My Newer Whirlpool Washer Isn't Working Properly, Can I Fix It?
Originally recorded January 2, 2023.
Two is one, and one is none. That means is you have two of something, and one breaks, you still have one. If you only have one of something, and that breaks, you have none. That's only one of the reasons I have two washing machines.
And it's a good thing, because I finally did have a failure, this time with my newer Whirlpool direct drive. This I had noticed after doing the last load of laundry I did. Strange sounds. Improper operation.
I ran a couple of test cycles, and each time, indeed, the washer was not fully draining in the allotted time. Many parts-pushers would immediately fault the drain pump and replace it, only to find that the problem was not resolved. As usual, I took a non-conventional approach to my diagnosis. I started from the end back. The problem is obviously within the draining system, and that runs from the outlet, back up through everything, into the machine, and through the drain pump into the washtub. So immediately I have narrowed down the problem to just a few things, instead of "it's broken" which is usually the problem description I would get.
The washer was draining, but it wasn't draining fast enough. I also had an audible clue, the water going into the sump bucket underneath the sink didn't sound normal. And when I opened that up and watched, indeed, I could see that it was not draining properly. Now I had to decipher what was causing this and what the resolution would be.
One audible clue I had was a steady stream of water in the sump bucket, as well as a lot of "churning" when the drain would start. The steady stream of water immediately clued me in that there was a blockage downstream of that.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with this setup I engineered, the drain hose is extended into the water in the sump bucket. One might think that wouldn't be a problem, but it's a huge problem. A siphon can set up in either direction. In the normal out direction, any water that goes in the washer will keep draining out of the machine. In the backwards direction, water will enter the washer from the drain, and can have the potential to cause the washer to overflow. I installed an anti-drainback valve, a standard, off-the-shelf part available at your big box home centers. Before that, I installed a vacuum breaker tube, just a small tube that loops up above the water, sealed into the drain hose. This breaks any siphon and acts as a double-safety. Essentially, the off-the shelf part will prevent water from going backwards back into the machine, but the vacuum breaker will prevent water from the machine continuously going down the drain. The reason for all of this is that I wanted the water to drain directly into water, so it's quiet when it drains. That required all the rest. I have rigorously tested this setup and it has been absolutely impeccable, not a single instance of any trouble with it. And when I test things, I test it to the extreme, and give it circumstances that would never happen in normal instances. Only when it passed all of those tests to my satisfaction, does it get my seal of approval.
Of course, in time, everything breaks. I have no idea how this had occurred, but somehow, the "dip tube" of the drain had moved. I had this tube in there pointing in a certain direction and it held pretty steadfastly, so when it will move slightly due to normal drain action, it won't move far out of position. This time, for whatever reason, and still a reason I have not been able to figure out, it had moved and was pointing straight down into the bucket. Normally that wouldn't be a problem either, but it had shifted downwards that it was impeding the flow of water to such a degree to cause these issues. After repositioning the hose, and ensuring once again that it cannot move from where it sits, the problem was solved.
So there actually was no problem with the washer at all. That actually didn't come as any surprise to me, being that direct drive washers have sort of a "Toyota" reliability. It's not that they don't break, it's that they break a lot less often than would otherwise occur. Just like with an older, high-mileage Toyota, things will start breaking, because they are old and used up or worn out. This happens on any car or machine, the more use it's had, the faster things break. But when they are designed properly, the likelihood of that happening is pretty low. So, once again, this washer has had absolutely no repairs, and it's going on 14 years old. Here's to 14 more!
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