Washing machines and dryers: filters, seals, exhaust ducts and levelling.
Common failure modes
- A blocked drain pump filter
- A lint duct that has never been cleared
- A machine out of level
Procedures
- What dryer vent hose is safe, and how long can it be?The short flexible or semi-rigid hose that connects the back of a clothes dryer to the wall is called a transition duct,
- Find and clean the moisture sensor bars inside a clothes dryerMost clothes dryers with an automatic or "auto dry" setting use two small metal bars inside the drum to sense when a loa
- How to clean the lint filter in a tumble dryerEverybody knows to pull the fluff off the filter. Far fewer people know that detergent and fabric softener leave an invi
- How to clean the rubber door seal on a front loading washing machineThe rubber ring around the door of a front-loading washer is the part that stays wet. Water, lint and detergent sit in t
- How to clean the drain filter on a front loading washing machineAlmost every front-load washing machine has a filter in front of the drain pump, behind a small panel at the bottom of t
- How to clean a clogged dryer vent and lint ductLint gets past the lint trap on every load, and it settles in the duct between the dryer and the outside wall. As the du
- How to refit the transit bolts in a washing machine before you move itA washing machine ships from the factory with a set of transit bolts holding the drum still, and most installers remove
- How to level a washing machine that walks, shakes or bangs on the spin cycleA washing machine that walks across the laundry floor, bangs against the wall or shakes the house on the spin is almost
- How to check and replace the fill hoses on a washing machineThe two hoses that feed a washing machine are under household water pressure every minute of every day, whether or not t
- How to run the tub-clean cycle on a washing machine and what to put in itMost washing machines built in the last several years have a second cycle, separate from a normal wash, whose only job i
- How to test a dryer thermal fuse with a multimeterA clothes dryer that will not start, or that runs but never gets warm, often has a blown thermal fuse. The thermal fuse
Where this stops
Anything requiring removal of a powered component is deferred.