Unbalanced washing machine? it is taking double time it should to wash and sometimes tears

Bigphil1474

Do you have a spirit level? You need to adjust the feet so that the machine doesn't move on any corner, but also get it to be level across all four sides using the spirit level (as close as poss.). If you can push down a corner and it wobbles, then extending the foot on that corner should prevent that, but it also needs to be level. The machine won't go into full spin speed if it isn't balanced as the hyperdrive thingamy would just go bang, and that has the long warranty. 

As above, I spent ages getting my old LG level, and then had to keep redoing it. We've got a Bosch now and it isn't half the effort.  If it is on a suspended wooden floor, then it could just be the floor. Our floor wobbles a bit any way. I did find some of those self adhesive abrasive pads were quite useful as they stopped the feet moving during a spin which led to it going out of balance.

Ganga

I saw some rubber /plastic feet that clip over the feet on the bottom of washing machines /Tumble Dryers ,cannot remember were i saw them but if you look on Amazon or similar you should find them .

dekaspace1

Interesting about the feet thanks, the back of machine is on the floorboards and front on lino but even with the machine pulled forward so its all on lino it still wobbles.

I did check the filter today and it was jammed to the top with dog hair, I should of checked more often.

Alanp

It could be a blocked pressure switch chamber/ hose, not sure where they are located on these, I used to work on the commercial lg washer and they were a pile of cr##, the main board fuse was encased in resin so you couldn’t change it and, to change the board was a nightmare especially if it had a dryer on top, and all the connections seemed to be the opposite of other machines, you may have a snapped shock absorber on the commercial there were three, which were easy enough to change, it could also be a broken spring on the top of the drum, it could be a lot of thing’s really, only way would be to call a professional..

dekaspace1

Alanp said:

It could be a blocked pressure switch chamber/ hose, not sure where they are located on these, I used to work on the commercial lg washer and they were a pile of cr##, the main board fuse was encased in resin so you couldn’t change it and, to change the board was a nightmare especially if it had a dryer on top, and all the connections seemed to be the opposite of other machines, you may have a snapped shock absorber on the commercial there were three, which were easy enough to change, it could also be a broken spring on the top of the drum, it could be a lot of thing’s really, only way would be to call a professional..

Now the filter is clean I am going to do a quick wash anyway tommorrow, if it still hasn't sorted the issue I will next try and adjust the feet (hard to do at moment as not much room in my kitchen.

After that I don't know, I had the machine 2 or 3 years, I honestly can't remember I am just a little worried as I have moved since I got it and never registered a warranty and may not even remember the email address I used when buying it.

onomatopoeia99

Try it on a slower spin speed, i.e. 400 and see if that completes in the normal time.  If it does, up the spin speed to 800 and do a spin and drain cycle before trying another spin and drain at the highest speed.  

I've found that if I was things that absorb a lot of water (e,g. mattress protector on my large double bed) the machine refuses to run at the higher spin speeds until I spin it at a lower speed to get some of the water out.  I can only guess it has some kind of vibration sensor that says "no thank you" when it tries the higher speed as there's too much load for the speed.

dekaspace1

So it's now working but still not even.

Moved machine foward fully onto lino and it seemed perfectly level and could put my weight on top of it with hand and zero wobble.

Each time I moved it back as soon as it began doing so unlevel again.

Either way I did a 45 minute wash and a 800 spin, it did it exactly with no delay, then a 1400 spin and it did that first time with no delay but was loud.

What I noticed when moving the machine was theres no lino behind machine but there is a inch or so at front where the front feet are so I don't know if the lack of lino is what is causing the issue.

EDIT - Forgot to say I did find a block of plastic under where the machine sat (not from the machine) that at first I assumed may of made the machine uneven so moved it thinking that was the reason it was wobbly but that wasn't the case, may of been the reason it wasn't spinning though.

Alanp

Commercial washers have out of balance switches, if the m/c detects an unbalanced load either because the drum has been under/over loaded or is uneven where it’s positioned, it will stop the washer and try again to spin it, it usually tries a few times and , if unsuccessful, will throw an error code up, I’m assuming domestic washers have a similar system, also, if the pressure tube ( not the filter) gets blocked , it can also do some strange things, ( not fill, empty, not spin ect, ) it could be anything as I’ve said before, even a board fault, I have a Samsung washer that vibrated so bad the only solution I could come up with was to pack it out with foam either side against the kitchen wall and worktop cupboard, my next washer won’t be anything Korean…

Bigphil1474

OP, as I said before, the LG machine I had sounds very similar to the one you've got and it was blinking difficult to get level at the best of times, and a job I regularly had to keep redoing.

Don't worry about the lino, you just need to position the machine where you want it, and then level it there. No point levelling it pulled out, then pushing it back in and expecting it to still be level.  The washing machine area might benefit from being boarded over - fit some board so that the area the machine sits on is level, which should make the machine easier to level. Will depend if it's under counter for feasibility, and might not be suitable. Or even new lino. Personally, I'd persevere as is:-

Pull the machine out, adjust the rear feet so they are level across to each other, you will need to make sure the back is slightly higher than the front at this point due to the lino. Slide the machine back in, then adjust the front feet so the machine is level front to back and across the front, then you should be good to go. If it still has problems on top speed, then you might just have to use the lower speeds and accept that it'll never be right until you change machines (which is what I did eventually). I'm pretty sure it's the direct drive motor design which makes this type of machine more suitable for solid floors.

ic

When you have the timing issue, is the load very small?  All modern machines will only spin to full speed when they have balanced the load.  Washing only one or two items makes this difficult.  If you watch the machine towards the end, do you see it gently tossing the clothes one way, then the other, before it then starts to pick up a little speed?  If you see the drum wobble, and maybe hear it start to bang, then the speed drop off, this is a sign its detected the load is unbalanced so it starts again to try and spread it out.  Try throwing in a few hand towels - you'll probably find it'll happily spread the load and complete the full speed spin.