And if so, what kind and from where?
My second-hand, elderly washer refused to agitate this morning. Last year it refused to use cold water and I had a repair guy come fix it, and that was cheaper than a new washer, but a second service call is probably starting to push the limit, not to mention my buttons. :mad:
Dopers, tell me what I should buy, or what NOT to buy, and a good place to start looking. About how much should I pay? All I want is the basics, nothing fancy, just reliable.
How elderly is it, and how handy are you with tools?
If its age is “less then Methuselah” and you can generally use a screwdriver without hurting yourself, you may be able to fix it up fairly easily.
Chances are pretty good that all you need is a new timer - that’s a fairly common failure in washing machines. The big gotcha is finding the part - if the machine’s really old, the part may no longer be available. Also, without further diagnosis, it’s not a sure bet that the timer is the problem. The problem might be the motor, transmission, or the parts (solenoids and wiring) that control the transmission.
If you just want it gone, and replaced with a new machine, the low-end top-load machines start at $300. High-efficiency front-loaders start at $600.
Sears always has something on sale, and usually has something along the lines of “Delivery is free (after a rebate) on appliances $xxx and up.” or “Get a xx% rebate” if you want to pick up the appliance at the store.
I’ve asked Typo Knig to chime in here since he fixed our old washer a couple of times… including once when the repairman from the company that manufactured it was stumped (he finally got it fixed with the help of a fix-it-yourself book and some phone advice from a friend who was in the business). Ultimately we gave it away when the dryer died; it would have cost more to repair the dryer than to replace it, and I’d been hankering after front-loaders for the efficiency anyway.
If you do replace: My personal experience with GE appliances has not been great. Their over-the-stove microwaves, for example: we’ve had 2 lemons. The washer in question was a GE that malfunctioned at 6+ years old. The drier in question was also a GE. We’ve got a countertop GE microwave (bought after the second time the over-the-counter one died spectacularly) that works fine except the door sticks and we have to pry it open sometimes. The GE fridge works fine, as far as we can tell. The GE we had in our former home needed a new condenser (think that was it) but they did that repair “cheap” (only 250 or so) because, well, it turned out all the fridges of that vintage were defective. I will admit, most of my bad GE experiences were “builder’s grade” but the microwave range-hood ones were both higher end applicances.
I’ve actually had good experiences with Kenmore for a variety of items and you can usually get a x-months-same-as-cash (with all the usual warnings, that can be a good deal).
My next machine is going to be a front-loader, and I’m patiently waiting for my current machine to die so I can get one.
Just about everyone I know has one, because they work at a factory that makes them and can buy the ones with cosmetic flaws cheap. They rave about them. The front loader uses less water, less soap, and because of the way they spin, there’s less time in the dryer.
When I buy one, I’ll probably go to Sears or the local home appliance store, which has better/quicker warranty service.
Here’s the book I used: Washing Machine Repair Cheap and Easy by Douglas Emley available here and at amazon. I got mine at a local appliance repair shop. There are others in the series for dryers, dishwashers, etc.
I really like these books, I found them extremely clear and well-written, with excellent guides to operating principles, safety, troubleshooting, common problems, and when to replace versus repair. The books have a very good introduction to electricity and electrical measurements. The author apologizes to any physicists in the audience for any mistakes he might have made. As a physicist, I think the author has nothing to apologize for, and much to brag about!
I don’t know if you have the time or confidence in your skills to try to repair it yourself, but with these books - or a friend in the biz - and a few basic tools, you can go far.
I ran out of time on the dryer, and we could afford the repair trip. But the books helped me understand what the repairman said was wrong with the dryer, and that the repair was beyond my skills and not worth the money.
The washer repair I made was helped significantly by the books, but was also helped when I happened to be right by the washer when it went into its failure mode - filling up and NOT STOPPING. It had only done that sometimes, and only when we weren’t around. Nothing like coming home to a flooded basement for no apparent reason … Once I had a diagnosis, the actual repair was easy!
There’s an online repair guide at www.repairclinic.com You type in your brand, model number, and serial number, and they take it from there. Once you diagnose what’s broken, guess what! They’ll sell you the right part.
Thanks for all the advice! I’ll be checking out that site, but for now it has decided to work, at least on a different setting(normal and delicate work, permanent press doesn’t). So even if I can’t figure it out or fix it, I can live with it.
That really sounds like the timer’s gone bad, since you’ve now discovered that the motor, transmission, pump and fill valves all work.
The hardest part will be getting at the timer. Some machines have the entire top flip up and you’ll be working “upside down” on the thing, and some have an access panel at the top of the back side. Once you get at it, it’s just keeping track of a dozen or so wires - just move them from the old timer to the new timer one at a time so you don’t cross them up.
‘No agitate’ could be as simple as a belt adjustment, or a solenoid which is failing to shift from agitate to spin/pump out mode.
Consumer Reports on washing machines.