So I’ve been getting some confusing advice - after trying to wash a blanket in my top-loading washer (which wasn’t a big or heavy blanket, but I shouldn’t have done it,) there has now been a strong burnt odor that has permeated the house. I consulted online advice and the advice was “just wait for the washer to cool down and you can use it again” - but doesn’t the burnt odor mean the belt or something has - well, ***burnt ***and should not be used?
Or is it something that despite being damaged, can be used fine the next time and in future as long as all future loads are normal weight?
You may have caused the belt to slip and that created the odor.
Or, the motor may have overheated.
Or, the drum brakes or bumpers got overheated.
But, at this point the damage is done. It’s either wrecked or it’s not. Just use it. If it fails in the near future - you learned an expensive lesson.
It’s also possible the burnt odor has nothing to do with a belt,. Whirlpool direct drive washers, a very popular design (arguably the best ever), don’t have belts. They were manufactured under other manufacturers names as well. What’s the make and model number of your washer?
That’s a later model top load that does have a belt (and isn’t near the washer as the generation before it), so there could be something going on with the belt, the question would be what. Could be something else still.
were there any failure codes, lights blinking, or anything other than the burning smell you noticed?
No, no failure codes or lights, the machine was moving and functioning normally, the only issue was the strong scorched odor that soon permeated the whole apartment.
My dishwasher created a strong odor of burning. But it turned out to be something that got stuck on the heating element, and when we removed the remainder of the burnt crud, the odor went away. The dishwasher had been fine, since.
I don’t know if there’s something else that might have been burning, but consider that possibility.
I’d unplug it and visually inspect the plug in and look for anything that looks melty. Then I’d plug it back in and make sure the next wash is done with you being close by and ready to respond if something seems out of the norm. I can tell you how to put it into its self diagnostic mode. I could also tell you how to access the detailed diagnostic info sheet in your washer. It’s in a concealed but easily accessible location (providing you have a 1/4" nut driver and the desire to dive into it).
Could be either. What probably happened is that the motor got very warm, and some insulation or something got very mildly singed/melted and gave off a bad smell but still works (most wire insulation will give off bad smell well before it fails completely)
I would follow **cmore’s **advice: next time you run it, stick around so you can tell if the smell gets a lot worse, the washer stops, or flames start shooting out. if you see nothing wrong, then you can probably keep using it no problem.