Washing machine repair

Volume 8, Issue 129; 07 Oct 2005

As much as my earlier tale of dishwasher repair is one of frustration and expense, this is a story of success and frugality.

While I was away (why does everything go wrong when I'm on the road?), the washing machine started to leak. I did the laundry earlier this week and it didn't leak a lot, but it leaked too much to ignore. I checked all the external hoses and concluded it was something inside.

I didn't figure there'd be any user-serviceable parts in there, at least not serviceable by this user, so I called the plumber we've used in the past, W. S. Pickering, and he was honest: he doesn't really repair Amana appliances, he could come take a look, but it sounded like the tub seal was leaking and he really couldn't fix that.

Fair enough. So next I called the repair center of the place where we bought the appliance. Or rather, the company to whom they've out-serviced all their repair work. For $85 they'll come to the house: parts and labor extra.

Surely, Deb assured me, we could do better.

The yellow pages (yeah, the printed thing on the bookshelf, not the web, go figure) lead me to Gauger's Appliance Repair. He, too, was honest. It sounded, he said, like the tub seal was leaking, and he couldn't fix that. In fact, if the tub seal was leaking, it was time for a new washing machine. (Insert previous rant about our disposable society here.) But he told me how to check. Unscrew the front panel, run the washer, and look for leaks around the seal where the spindle goes through the bottom of the tub.

Open washing machine

I did as instructed and watched the tub seal. No leak. The pump had been another suggestion so I looked at that, poking sort of randomly about. And there it was, a little stream of water coming out of the drain hose.

Badly placed hose

The drain hose had been threaded through the case such that it pressed against one of the tub supports. Forces being what they are (equal and opposite), the tub supports move a little bit each time the tub oscillates. Over time, friction had worn a tiny hole in the drain hose.

The culprit

Maytag was happy to sell me a replacement hose for $13.49 and I ordered it yesterday. I opted not to pay $20.00 for next day shipping, I figured I could wait a week if I had to. Imagine my surprise when UPS delivered the new hose today. There's $20.00 well saved.

New hose

Now there's plenty of clearance between the hose and the supports.

Safely placed hose

And the whole repair took maybe half an hour. Sweet!

Comments:

I'm having the same problem. I'll go check mine just in case it's not the seal

Posted by Halo on 03 Oct 2006 @ 05:16p UTC [link]

Great information. I did the same check and found the exact same situation. We had a repairman out today and he diagnosed a hole or crack in the tub. Looks like it's leaking right around the hose. The machine is only a year and a half so I was dismayed that it was going out so soon. Thanks for the info, probably saved me big bucks. We'll see soon enough. I'll blog about it later at http://thoughtsparks.blogspot.com.

Posted by Philip on 17 Feb 2007 @ 06:06a UTC [link]

You rock! I am having the same problem, but had no idea how to check to see where this tiny little leak (as you say, not leaking much, but too much to ignore) is coming from - now I know how to look for the problem (and possibly fix it myself!)

Thank you

Posted by phyllis obeollain on 05 Jan 2008 @ 07:55p UTC [link]

Thank you for sharing your experience. It helps me understand how to look for the source of the leak in my washing machine!

Posted by Laura on 19 Apr 2008 @ 04:34p UTC [link]

Can I just ask how you replaced the old cracker hose with the new one? Did you have to call someone in or did you do it yourself? I have the same problem but really don't want to pay $100+ just to have someone replace my old hose. Thanks

Posted by Maddie on 07 Jun 2008 @ 12:15p UTC [link]

The hose was easy to replace, just a couple of screw clamps, one on each end.

Posted by Norman Walsh on 07 Jun 2008 @ 09:21p UTC [link]

Does anyone know what might cause oil to leak from underneath a washing machine?

Posted by Mike on 10 Oct 2008 @ 10:46p UTC [link]

mine was leaking so i called a repairman got the machine so went to the internet found this page and now my washer is fixed easy as 1,2,3 thank you for the information. canceled the repair call

Posted by kathleen on 23 Feb 2009 @ 06:27p UTC [link]

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