Our Washing Machine goes 'walkies' . The machine is dead level. All the feet are in contact with the floor. New soft vynl flooring put down and the thing very often goes walkies at sometime during the cycle.
Any good ideas on how to stop it?
Make up a frame of 1*1 timber, around the base of the machine, to fit it exactly (+1mm). Though there is no timber at the front, it usually won't wander out when pinned like this, as it has no space to move.
Kind of short on detail... Has it always done this, or suddenly started doing so? If you said what make/model, someone might know of a particular issue with that one.
Is this a new washing machine?
I recently had a Zanussi delivered by Comet and thought it had been unpacked. It started shaking when on the spin cycle and I then discovered that you have to remove some polystyrene blocks (3 in total) by tilting the machine back and sticking your hand under the machine. These blocks are located deep inside the machine. In addition 3 bolts need to be unscrewed from the back of the machine. If this is not done the machine will vibrate when in the spin cycle.
I had this happen. The reason was that the 'shock absorber' on one side had stopped working so the concrete counterweight moved. I'm afraid I had to replace the machine as it was too old to get a spare. It was a Hotpoint as I recall.
Next time RTFM and observe the big notice stuck on top !
Like the one that says something about Transit Bolts Need To Be Removed ..lol I presume Comet just removed the outer packing ...surprised they even did that ....unless the Op paid to have the old m/c taken away .
Sturt
Whilst you say each foot is on the floor - are you sure that each is bearing weight. Try shaking the machine from corner to corner to check for slack.
I wish I knew. Ours does the same, to the point of 'walking' behind the door leading to the conservatory, so you can't get out there to move the bloody thing back! Our machine is also dead level and all the feet are in contact with the floor
I now have it standing on an anti vibration mat I got from Axminster, on top of an anti slip mat. It still moves, but not as much.
how to stop it?
I am not convinced that mats really help - any movement starts a rhythm going that gets out of control. In most cases (where the machine is not faulty) an adjustment to put more weight onto a foot that is not taking its full share will solve the problem. Having the weight bearing on each foot is probably more important than the machine being level.
John
I've got a 1600 Bosch spinner which has had a tendency to wander off when on full spin.
The wandering stops only when the legs are tight and there's 100% no movement when rocking it.
Make sure its well full of clothes to start with. Half a load always makes mine go off balance.
john2
Actually putting it on a bit of blue polystyrene floor insulation works..
The message from The Natural Philosopher contains these words:
Depends on how reliable your other machines have been. Our Indesit is nearly ten years old and has had one drum-joint seal leak in that time - and a soap-box 'cos I dropped it. The drum-joint didn't cost anything, I just cleaned the scale off the groove it sat in.
There's all kinds of methods that manufacturers use to avoid that, from great lumps of concrete to springs. If a spring has dropped off inside, that can make the machine wobble.
We had an early Bendix that had to be bolted to the concrete floor. One day the bolts failed and the washing machine danced around the room, smashing the wallboard, and we couldn't get near it to switch it off.
It's noce to share a problem as I thought I was the only sufferer. I found a piece of plywood, 600x100x12 thick and screwed it with a light bracket to the wall. The machine's rear feet sit in two holes. That's enough.
It's nice to share a problem as I thought I was the only sufferer. I found a piece of plywood, 600x100x12 thick and screwed it with a light bracket to the wall. The machine's rear feet sit in two holes. That's enough.
The drums are usually suspended from a number of springs at the top and damped with vibration dampers at the bottom/side. These dampers are a bit like shock absorbers but have quite a long travel to accommodate different loads. If you ever have a badly out of balance load its possible for one or more of the dampers or their attachment points to fail. Might be worth tipping the machine up and checking all is OK.
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