Washing machines break down for two reasons: natural wear and tear or carelessness. There’s nothing you can do about natural wear and tear. There is something you can do about carelessness. The way you handle the washer may contribute to the breakdown. To ensure it does not, take care of your laundry, detergent, and washing machine.
Forgetting to Empty Pockets
Before you load the washing machine, check the pockets in every pair of pants, pair of shorts, button-up shirt, and skirt. The items in your pocket will spin in the wash with your clothes and damage the machine. Examples are loose change, keys, pens, bobby pins, receipts, wrappers, and business cards. A way to ensure nothing is in those pockets is to turn them inside out before loading them into the machine.
Loading the Washer Incorrectly
The washing machine needs room to tumble the clothes so the water and detergent can wash and spin them all dry. When the machine has too many clothes inside, it cannot shuffle them around. The unit works harder to clean them but fails. Also, the buttons, zippers, bra wires, and similar items rub against nearby garments and tear holes in them. Furthermore, the likelihood of missing socks or underwear will increase in an overloaded washer. These items can fall inside the drainage line and disappear. Solve this by leaving a six-inch gap between the clothes and the top of the washer.
An unbalanced load is just as bad as overloading. The washer will struggle to spin with all light items (pillows, underwear, etc.) or all heavy items (blankets, comforters, etc.). Solve this by mixing light and heavy clothes. If you have one or the other, throw towels in the wash to balance unbalanced loads.
Not Using Detergent Correctly
Too much detergent and the wrong type are two things you must avoid to add it correctly. Too much detergent in the washer will generate excessive suds, making it harder for the machine to remove all of them. The soap and detergent left behind lead to foul odors, fungus growth, corrosion, and deterioration. Cleaning after the cycle avoids this issue, but the best way is to use the recommended guidelines in the manual.
The wrong type of detergent leads to unclean clothes, and rewashing them with the same detergent can cause leaks in the unit. This is due to incompatibility between the detergent and the washing machine. Solve this by learning what detergents are acceptable in the manual.
Not Cleaning the Washing Machine
After a wash, residual water, soap suds, and dirty residue linger in the machine. Not cleaning it will generate mold and mildew growth. Therefore, clean the unit with machine cleaner wipes after every cycle. Crack the door open to dry the machine. Once a month, run the washing machine on a hot cycle or hot wash with no clothes inside. That removes hard-to-clean detergent and residue buildup. Add a little machine cleaner or bleach to clean the unit better.
The washing machine is powerful enough to clean your clothes but delicate enough to malfunction. While the parts can break down even if you do everything right, they will wear out faster if you don’t follow these steps. Regardless, our appliance repair experts can fix any washing machine problem. Contact The Bargain Buster Appliance Sales and Service for information on washer and dryer repair in Phoenix, AZ.
