Is your head spinning while your washer is leaking?

Saturday morning is laundry day for Sheila. She loads her washer and heads to the kitchen to start cooking breakfast. When Sheila returns to the laundry room to put her clothes in the dryer, she could feel some water under her feet. Oh my gosh, she thought, why does this have to happen today? There had been no thundering announcement by the Maytag washing machine that a leak was about to occur. Sometimes catastrophe falls upon us in rapid succession without any forewarning. It is how we respond to these sudden moments of crisis that help give us direction, overcoming difficulty, and eventually coming through the unfortunate circumstance shining brighter than before. Sheila’s head was spinning trying to figure out why her washing machine was leaking? Fortunately, she knew a few tricks that would help her decide whether to call an appliance repair person or not. She took a deep breath to calm herself and run a few troubleshooting tricks. If nothing else, hopefully, her prep work would help direct the appliance repair person to focus in one area.

The first thing that needs to be done is to unplug the washer and dryer and any other electrical devices in the area to avoid electrocution. Grab some towels and begin soaking up water in the laundry room. If any water has leaked on the carpet, place a dry towel over the area. Stomp on the towel to remove as much water as possible. If there is a lot of water, use a wet-dry vacuum to sop up as much as possible. You are trying to prevent a mold situation which would only serve to heighten your problems.

Once you’ve removed as much water as possible, the next step is to attempt to determine what is causing the leak. Wait a minute; isn’t that the appliance repair person’s job? Yes, it is but there are few things that you can do to help assess where the leak is coming from. When you call Fred’s Appliance, you can explain the approximate location of the leak and that will enable us to bring out the right possible parts. You may want to ask yourself, when does the leak occur? If it is leaking only while agitating it may need a center post gasket or a spin tube seal. If the washer is leaking after the fill cycle has begun, the tub seal may need to be replaced or rust could have worn a hole in the tub. If the washer is constantly found to be out of balance this will increase the general wear and tear on the tub seal. Be aware that if the rust is severe you may end up needing to buy another washing machine.

Another helpful troubleshooting tip is to place newspaper under the washer and run a load to help map out where the leak is coming from. If after pulling the newspaper out from under the machine you see that the leak is located.   Depending on the make and model, we can have a better idea of what is causing the issue.

Finally, if you do need to call an appliance repair person, know that they may need to disassemble your machine to perform repairs. You can help by preparing your washer by removing laundry and any water remaining in the tub. Be sure to clear the area so the washer is as accessible as possible.

We take pride in that most of the appliance repair folks at Fred’s Appliance are home-grown through Freds Appliance Academy. If you would like to talk about a leaking washer or just about anything else, contact us today or give us a call at 888-453-7337.