can Maytag™ washers burst into flames?? need answer fast!

Factual Questions
1

So, I load up the washing machine in the basement with a light load, and go up to the kitchen to do dishes. I’m doing the dishes, and I hear a loud “thumpity-thumpity-thumpity” from downstairs. “Sounds like the spin cycle’s uneven”, I think to myself. “Except I just started it - it won’t be at spin cycle yet.” hmmm. I go downstairs to check.

As I’m going down the stairs, I start smelling something - smoking plastic smell. I turn the corner to the laundry area and there’s a light haze of smoke, floating around the basement. “Not good”, I think to myself. I go in to investigate.

Smoke-filled room. Noisy washing machine, banging away. And the stink! But, none of the smoke alarms have gone off…

I call Mrs. Piper. We unplug the beast, and start bailing out the water. Open the windows and screen doors - forget about the axe murderer who’s lurking out there (that’s another story). Turn on the downstairs fan, the kitchen fan, and call 1-800-got-junk to have them cart it away tomorrow.

Now, the whole house smells of burnt plastic, and the beast sits, sullen and damp, in the basement. Tonight is its last night in the house before the get-junk-guys dispose of it.

Any chance it will take the last opportunity tonight to burst into flames and bring the house down, Samson-like? Should I be sitting there all night, hose and bucket at the ready?

2

I’m gonna go with “No” here. You unplugged it. If it was going to burst into flames, seems like it would have done it while it still had power surging through it.

I’d check the smoke alarms, make sure they’re functional, make sure there aren’t any flammable items right next to the washer, then go to bed.

ETA: does your Fire Department have a non-emergency number? Failing that, your Police Department has one, you could call them and ask them for the Fire Department’s non-emergency number. Your FD might insist on coming out and checking it, I dunno.

3

Well if you unplug it, there should be no worries at all. It’s probably a rubber belt that got partially off it’s pulley and started burning or something got lodged inbetween the belt and the pulley. I’d take it apart and have a quick look before I’d think about replacing it…unless, of course, you were trying to find a good reason to replace it.

4

Not looking for a reason, but it’s more the last straw sort of thing - it’s old, and we’ve been having other problems with it.

Just went downstairs - the haze has cleared away, but the stink is still there.