# Banging washer: what's the worst that could happen?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banging-washer-whats-the-worst-that-could-happen/839539>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 1, 2019, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banging-washer-whats-the-worst-that-could-happen/839539 "2019-09-01T01:38:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banging-washer-whats-the-worst-that-could-happen/839539/1 "2019-09-01T01:38:32Z")

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I left home while a load was in the washer and come back to find that not only was the load unbalanced, but it evidently had banged so violently that there is now a noticeable dent/bulge in the wall of the machine. What’s the worst that could happen, damage-wise?

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**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banging-washer-whats-the-worst-that-could-happen/839539/2 "2019-09-01T01:45:49Z")

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Ruined shaft seal, broken transmission.

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**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banging-washer-whats-the-worst-that-could-happen/839539/3 "2019-09-01T01:49:00Z")

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> [@beowulff](#):
>
> Ruined shaft seal, broken transmission.

Ok, what would that do? Allow a water leak?

Burn some rubber or plastic?

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**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banging-washer-whats-the-worst-that-could-happen/839539/4 "2019-09-01T05:56:17Z")

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Sounds like it has already broken the off-balance safety switch.

Dennus

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**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banging-washer-whats-the-worst-that-could-happen/839539/5 "2019-09-01T11:32:34Z")

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The worst could include flood and fire, depending on what gets damaged in all the banging around. I think flood is pretty unlikely, and fire is even more unlikely. But you can imagine either happening if hoses or fittings or wires get sufficiently damaged.

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**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\
**Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/banging-washer-whats-the-worst-that-could-happen/839539/6 "2019-09-01T15:43:28Z")

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An extreme example. 3 minute video, but the salient part begins at the 59 second mark.

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DsTnSIO9Log/maxresdefault.jpg "washing machine destruction") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsTnSIO9Log)