Everything is broken

[CountAllVotes]

Just like that Bob Dylan song!

The washing machine was making a fierce sound when spinning out last week. I had the appliance guy over here and of course he couldn't find a thing wrong with it.

It is a Gibson 3/4 HP Heavy-Duty washing machine.

I ran off a couple of loads and it seemed to be ok but now it is back to where it was. It actually managed to physically move in the tiny laundry room it is in earlier today.

It is now braced on either side with blocks of wood so it cannot move but wow, what a racket when it spins out and it shakes something fierce unless you but the weight of your body against it to stop it!

Should I call this appliance guy *again* or forget it? The machine is 17 years old ...

Please advise if you have a clue.

Thanks very much for any help/ideas at all.

P.S.

The diffuser lens broke on the light in bathroom and I cannot find another acrylic lens to replace it with that is the right size so it looks like the entire fixture needs to be replace, or does it?

It measures 48" X 6" X 2". Can't find one in this size anywhere and no model # to be found. Pffttttt !!!!!

At my freakin wits end & oh yeah, they want almost 4K to paint the exterior of this tiny little house I live in! ACK.

[Ferrets are Cool]

1. My advice and the advice of all the appliance guys I know...

fix it as long as it can be fixed. The ones you can buy new now are crapola.
Find a new repair man.

edit to add this: I would replace the fixture with a new LED fixture. We have done that in the kitchen and LOVE LOVE LOVE the new LED light. Lowes has one on sale right now for $62 that will light up any room you have and they are extremely easy to replace.

[CountAllVotes]

5. That is what I would like to do

LED lights are the way to go.

I cannot safely get up on a ladder is the problem.

How much would it cost to have some one replace the fixture (flourescent tubes) I wonder? I can't find anyone to do it is the problem! There is no Lowes or Home Depot to be found where I live, nope -- they all packed it in and left abt. 10 years ago.

I tried that Home Advisor thing in the past and would be hard pressed to recommend them.

As for nextdoor.com, that is not good here either -----

[Ferrets are Cool]

9. I wish I were close enough to help...

I think the Senior Center post was a good idea. There has to be somewhere you can get some help, no matter how rural your area.
Good luck CountAll.

[CountAllVotes]

15. Thanks for the tip

I hope Home Depot sells this fixture as there is one of them abt. 100 miles north of where I live! Thanks again!

[Ferrets are Cool]

16. Good luck

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Sounds like your washer was just unbalanced ...

The other day a load in our washer got piled up on one side so that it saved a huge puddle of water after draining. When it started to spin it made a hell of a racket, and jumped around ! We just redistributed the towels more evenly (big stuff like blankets and towels are more likely to cause this problem), let the puddle drain, and everything was OK after that. Other than that, check if the feet are adjustable -- usually the front feet can be screwed in or out to raise one corner or the other. If you can get the washer really level, that will help some.

Sounds like a fluorescent tube fixture in the bathroom, and that sounds a little larger than the standard size, doesn't it ? That might be an industrial fixture. I'm really surprised Lowe's doesn't have it (not an endorsement, just the only place to buy from around here). You might have to find two shorter ones and join the ends together. Acrylic should be easy to cut to length with a hacksaw, if needed. Just don't rush the job, and it won't crack.

Not an expert on these issues, just spent a lot of time repairing things around this 40+ yo house with a lot of construction "shortcuts" ...

ETA: ditto the vote for LED lights. I am **so** glad to be rid of ballast transformers ! And after a few torn fingernails and bloodied fingers, I can change those fixtures out in a minute. Pull the ballast, save the "tombstone" connectors, connect the bulbs in parallel, and only one end of the LED tube needs connecting -- the other pins are just physical support, so you could jury-rig 36" bulbs into a 48" fixture if need be. Our bulbs have 5yr guarantee, and no costs for ballasts ever again.

[CountAllVotes]

6. We thought that too

Hence the bracing either side with blocks of wood and yes, it is still doing it.

I thought maybe it needed new feet. The problem is that the machine is so old that they cannot easily find parts for it.

As for that cheap light, I would not be surprised if it was some oddball thing. The contractor that worked on this house cut every corner that could be cut and lied like a dog on top of it.

I do not wish him well, believe me. His lies have cost a fortune!

[Freddie]

3. Smaller loads?

My old top-loader used to do that with big loads especially towels. The water wasn't draining right and stuff was wetter and heavier than it should be for that point in the cycle.
Just replaced a 20 year old refrigerator that was leaking from the freezer and we were getting pools of water in the veggie crispers. Found a great Kenmore with all the features for $799! Then on the advice of several people we were persuaded to get the service contract for $300 because "they break so easily anymore." Sigh.

[CountAllVotes]

4. I have three settings

For water, low, med. & high.

Also three setting, regular, knits and delicate.

I ran abt. 4 loads off in it today (very small - one towel at a time).

As for the appliance repairman, he took the whole thing apart and put it back together again and thought maybe a coin had got in the machine or something like that. It did nothing wrong and he spent almost an hour checking it out.

I heard the new machines are pure shyte so I don't want one!

There are few appliance repair people where I live. The last guy I had before this one was calling me up drunk wanting phone sex and I had to report him to the sheriff's office. YIKES.

As for the light/lens, I cannot get up on a ladder due to my disability and my husband is almost blind and deaf and over 80 years.

What a mess. I just want to cry!

Thanks for the replies everyone!

[shraby]

7. Have you checked with your local senior center? Sometimes there is someone there who knows how

to do things and needs a bit of money. I got one to till up my first garden here.

[CountAllVotes]

8. I need to make some calls

I heard of a place called Teen Outreach. Seems there is a bunch of people living in a nearby town in rehab that do jobs.

I am uncertain as to how this might work out as I believe many are recovering addicts and wow do we ever have a huge problem here.

I have nothing against people getting their lives back on track.

I'll call them tomorrow when I can think.

Shot to hell as this has been going on for 8 hrs. straight today. ugh.

Thank you!

[BigmanPigman]

10. My Dad calls it "planned obsolescence"

but he didn't coin the phrase. Manufactures make things so that it is more affordable to replace them than to fix them. Also, anything plastic is sure to break quicker than metal. I recall watching a show about Edison and it said that they light bulb manufacturers could easily make a light bulb or a battery that would last 15 years but then they wouldn't make any money in the future.

[CountAllVotes]

11. Continuation of situation today

Last edited Sun Feb 11, 2018, 12:31 PM - Edit history (1)

I realized after posting that there was blood on my laptop! I realized the blood was coming from ME. I cut my hand with a knife and did not feel it and my hand was bleeding and I had blood all over my clothes.

I doctored up my hand but my bloody clothes -- what do do?

I put them in the washing machine on LOW and let it rip. It washed everything on the delicate cycle and no noises.

It seems the stress on the motor on the regular setting is what sets it off.

My husband said that the motor is going out as it wouldn't make that loud spinning sound with wooden blocks on either side as it cannot move (which is true).

So who to I believe, my husband who has been around awhile or the appliance repair guy that could find nothing wrong abt. one week ago?

If I have to buy a replacement, it seems the match to the dryer I bought a couple of year ago is a POS according to the appliance repairman. It is a Speed Queen and it was $799 and they had to come twice to install it being the laundry room is so small but they took the old one away and they did these additional things for no additional cost.

I'm thinking its time is up. If a new Speed Queen washer that matches the dryer I have is no good (it came w/a three year warranty which was one of the main reasons I bought it), what ones out there are not complete waste of money? I'm not impressed with Sears, and yes there is a Sears here.

Many thanks again!

[BigmanPigman]

12. Yeah, get a new one with the warrenty.

It is time to "pull the plug". It served you well.

[CountAllVotes]

13. The guy that sold me the machine I now have

He's looking to find a new one for me.

He said he has connections as far south as Hayward so hopefully he can find something for me.

Thanks for the btw.

One problem hopefully solved for now.

[CountAllVotes]

14. Well things are looking up

I got a new machine, a Crosley (made in the USA). I have a range made by them. So far so good and luckily it fits into the tiny washroom I have (it had to be less than 26" in depth and wow, what a job finding something small enough).

The new machine actually cost less than the one I replaced (just over $400). It was delivered for free yesterday and they took the old Gibson away.

I have also found someone to help w/the house too so

The person I found will be able to get the light as his brother lives north of where we are and there is a Home Depot there and he can get the LED light and install it easy enough.

Anyway, thanks to everyone for your advice/ideas, and yes, it was indeed time to let the old Gibson washer go.

Thank you Mother!

Mother had bought it for me as a house warming present only to die a few months later so I think this was one reason I have had a hard time letting go of it. Very sad indeed & wow did she ever go fast! Cancer sucks!

[BigmanPigman]

17. Seems like things are falling into place

almost effortlessly and financially. Maybe it was "fate".

Be relieved that your mother didn't have to suffer for long. Too many people do.

Happy washing!

[CountAllVotes]

18. The new washing machine is a POS

The thing was rocking and rolling so hard on the first load I ran off in it, I called for service.

I was told that that is the way it is.

I told them that it vibrates more than the one they just hauled off.

I just want to cry seriously ...

[BigmanPigman]

19. What a nightmare!

I guess they expect you to get so frustrated that you go out and buy an old washing board and ringers like the Beverly Hillbillies or maybe go to a river and bang the clothes on a rock. Is this supposed to be a "modern convenience"?

[CountAllVotes]

20. It seems a bit better now

However, I am so not impressed! You can run it on low cycles without too much vibration but still, not much difference from what was just hauled away. I feel like an idiot!

They were supposed to send someone else out and I never heard a word back.

Looks like I am stuck with this POS and there is not a thing I can do about it as they are not backing it up at all!

I wonder what options if any I have?

[BigmanPigman]

21. Three day weekend so probably no progress until Tues.

It's under warranty, right? Return it and get one at a different company altogether.

[CountAllVotes]

22. Yes it is under warranty

But how do I return it?

They are not a Crosley dealer I found out.

I fear I am stuck as I don't know how I can return it.

I'd have to hire a truck and have it hauled back there and I do not have a truck or some one that can haul it back.

If I keep the POS, I can just wait until it doesn't work at all anymore and just forget it and buy something else later.

It cost abt $500 total with the cost of the cables and sales tax.

I'm trying to view it this way, at least I did not buy a smaller unit (which looked to be my only option being the washroom is so tiny). Those run abt. $1500.00.

If I had one of those I'd be screaming bloody murder by now, believe me.

So I suppose I'll keep the POS and I won't be buying any more appliances from this place!

Actually, Crosley is the place that can't seem to deal with this anyway. That is who I called yesterday and they promised to get back to me and send someone else out. No call back, nope! Well, now we know what Crosley is all abt. don't we?