The Most Common Problems with Laundry Machines

If you have to lose an appliance, you hope it's not the washing machine or clothes dryer. Those are considered to be more essential than the other appliances due to the increased workload on your part as a result of one's failure.

Washing clothes manually is not even considered an option these days. With the value we place on our time in an ever-increasingly speedy world, we'd much rather drive them down to a laundromat and pay to run them through a few cycles-- both wash and dry.

Air-drying your garments on a clothesline doesn't require the physical exhaustion that comes along with using a washboard, but it would be considered a bit laborious in it's own right. There really is nothing quite like cleaning, drying, and folding your clothes by hand.

If your washer or dryer encounters an issue, check over this list first (If you're a DIY-er):

Washer won't spin, and it's full of water

You start the water running, and add your HE soap to make sure it all disperses evenly before you add your dark gray load of shirts, pants, and shorts, careful not to force anything in.

Up to this point-- you've done it all right.

But soon you'll discover that no matter how Super Mom you went when loading the washer, there was a separate issue all along that you couldn't have prevented.

The Lid Switch is faulty. It's a very cheap part that is replaceable within minutes. There is a button that get's pressed down when the lid to the washing machine is open, acting as a safety mechanism. Repairing it is fairly simple, and can be done with a new or used part, a Youtube video, and taking out and putting in a few screws-- provided you aren't afraid to grab a little wrench.

Washer leaves clothes soaking wet

A clogged drain pump can sometimes continue to spin out water, yet at a reduced pace. Sometimes a small sock makes it's way through the maze of washing machine land and into the drain pump, jamming up the wheel.

If you can take the shell of the machine off, you can then easily disconnect the drain pump by removing two clamps and hoses, and then a few clips that serve to hold the pump in place during heavy operation of the washer.

Once you've got the drain pump off, look inside of it for small socks maybe from children, or a thin dress sock. If you see one, a pair of needle-nosed pliers will serve well to remove it. When you get it out - and don't be surprised if it takes a bit of grit - use a finger to spin the inner wheel freely.

Re-attach the drain pump, hook up the hoses, and give 'er a whirl. She might be good as new.

Washer buzzes and won't spin or drain

So that pesky sock we talked about a second ago-- the one that slips it's way through the mystical tunnels within the washing machine walls and gets to the drain pump...

Yeah that could be the culprit here too.

If you have small children, and an old, reliable Whirlpool, Kenmore, or Roper top load washer and dryer, there is a good chance that you'll experience this at some point. Those tiny baby socks are the sneakiest little booties you'll ever meet.

The drain pump is directly connected to the motor, so if it's blocked from spinning, the motor will not be able to spin either. If this happens, the motor may make a buzzing noise-- one that is obviously one of distress.

A clogged drain pump is an easy fix, and common problem with the standard top load washing machines.

Dryer takes 2 cycles to dry

Many times this is a very simple fix, and you need to think of it this way...

Dryers essentially have two temperatures-- Hot and Off.

That means, if you're dryer gets heat but it's taking multiple cycles to dry the clothes, you have an issue with air exiting the machine. In most cases, the dryer vent duct going out the back of the dryer, and into the wall, is kinked or somehow doesn't allow air to flow through freely.

Once you clear that up, it will dry clothes like the best of 'em.

We've even seen birds build nests in the hole there that exits the house. That can mess with your dryer's ability to push air out. It's important to stop, think, and take an intelligent perspective of the situation.

Many times just moving the dryer a bit to change up the air duct will help to increase efficiency.

Dryer doesn't get hot at all

If there is zero heat coming in your dryer, then we know it's usually one of two things:

1. A blown thermal fuse.
2. A blown heating element.

The thermal fuse will blow as a safety precaution if your dryer has had trouble forcing air out due to a poor path through the ventilation duct. If the machine gets too hot inside, this fuse will blow to protect the machine from combustion.

Replacing both is fairly simple, provided you have a small bit of know how.

Dryer won't start, just buzzes

In some dryers, when a thermal fuse is blown, the dryer simply buzzes when you press the start button. Again, an easy fix.

Hopefully this is all helpful information for a few of you handy DIY-ers out there!

But hey, we won't judge. If you want us to come do the repair for you, we'd be more than happy to. Great dryer repair in Jackson MS is only a phone call away.