underwired bras vs the washing machine

Hi,

Had to stop the washer last night after hearing an awful scraping noise which must have been caused by an underwire coming out of one of the wife's bras..

unfortunately by the time it stopped and after removing the clothes I couldn't find the wire.. also there is now no longer a noise when spinning the drum.

Wire is nowhere to be seen, I'm sure it's somewhere in the machine - just fallen through one of the holes in the drum.

So my question is: a) is it dangerous to keep the wire laying inside wherever it may be? b) can an average joe remove whatever needs to be removed in order to get the wire out? c) if so - how? ;) the machine is an Ariston I think but would I need a maintenance manual in order to do that? d) if all else fails, what's an average cost to get someone to sort it for me?

many thanks for all replies :D

cheers, Chris

Reply to
Not Me
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Tha'll be a let down for the wife then. :-)

If anywhere it'll be between the drum and the outer skin? if its metal it'll rust in time and probably ruin the clothes if left in.

Reply to
The3rd Earl Of Derby

Underwires are an absolute PAIN in my launderettes. The wires either get stuck as yours has, or the fall through and jam the dump valve fully open ( Launderette m/cs empty by gravity , a huge 2" valve dumps the water out quickly but if jammed open by a bra wire the m/c never manages to fill on the next cycle wasting vast quantities of metered water)

To answer you question, the lost wire is a problem waiting to happen - at some stage it will be dislodged by the swirling water. In a domestic m/c the main danger is that it will damage the heating element.

AWEM

Reply to
Andrew Mawson

Try the pipe leading into the drain pump chamber. I've retrieved them from there a couple of times - just before they jam the pump.

In fact you might be able to see the end of it by taking the drain pump chamber plug out and peering inside.

Reply to
F

Yup! Its just lurking, biding its time, waiting to catch you off guard. If it can't get the heater it will contrive to poke up out of a hole and shred any clothes it can get at.

You need to check the drain filter first, if you are lucky it will be in there.

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

Don't know about Ariston, but, I have previously had some success removing this sort of thing through the hose from the bottom of the drum. Some models have a large gaiter type arrangement here, which gives plenty of space for fishing things out.

Obviously, disconnect the electricity supply unless you are planning suicide but wanting SWMBO to still collect the life insurance. :-/

You probably want to disconnect the water too, just to get extra manoeuvrability.

There may be a bit of water in there so be prepared to catch that - an old towel underneath will probably do.

You might have to tilt the machine up, to get at the underside.

If you can get access this way, it's really not hard at all - no manual needed, and you can feel all righteous about not calling out an engineer.

Make sure you put things back together in a nice watertight way if you want to keep that righteous feeling.

Cheers,

William.

Reply to
William McNicol

You may want to consider attaching the transit bolts (those you put somewhere safe) before tipping the machine.

John

Reply to
John

You may also wish to disconect or otherwise ensure that the diaphram switch (water level detector) is kept raised, to stop water entering it...

Reply to
James Salisbury

The message from "James Salisbury" contains these words:

Assuming he's got the sense to switch the power off first it won't matter.

Reply to
Guy King

This happened to my machine recently.

The Haynes Washing Machine Manual suggested removing the heating element and attempting to pull out the wire through the opening - I didn't have the requisite long reach socket to hand to reve the element and ended up doing it through the drain gaiter leading to the pump, as another poster has suggested.

Reply to
Adrian Berry

Not sure, I know of a case when a dishwasher was inverted to work on the pump, and the diaphram switch conked out....

Reply to
James Salisbury

I was about to make a comment along the lines of it being impossible to ever retrieve anything you put in a safe place. Then I realised, I actually do know where the transit bolts for our washing machine are.

I'm gobsmacked!

Reply to
Rob Hamadi

Same here (in that I'm gobsmacked that I actually know, having read your statement). The machine is 12 years old and I know EXACTLY where they are...in a box, in the loft, marked 'Washing Machine Bits'! I even know where the box is...

Reply to
Bob Eager

The message from "Rob Hamadi" contains these words:

Ours have always been in a bag tied to the back of the machine. Except the current machine which was donated by a grandparent and came without transit bolts. Same with the spare washers for the hoses - I'm not likely to need them anywhere else so they're cabletied to the taps behind the washer.

Reply to
Guy King

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