If you have a washing machine that doesn’t seem to be working as well as it once did, it is important that you repair the issue as soon as possible. If you don’t, the issue may get worse with time, to the point where you end up paying way more for it. Luckily, most fixes are very simple, so you shouldn’t have any problems at all.
Draining Issues
One of the most common washing machine issues that people face is draining problems. When clothing or jewellery gets stuck in the hose or the pump, you may find that the machine doesn’t drain and this can lead to further problems such as your washing not smelling as clean as it could, or it taking way longer to dry. If you suspect something is stuck, you may smell burning rubber or hear a squealing or grinding sound. If this is the case with your washer then you need to remove the hose that goes from the tub to the pump and drain it. Take a coat hanger down the tube and pull out any objects that may be stuck. Check for any broken blades while you’re at it and make sure that you rotate the shaft to see if it is turning as it should be. If you have to make any kind of repair then make sure you’re using official GE washer parts, or parts suited to your brand of washing machine. If you do the repair will last longer and it’ll run more efficiently. Using cheap parts is the best way for you to ensure you’ll be making the same repair again, in a year or two.
Slow Fill
Another issue would be your washing machine filling too slowly. If your washing machine fills too slowly, or if you find that it doesn’t fill at all then you need to look at the inlet screen, which you can find on the water valve. If this isn’t helping then consider replacing the water valve assembly if you can. Another issue is your washing machine not spinning. It may be that your washing machine does fill, or that it fills slowly, but then just sits there. If this is the case then you may find that the lid switch is broken. To test this, you need a multimeter. Take the time to remove all of the wires that are connected to the switch and make sure that you touch the probes with the switch connectors. As you open the lid and close it again, you should see the reading alternate between no continuity and continuity. If you’re not getting this kind of reading then you will have to replace the switch.
If you find that this is the case and you have a whirlpool washer then you need to remove the two screws and then simply screw in the new one. If you have a different washer then you may need to unscrew the access panel which you can find behind the console. You will need to raise the lid before you go ahead and remove the old switch, so be mindful of that if you can. Just make sure that you never drop the washing machine lid either, because if you do then this will eventually wreck the switch which is the last thing you need.
Not Draining
If you find that the above doesn’t fix the issue with your washing machine not draining then you need to make sure that you are taking the time to check your hose. Some hoses drain via gravity and if you haven’t got your hose connected to your water outlet then it may be that water isn’t flowing as it should be. If you want to do something about this then make sure that you tweak the angle of the pipe. This could solve all of your problems. Issues like this tend to happen more with those who have a washing machine in an outhouse, as most often, the drain pipe connects to an outdoor sink or a water outlet.
So as you can see, there are many washing machine issues that you may experience and if you want to get the best result out of yours then you need to make sure that you pinpoint it and fix it promptly. Make sure that you are only ever using genuine parts too, because if you use cheaper parts then you may find that this ends up leading to even more repairs down the line, which is the last thing you need when you already have a repair to make.
