Washing machine breaks every 1-3 years

andre_xs

Dear All,
since we moved into our house 9 years ago, our washing machines break rather frequently, usually after 1-3 years. Before this, we never had a problem.

My best guess is that it is because it sits in the first floor, and the floor is the usual wooden rafters with floorboards. Despite all attempts, it will vibrate quite a bit when it spins, I just don't get rid of this.

What we've tried in the past:
- The washing machine is always perfectly levelled
- Using these 'pads'/feed you can put under the washing machine feet
- Using a thick heavy 'rubber-kind' washing machine mat underneath
- Using a thick square (washing machine sized) piece of chipboard underneath
- Combinations of the above (e.g. chipboard with rubber mat)
- What so far helped the most: We have a pretty sturdy hanging cabinet above the washing machine, and I made sure to fix that very strongly to the brick wall. Then I made four wooden 'feet' which I can stick between washing machine and the cabinet (with adjustable (screw) feet), so that the feet press down on the washing machine. It reduces the wobbling, but it's still there.

I guess the floor is just too flexible overall, so that a heavy washing machine spinning will 'wobble' the rafters and floorboards. We usually have Siemens or Bosch machines (we have 'new used' ones).

Does anyone have further ideas or solutions to this problem? Or is it maybe something else?

Best wishes,
Andre

QrizB

Has it been the same washing machine for this period?

How old is it now?

What breaks - is it the same thing each time, or something different?

andre_xs

No, all different machines. We never repair them, we replace them. Reason for this: With a bit of search you can get young used machines for £80 - £120 (often Bosch, sometimes Siemens. Current one is a recent Bosch washing machine with integrated dryer for £150). A friend of us recently paid £300 for a repair, though it was admittedly an expensive Samsung machine. But so far we have considered replacing them cheaper than repairs...

Eldi_Dos

andre_xs said:

Dear All,


Does anyone have further ideas or solutions to this problem? Or is it maybe something else?

What spin speed are you using?
What construction is your house?  ie: is it timber framed ?

andre_xs

Max speed (1200 or 1400, depending on machine). Ex-council house, mid-1950s build. Walls (incl internals) are brick walls, but first floor has timber/rafter floor with ~2cm floorboards on top. Then just thin vinyl click-board flooring on top.

andre_xs

I just realised we may be able to try a top-loading machine? Haven't ever thought about this, we always had front loading ones. I've heard they are less efficient, use more water etc, but maybe in our situation still the better options?

Yorkie1

Do you actually spin at 1200 / 1400? Have you tried spinning at lower revs (800 / 1000) and seen if it makes a difference?

andre_xs

Yes, that's what I meant, we always use max speed of the washing machine. Well, with lower speeds it just doesn't get dry enough and takes too long to dry (4-person household with a lot of washing loads...)

hubr

Washing machines, like most factory-produced items, have been 'value-engineered'. Components have been reduced to the cheapest suppliers, and designed to provide reasonable life only if used strictly as detailed.  For users this means any life beyond the appliance guarantee period is a bonus. I took the view that I didn't want such a heavily-used household appliance to break down at random intervals (nearly always when desperately needed during cold,damp weather and often full of water without a simple, quick remedy). I spent perhaps 3-4 times the cost of a cheap machine to get one with a 7/ 10 year warranty. Expensive, yes. But so far, I'm satisfied though wouldn't apply this policy to less demanding appliances.

vic_sf49

Without knowing what is breaking (as asked about up thread), it's hard to come up with a solution. And unless it's the same thing every time, I wonder if you're just ridiculously unlucky. 

I had an old washing machine, that used to go through belts quite often (your time frame of "every 1-3 years"), but that was a cheap easy fix.

Are they gunking up on an excess of washing liquid and softener, and maybe even limescale. Although not sure those are enough to kill a machine, as my belt eating washer was in a hard water area. 

Section62

andre_xs said:

...
My best guess is that it is because it sits in the first floor, and the floor is the usual wooden rafters with floorboards. Despite all attempts, it will vibrate quite a bit when it spins, I just don't get rid of this.
...

If the ground floor is solid, could you relocate the washing machine downstairs?

Timber floors are always slightly 'springy'.  In the worst case you can get resonance between the machine and floor.  If you can't relocate the machine to a solid-floor then you need to find a way of making sure the machine's vibrations are at a frequency which doesn't resonate with the floor structure.  I.e. reducing (or sometimes increasing) the spin speed.

Or as you suggest, switch to a top-loader so the vibrations are more in the horizontal direction rather than vertical.