It's March 29, 2024 1:37 AM

The Most Common Washing Machine Problems — And How to Fix Them

If you’ve ever had to spend half your day in a laundromat, you surely appreciate the benefits of a washing machine. Yet, for many homeowners, problems with their appliances can make it challenging to keep their clothes or bedsheets as clean as they’d like. Fortunately, many other homeowners deal with these common problems, meaning that a few solid solutions exist that help brings your machine back to relevance. If you have washing machine issues or want to prepare for the future, here are some of the most common machine problems and the solutions that are near-guaranteed to fix them.

Your Washing Machine Keeps Vibrating or Moving Around

Due to the nature of your washing machine, it’s common to have it move around a bit throughout each wash. What your machine shouldn’t do, however, is bounce around wildly. In most cases, the cause of this issue is that your machine isn’t level or that the feet aren’t locked onto the ground. Additionally, your problems might result from a load of laundry that’s too heavy or otherwise unbalanced. 

How to Fix It: Fixing the problem can be as simple as rearranging the laundry loaded into the machine or adjusting the legs to ensure the washing machine is appropriately level. You might also need to add a piece of plywood under the lower side of the appliance.

Your Washing Machine Makes Weird Noises

Sometimes you’ll hear strange noises or sounds in your washing machine as it operates. It can be difficult to diagnose, but in most cases, the problem stems from objects that have either fallen into the machine or are still on your clothing. Belts or zippers can bounce around the machine walls, or coins in your pants can fall out and rattle around. Humming noises might indicate an issue with your washing machine pump.

How to Fix It: Simply checking your clothes pockets and removing belts before washing your clothes can stop this problem in its tracks. However, if issues are deeper than a few nickels and dimes rattling around, washing machine repair experts are your next source of support. 

The Machine Itself Keeps Leaking

It’s safe to say that water shouldn’t be coming from your washing machine. When it starts to leak, this can indicate hoses that aren’t adequately attached, worn hose washers, or clogged drains that force water to escape somewhere else. Leaks can also be caused by an imbalanced washing machine, allowing water to seep out during operations.

How to Fix It: Fixing a leaking machine can be as simple as balancing the machine and ensuring the basket that collects the released water is sturdy and not leaking. Check your hoses and washers to ensure they’re in good working condition, and check the drain hose to see if it’s clogged with hair or other debris. 

Your Clothes Are Coming Out Damaged

Washing your clothes should make them look better, not worse. But, unfortunately, some homeowners’ clothing comes out damaged or ripped, making you wonder what on earth happened. Most of the time, damaged clothes are caused by objects in the washing machine that aren’t supposed to be there or when clothes get stuck in the center pole of your machine.

How to Fix It: Carefully search for any sharp plastics, tools, or other objects in your washing machine. If that’s ruled out, try washing smaller loads to avoid clothes piling up and ripping apart on the center pole. 

The Washer Starts to Smell

Adding detergent, fabric softener, and all the other beautiful smells to your clothing are meant to create an environment that produces warm and sweet-smelling garments. So it can come as a shock to notice your clothes having a nasty smell when you remove them from the washing machine. Unfortunately, bacteria, dirt, and grime build up over time within your washer, which eventually collects on the clothes you wash. 

How to Fix It: When was the last time you ran your washing machine on a warm cycle? Cold washes can cause leftover detergent to turn into that bacteria and dirt in your machine. Running your appliance on empty on the hottest cycle will likely kill that bacteria and keep things clean for years to come. 

Want a Permanent Fix? FixEm Appliance Repair Is Here to Help

Fixing your major appliances can feel like a daunting task, but not when you team up with the experts at FixEm Appliance Repair! From washing machine troubles to damaged refrigerators, we have the solution for appliances big and small. Sure, you can solve the problem yourself, but turning to our appliance repair team in Berkley, CA, provides expertise that you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else in the nation! Contact us today the minute your appliances need a fixer-upper!