[susieq]

It's midnight, the end of a long day....
Saturdays mornings are my time to do some housework and this morning was no different. I started laundry and got the vacuum cleaner out. Had a load of cloths washed and stuck in the dryer, had put another load in the washer (the bedspread of our king sized bed....this is important to the story later) and went off to the other part of the house to vacuum. Our washer and dryer are stacking, with the dryer on top. Only about two years old and the washer is a front loader.

I had the MP3 player and head phones on, listening to music as I vacuumed.... At some point I heard a loud noise over the sound of the music and vacuum. Even the dog reacted to it. I looked out the window thinking my husband was home but he wasn't. I didn't think any more about and continued working. I was also doing a little pest control with some bug spray and so when I smelled something funny I thought it was the bug spray.

After a bit, I went back to check on the laundry. The dryer was quiet, no lights were lit. I thought it odd but was not really focused on it at first. Just thought the cycle was over. I reached in to unload it only to find the load still wet. Odd. I closed the door and hit the button to start the cycle again. Nothing. Dead. Now I realize the smell I noticed in the other part of the house is really strong in here and it is not bug spray, it's the smell of something electrical getting way to hot....duh....

I went to the electrical panel and sure enough, the breaker had been thrown.
I tried to reset it and the whole panel made a very unpleasent buzzing before the loud snap of the breaker going out again. Mean while the second load in the washer is progressing along....the king sized bedspread....

I called hubby on his cell and he came home. He started to unplug the dryer and move it and the washer (stacked as one piece) away from the wall. Just then the washer went into it's spin cycle....with the king sized bedspread which had somehow become all balled up into a tight, very heavy bundle....totally out of balance. The washer began rocking wildly and walking across the floor. Hubby is trying to hold onto it because the dryer is coming loose and flopping wildly about up there. I ran over and started punching buttons trying to put it on "pause". Finally hit the correct button and the washer stops...Phew.

Now hubby gets the unit away from the wall and the whole area around where the plug cord runs into the dryer, is burnt black! The cord ran to a junction box where it is connected to the wires running to the motor. The junction box was melted along with part of the connecting wires in both directions.

After talking to my brother (electronics genious) about the situation on the phone hubby and brother find the cause.....a loose screw in the connections. You learn something every day. I just learned that a loose electrical connection will overheat big time. My brother told hubby how to fix the whole thing.....I was none too sure about that idea....it took some convincing on hubby's part. It just looked so bad I was sure the thing should be hauled off and we buy a new one.

But, the damage was limited to a small area and caused by something that he could prevent happening again. So we worked on that for an hour or so. Got everything back together with all the burned wiring removed, the fresh, good ends all reconnected, grounded, etc.... put back in place and we were good to go.

Hubby was happy, I was happy, he went back to yard sale hunting, I went back to work. Turned the washer back on again....humming right along, until the next spin cycle, when this really awful clanking started inside the washer. It sounded like a couple of tin cans bouncing around inside the walls of the machine. Called hubby on his cell and said "we are not finished yet"

Poor hubby, had to come back from yard sale-ing again. Removed the panal on the washer to have a look inside....during that wild, walking across the floor episode, it had shredded part of the belt, a long strip of which was flapping nosily against the outer walls of the machine when it went into the spin. @#$#@^*$$$^@$ Of course, all the parts stores were closed by then.

And there was a weeks worth of laundry to be done.....
We decided to "trim" the long strip of rubber off of the otherwise intact belt and put it back on the machine. We also copied the part number off the belt so that we can order a new one on Monday. Finally, I got to do the laundry. Plans to do all my work in the morning and carve this afternoon did not work out though. Oh well, things could have been so much worse.
susieq

[rick-in-seattle]

Susan,
That sounds like an ordinary day to me.

[Bartster]

susie,

dont feel bad one night about a month or so ago, wifey put a load in the washer not long before we went to bed she was running around getting ready for bed i was in my chair on my way to get up and go myself when she walked in the kitchen to get the dog treats for the night and went to cussing i get up and go in the kitchen and there is about an inch of water thru out the kitchen, pantry and everywhere,washroom is right off the kitchen. so i break out the mops and shop vac and suck about 32 gallons of water from the floor at 10 oclock at night, get it all cleaned up turn the washer back on to find leak water coming from inside the washer, so know it is 10;45 and i am breaking the tools out man i just wanna go to bed, so here we go fixen the washer come to find out the house that drains the water from the tub had popped off got it back on put washer back together put tools away and was off to bed a midnight finally,so i know how you feel, one thing is for sure tomorrow will be better.

bart

[Tom H]

Susan, Don't sound like a very good day. I would suggest a good long carving session to make up for it. Right before I retired my wife and I sat down and made a list of all the things that we could do while I was still employed; that would make retirement better. This meant that we had the house sided (no painting), reroofed, new windows, new major appliances, new vehicles, teeth all fixed, health problems addressed,etc. We tried to think of everything that could and probably would go wrong. We either replaced it, fixed it, or added to it to make it last. So, we thought we were smart. But no! the machines, appliances, and bodies, etc. all conspired against us. New, rebuilt, replaced stuff (including us) still broke down and had to be fixed. You can't win! So carve, carve, carve....Tom H

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Geez Tom and Susie! Do you both live close to Whitecree lol

[susieq]

Very funny Hi Ho....
Tom, your plan sounds like ours..... Hubby just retired two years ago and we did similar planning. Not quite to the extent that you did but we tried to get all major medical stuff done before he retired....one year later he had a heart cath and a stent put it.

These two appliances are practically new. I love them except for one thing. They are Fridgidaire brand and the "stacking kit" for this set is a lousy design. It doesn't hold the dryer and washer together well, resulting in vibration and shaking of the dryer when the washer spin cycles....resulting in the loose screw that nearly burned down the house. We needed the space so we bought stackables but I wish we had gotten Whirlpool Duet. Their stacking kit is MUCH better....who knows about these things until you buy one though???? as for the washer getting out of balance, that can happen once in a while no matter how careful you are.

Bart, that wet feet in the middle of the night stuff is not fun.........similar thing happened to us with our water distiller.......shop vacs are great aren't they???? Everyone should have one.

One thing I never do anymore is run a major appliance if we are going away or late at night when we are going to bed. You just never know what can happen.
Well, I hear my work shop calling me.....time to go carve!

susieq

[santagibbs]

Susan, when we moved into our new home sixteen years ago, We bought a Frigidare stackable . It was like you said, all rattley and noisy and vibarating . We called the business where we bought it and said.." this will just not work." They brought it back and we got a new stackable Whirlpool.. That was sixteen years ago and the only trouble we have had was a hose that leaked which we found water all in the pantry . They ordered a new hose and I am still using it..I am almost afraid to brag, if you loose one machine you have to get the whole new unit again.. sense I have a small laundry room.. I would sure get the Whirlpool again though. Glad you have it fixed..Charlotte

[susieq]

Hi Charlotte,
I agree that Whirlpool is the gold standard when it comes to washers. But these Fridgidaires are really nice. The only problem is the stacking kit. They are separate machines held together with a plastic contraption that is all but useless and I have complained about it to them and to the place we bought it from. If we were using them side by side there would not have been a problem at all and they really perform. We looked at the Whirlpool Duet stackables but they were hundreds more than the Fridgidaire models.....better stacking kits though, metal and screws. Like you, we need the space and knowing what we know now, we would have purchased the Whirlpools instead. Live and learn.
susieq

[JIM QUILICI]

susie,
if it was not for bad luck , you would not haves any luck at all...................... hope things get better .
Jim

[santagibbs]

Yea Susie, I know what you mean..you wouldn't belive how much I have learned the hard way in all my long years...Still am... Charlotte