Washing machine does a 180

Section62

Bendy_House said:

If it bounces back and forth even for a second, I suspect the shocks are gone.

I'd check they are securely attached first.  Many aren't held in place by screws/bolts, but rather work on a twist-lock basis.

On the other hand, the symptoms would be more or less the same with anything allowing a resonance effect to build up... for example a suspended floor having the right frequency response.

macman

A washing machine of that age is likely to be on it's last legs. Except for a Miele, the drum bearings aren't designed to last that long, with typical usage cycles of maybe twice a week.
People usually only replace a w/m when it's failing.
Given a budget machine is so cheap now, I can see no point in buying secondhand.

Brie

We have a similar problem with our second hand (Bosch I think?) washer.  Maybe had it 8 years?  Moved it from previous place where it would wiggle about but couldn't get over the small lift in the floor.  It's now in a locked cupboard where it can dance about to it's heart's content.  Has done for 4+ years now.  

Alanp

We solved ours by using pipe lagging wedged between the gaps, ours is a fairly new one and I couldn’t get it to stop dancing around no matter what I tried this has solved it though

Rosa_Damascena

poppellerant said:

GDB2222 said:

Our Miele rotates the drum slowly to balance the load before spinning. Assuming that the dampers have gone on yours, it’s probably time for a replacement. 

If, apart from the dampers, the machine works fine, then I would want to have a go at replacing them before forking out a lot of money on a new machine.  I do find this trend of "oh, this is broken on it, so I must buy another" quite wasteful, especially when things can often be repaired quickly and cheaply.

I would usually agree but given that it is second hand and still given10 years of service, I wouldn't want to spend any money on it knowing that the next failing part can be expected.

GDB2222

poppellerant said:

GDB2222 said:

Our Miele rotates the drum slowly to balance the load before spinning. Assuming that the dampers have gone on yours, it’s probably time for a replacement. 

If, apart from the dampers, the machine works fine, then I would want to have a go at replacing them before forking out a lot of money on a new machine.  I do find this trend of "oh, this is broken on it, so I must buy another" quite wasteful, especially when things can often be repaired quickly and cheaply.

It depends how easy it is to dismantle, and how confident  the OP is. If the OP needs to get someone in to do the work, it is far less of an economic proposition. 

Eldi_Dos

Under £400 will get you decent machine with 5 year guarantee.

shiraz99

macman said:

A washing machine of that age is likely to be on it's last legs. Except for a Miele, the drum bearings aren't designed to last that long, with typical usage cycles of maybe twice a week.
People usually only replace a w/m when it's failing.
Given a budget machine is so cheap now, I can see no point in buying secondhand.

My Bosch is over 20 years old and still going strong.

shiraz99

Rosa_Damascena said:

poppellerant said:

GDB2222 said:

Our Miele rotates the drum slowly to balance the load before spinning. Assuming that the dampers have gone on yours, it’s probably time for a replacement. 

If, apart from the dampers, the machine works fine, then I would want to have a go at replacing them before forking out a lot of money on a new machine.  I do find this trend of "oh, this is broken on it, so I must buy another" quite wasteful, especially when things can often be repaired quickly and cheaply.

I would usually agree but given that it is second hand and still given10 years of service, I wouldn't want to spend any money on it knowing that the next failing part can be expected.

Especially if the OP can't even do the basics and level the machine properly.

John_the_Boy

Alanp said:

We solved ours by using pipe lagging wedged between the gaps, ours is a fairly new one and I couldn’t get it to stop dancing around no matter what I tried this has solved it though

Same here, no matter what I did our washer would always 'wobble' more that I felt comfortable with so used lengths of pipe lagging each side as support - works like a charm, will continue to do this with any new washing machine as belt and braces.