It Never Rains But It Pours.

[Phog Allen]

Well gents, I had thought of buying a new DSLR or mirrorless system camera for the new year. Restraint got hold of me and I am glad it did. Our laundry machine decided to off its rails yesterday. It had developed a bad vibration/balancing problem the last few years requiring us to realign the clothing in it at times during the spin out cycle. Well yesterday it finally made it clear it was done with this routine. No matter how you arranged the clothing it would not balance.

It is an Admiral about ten years old. Admiral is just a name these days. It is made by Whirlpool for Home Depot or was at that time. It only cost $300(200 quid or so) and since it made it over a decade I cannot really complain. I looked into the issue and found the repair part was not ridiculously expensive but the labour effort is more than I want to deal with. I guess a soul simply gets tired of working on things after awhile. We settled upon an Electrolux 4.2 cubic foot model from Home Desperate. A mere thousand dollars settled it. Ha ha.

We had to go this route for two reasons. First, we are budget strapped for this right now and second, our laundry closet is built with the water fixtures and drain on the ride side and 99% of new homes are built with the reverse of this setup. And front loading laundry machines are set up accordingly. That is; left hand/swing doors. It would have been a nuisance to use with a left door on a right sitting machine. Clearance issues with the water heater tank. Oi. The only model easily available that allows you to reverse the door is, as you have already guessed, Electrolux. So an additional 200 dollars vs the Whirlpool was laid out to gain this convenience. It will arrive Wednesday.

Why should I bemoan the 'rain' after getting ten plus years from a truly cheap old laundry machine that saw WAY more use than it was ever designed to handle? This morning M'dearest got up and loaded the dish washer and we went to breakfast. When we arrive back home we noticed water on the floor in front of it. Noticing it was coming from the bottom of the door I was hopeful it was a clogged vent or gasket issue. Well being a maintenance type I had to look underneath it as well. Good thing. The bottom case of the discharge pump housing is leaking as well. So this needs replacement too. It truly doesn't rain lest it pours.

 

[MichWR]

We bought a new washer and dryer this year too. I've nursed the washer (front load) along for the last couple of years replacing the bearings and a circuit board. I replaced the bearings a second time, put it all back together and it wasn't long before it was making a terrible banging noise and leaking. It turns out the pulley at the rear needed replacing and when it broke, the outer drum started hitting the sides and ended up breaking a large piece out of it. I didn't think spending $450 on replacement parts made sense, so we bought a new LG washer. We ended up with a top loader. My wife loves how much she can put in it, and it washes in a lot less time also. Later we bought a new dryer to go with it. The old one took a long time to dry things and couldn't keep up with the new washer. We actually spent less than what I thought that it was going to cost. On the downside, the new ones have more electronics in them and I see it being expensive to replace a board.

 

[DrColossus11]

None of the washers allowed for changing the opening direction? We don't have a front loading washer, but every dryer we've ever had had the ability to switch the orientation of how the door opens.

 

[Phog Allen]

Mitch, I hear you. I would have settled for a good top loader yesterday but few if any of the stores have any you can actually buy. They don't like to keep thousands of dollars in inventory anymore so you almost always have to wait. Front loaders have their issues to be sure. Commercial models have a drain solenoid and typically have no problems with mold or mildew issues. Home models, particularly high efficiency versions have a drain that works with a pump. When it drains the pump comes on and pumps out the water. Elementary. However, where the issues start is after the drain down. You should not keep the door closed because of the tight seal. This keeps moisture in the drum and can lead to many issues. Many times just leaving the door ajar is not enough. Our laundry vendor at work has specifically included instructions for the residents to do just this in the dormitory laundries. Even with the commercial machines they recommend it.

Newer home models(including the Electrolux) are better now and have a vent to release moisture in the back but I have been looking at a devise called 'washer fan'. I won't link it because I have no experience with it and it is not shave related so a web search will easily bring it up. The reviews I have seen have been very good. I thought it looked like a pc case cooling fan and have found some reference to hacking one onto a laundry machine. It goes over the vent and continuously forces air into the machine and more importantly, into the drain tube where most of the mold issues occur. It keeps moisture to a minimum. Most users report no odours at all. Even if they had one that had the dreaded washer funk so many described. Anyroad, I have a usb powered fan coming and will attach it to the vent with magnets or similar. The wife is still not too happy at the laundromat situation. Neither am I.

 

[Phog Allen]

None of the washers allowed for changing the opening direction? We don't have a front loading washer, but every dryer we've ever had had the ability to switch the orientation of how the door opens.

Jay, indeed, only about two brands allow it. Some of the Samsungs and most of the Electroluxes. Dryers are a snap. However, laundry machines are another matter. For some reason only a few allow you to change hinge swing direction. They are afraid of you not getting the seal back correctly but it you look at the machines, you don't remove the door gasket anyway. It is mounted to the cabinet frame. The door abuts it tightly for seal. The Electrolux is pretty easy to change(YouTube video) and the one I saw for a Sears/Samsung model was even easier. However, I went to Sears and NONE of the new models allowed it. Weird. In this day of modular this and that you would think this would be a no brainer.

Edited to add; I am unsure of the Euro brands like Bosch, Miele, and Asko allow door hinge change over. Can some of you blokes over the waters fill us in?

 

[Bebe]

The only model easily available that allows you to reverse the door is, as you have already guessed, Electrolux. So an additional 200 dollars vs the Whirlpool was laid out to gain this convenience. It will arrive Wednesday.

I see is too late now but i believe Speed Queen (which is a work horse) let you reverse the door ( http://www.manualslib.com/manual/323478/Speed-Queen-Sfet07.html?page=25 )

 

[DrColossus11]

Todd, after further thought my only conclusion is that this is due to the door lock mechanism.

 

[auk1124]

The more I hear of the new breed of high efficiency laundry appliances the more determined I am to stick with the old style stuff. Same with high efficiency dishwashers.

 

[DrColossus11]

The more I hear of the new breed of high efficiency laundry appliances the more determined I am to stick with the old style stuff. Same with high efficiency dishwashers.

Yeah, was talking with a neighbor who just had to replace his dishwasher. He said the new high efficiency one take 2 1/2 hours on the normal cycle.

 

[Phog Allen]

I can confirm the new dishwashers are a pita as to cycle times. Now follow this logic if you can. The washers are water savers. They use only maybe 2-3 gallons of water for each complete wash and rinse cycle. Sounds all touchy feely great yeah?

What they do is re-use some of the grey water from the wash cycles and the first rinse. This is why they take forever to complete a full cycle. When you see the light/medium/pot scrubber settings all it is really doing is running the same water over the same dishes over and over. Water is typically the cheapest utility you can buy per unit. Much less than electricity. Yet here you are, running a major appliance for THREE HOURS, spinning your meter like crazy.

Oh, and let's not forget that lovely heating element in the bottom which is a pure resistance element that loves the movement of electrons trying to force their way through. This makes your meter spin.. Trust me on this. Leave it in the 'on' position for both heated wash and dry. With the minimal water amounts you need the heat to help loosen foods. And with only one clean rinse you need it to dry things thoroughly to avoid water streaking. If you have soft water you can avoid it for the rinse but I always use it for the wash. And a rinse agent is a must if you have lime filled water like I do. All that to save three to five gallons of water. Old washers ran 25-30 minutes and done. And I rarely had to use the heating element. Keep the meshed drain cover cleaned out regularly too.

 

[Phog Allen]

I see is too late now but i believe Speed Queen (which is a work horse) let you reverse the door ( http://www.manualslib.com/manual/323478/Speed-Queen-Sfet07.html?page=25 )

Bebe, I think you linked to a dryer.

 

[Alacrity59]

I hear you. I've experienced these run ins with big things happening in batches. All I can say is "this too will pass". Hang in.

 

[August West]

The worse experience for me was the busted water heater. What a mess.

 

[DoctorShavegood]

Don't even get me started about appliance issues and water leakage. All I can say is these things work in "three's." I would now check your toilets.

 

[BSAGuy]

I hate spending $$ on no-fun stuff like appliances, roofs, etc.

 

[Phog Allen]

Don't even get me started about appliance issues and water leakage. All I can say is these things work in "three's." I would now check your toilets.

Aaron, you are a bit of a prophet. The new washer arrives today. After what felt like a complete debacle with the laundry shut off valves, I noticed our upstairs toilet sitting askew of its normal angle. We had replaced the wax ring about six months ago after noticing a sewer gas odour in the loo. Knowing from experience this was likely a wax ring failure I pulled the throne off the floor and sure enough it was seeping. Not bad but certainly needed replacing. I did the job but noted the old pvc mounting flange was a bit warped and a bit brittle. So I carefully installed a new ring(more on that in a moment) and tightened the bolts just enough to hold it still.

Then yesterday I also cleaned the drain in the bathtub(Brits, most homes in the States have the basin, bog, and tub in the same room and I know some yours have them separate) with a small plastic hand snake and must have pushed up against the toilet. I noticed it was at a odd angle and feared the area on the flange where the mounting bolts go had snapped. Indeed, they were broken off. So today it is off to the big box to get a repair piece. Thankfully the plumbing industry has actually tried hard this last decade to modernise itself and there are some really innovative flange and repair pieces out there. I think I can manage it without cutting the old flange out.

Did I mention that in addition to a bad laundry machine, leaking dishwasher, broken flange in the loo, and semi clogged tub drain, the ruddy shut off valves in the laundry room were bad. I had to use the water pump pliers on the handles to get them turned completely off. Time to replace them. Well, well. 45 years ago no one bothered with these newer style of laundry valves that have around three to four inches(75-100mm) of threaded brass nipple on them. Typically they also have the inside sized to allow solder sweat of 1/2 hard copper line as well. No, I have(had I should say) copper fittings that went from the 1/2" line to 1/2" FIP with boiler drain gate valves installed. So with a good dose of trepidation I grabbed up the pipe wrench and found a proper sized wrench(spanner) of 15/16" to hold the hex shaped area on the fitting and turned out the old valves. After nearly 45 years they were more than a bit tight. I managed it and hied me away to Mendard's and bought two new 1/4 turn boiler drain valves and installed them. Cleaned the fittings, wrapped the new vavles with one layer of teflon thread tap and coated that with a bit of PTFE pipe joint compound. I knew it was wrong the minute I tightened it down. It was too much. When joining galvanised or black iron pipe our plumbers at work always use a wrap of tape followed up with either Rectorseal #5 or PTFE type joint compound. I found out too late this is too tight on the lighter weight copper. It cracked them. Just a bit but enough to make them seep. Oh boy.

So back to Menard's looking for the new fittings to sweat in. Copper fittings are now at ridiculous prices and each one of the 1/2/ - 1/2 FIP fittings were nearly $5 apiece! Down the aisle were two new Watts fittings(like Sharkbites) and they the right fitting for a mere $1 more. All brass except for the rubber seal to go on the copper line. Coated the new valves with the joint compound only this time, tightened them down, and popped them onto the copper. Done. It is rather nice to have at least one plumbing job done and done. Now off to the loo...I hope to update you late unless I am washed away in a flood.

 

[emwolf]

life never stops happening. One of my favorite books is The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck. It changed how I react to calamitous events.

 

[DoctorShavegood]

Aaron, you are a bit of a prophet.....two new 1/4 turn boiler drain valves and installed them.

This is what I did as well. The old valves you would crank and crank and crank and still not seal. The 1/4 turns are a brilliant simple invention that just plain works. Also, something to consider is replacing all water lines in the house with braided steel hoses. I've got them install along with the 1/4 turns on the clothes washing machine, both hot and cold sides, toilets, kitchen sink and bathroom sinks.

 

[Phog Allen]

Ah, almost forgot. If you have to do any work on the porcelain throne that involves removing it, do yourself the biggest favour in the world and grab one of these new school silicone and wax sealing ring. I cannot begin to tell you how much aggravation they save. And they work cracking well. I used this one by Danco. It is their Next Perfect Seal Wax Ring. I am posting a photo from their site. All ownership of said photo is the owner of the web site.

These things are amazing. What I like is they have a plastic and silicone flange with regular sealing wax encased in it that is molded to go over your mounting flange bolts. Therefore insuring your toilet is perfectly aligned with the sealing ring as you seat it. You have to try to bollocks this up to miss it. If you can hold the toilet steady and line up the bolts with the holes in the base it aligns itself and sets perfectly. AND when I pulled it up from the floor there was NOTHING on the bottom of the base. No wax, no waste, nothing. I took the old one off, installed a new stainless steel repair flange/ring whatever you want to call it and then slipped this new on and set the fixture. Done and done and not a leak anywhere.

Plumbers laugh at us because with their experience they can set a base and ring in no time and rarely botch it. If you skid a new wax ring sideways whilst installing the toilet you get to do it all over again. These are nearly foolproof. They also come with a small spacing adapter for floors that have been raised above the flange by new tile or other flooring materials. I installed one at church on a toilet we had had horrible problems with. Solved. Certainly worth a look and hats off to the plumbing industry. One of the stodgiest industries in history is becoming very clever at resolving age old issues.