in such a ridiculously awkward position that I gave up.

However, Ive just put a small amount of washing in the machine just to rinse and spin and there's definitely a lot more movement in the drum than there was before.

I will have to check the hose and filter tomorrow perhaps.

 

[rocks1]

Tip it back and look underneath are the 2 pegs in the suspension legs.

 

[davidmadona80]

Is it the full plastic drum that moves around freely ? or is it the metal round container inside it that moves freely ?