Appliance Repair Wisdom for the Ages

Wednesday, July 17, 2002

The subject of levelling the washer comes up frequently in the laundry appliance repair forum. And almost every single friggin' time, the Grasshopper blabbers on about how he knows the washer is level because he levelled it with a bubble level and that's the end of that, blah, blah, blah. But when you hear us professionals talk about levelling your washer, bubble-level ain't nearly as important as it is to have each leg carrying 25% of the washer's weight. A washer can be bubble-level and still have three of the legs carrying most of the weight but the fourth leg is lightly loaded or even off the ground by a millimeter or two. In spin, a washer is basically a centrifuge and generates huge centrifugal forces. Any uneven weight distribution among the legs will manifest itself in various gawd-awful ways: thumping against walls during spin, knocking down walls or whole houses, and even flying across the room and wiping out whole families.

A quick way to check for even weight distribution is a patented technique that I call, "Rocking the Diagonals." To implement this award-winning procedure, place your hands on the diagonal corners (or proximity thereof) on the top of the washer and attempt to rock the machine. Repeat for the other diagonal. If you feel any movement at all, then the machine will walk during high speed spin.

Awwite, if the Samurai says it then it is so. From now on, when I say to check the washer's level you'll know what I'm talking about.