Fellow lemmings, I must know if your machines also display egregious “remaining time” values? Like, mine will say 2 minutes, then later go “ahhh it will be at least 13 more bro” as if gaslighting us. Is this a general issue with the apparently complex science of cleaning textiles?
I have the same. I assume it’s that there’s a moisture level detector that samples, gives it some minutes, and samples again. So if the moisture level is 50, and the usual time needed for that is 100 minutes, 2 minutes per moisture unit. The timer says 100. But the condenser is dirty, so after 50 minutes, it samples again, and says moisture is only down to 40. It should be 25. So the stupid dryer says “Well, looks like a tough case. Still needs 80 minutes!”
It may be the wax motor cooling down: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wax_motor#Laundry_washing_machines
TIL! neat!
Often a sign of a growing clog. The door doesn’t unlock until the water sensor says there is no water. If the last bit of water is draining slowly, it can delay unlock.
Three places to check a front loader:
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The rubber gasket for the door has small holes in the folds that get clogged.
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The lint/large item trap is getting full. Most washers have a little door you can open and pull that out for cleaning.
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Worst is there’s a ball in the drain hose at the bottom of the tub where the tub connects to the drain pump. It works as a check valve. It can get clogged. You need to get access to the motor area of the washer. Often massaging that ball in the hose is enough to let it drain. I’m fully aware of what this sounds like.
This was brilliantly informative, thanks stranger!
Literally had to take my parents washer apart recently and remove the impediment that was blocking the recirculation pump which caused it to be very loud and not recirculating.
The fun part was the service manual inside the washer that explained how to put it into service mode and test each function. Quality machine.
What brand, model, and how old?
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I’m more confused by how my machine can say 40mins left but then 40mins later it’s still got 30mins and is actively washing.
That one is actually easy: because to spin it needs to balance the clothes, and if that is not easy because of large pieces or whatever then it takes a long time to spin up. It can even completely fail to spin, for example if you wash one pillow, as it can not balance that.
Then it will just retry and retry, wasting a bunch of water until you stop it and balance it
In the 90s, my mum’s washing machine would stop if you needed to rebalance it, and a “rebalance” light would come on to let you know. It doesn’t seem like newer washing machines still do that?
Mine has an audio alert, it flips the fuck out and starts banging itself into the wall.
Newer ones take care of it themselves by adding a bit more water and agitating the clothes again to get them to balance out.
I’ve owned washers since the 90s and have never seen a rebalance light. Didn’t know there was such an animal!
I was trying to remember which brand it was, but it was so long ago now.
I asked ChatGPT and it found it right away: a Simpson Concorde top loader. Australian brand, actually made in Australia back in the day. Acquired by Electrolux in 2001. I can’t find any close-up photos of the control panel (as expected, there’s not a lot of info about 1990s washing machines online) but
IChatGPT did find a post where someone said their rebalance light was on: https://www.justanswer.com/australia-whitegoods/73wnx-machine-simpson-concorde-741-won-t-go-rebalance-button.html
Bought mine new 2 years ago and it does this frequently. Except instead of stopping and lighting a handy ‘rebalance’ indicator it just tells me its done and gives me sopping wet washing.
It was very cheap though, that could be the issue.
That’s funny. Our washer sings as little song when it’s done but I can honestly say in many years of ownership, I’ve never gotten up immediately to empty it. I wonder how long mine takes to unlock.
Aside from making sure check everything else mentioned in the comments, try pushing the door in before opening
The older I get the more I appreciate usability over a cheap price tag.
Our current washing machine demands the gathering of an audience by loudly singing the song of its people a full minute or more before it will let you open the damn door. It also has no respect for human arms, requiring a traversal from far left (soap dispenser ), to far right (power on), to centre (program select), then back to the far right for temperature and spin adjust and finally cycle start. Put the damn controls in a logical order across the top of the machine for fuck’s sake!
loudly singing the song of its people
Think I’ve encountered a washer like this. Attention seeking behaviour.
It’s a growing clog. See my other post here on how to fix.
You can open top loaders while they’re running to add something you forgot. They’re simpler and so more reliable machines, also easier to repair.
But, if your cat likes the front loader, then you’re stuck with that.
Top loaders have had locking doors on them since 2015. In order to meet energy star standards, top loaders are no longer deep water agetators but are now load-weight-sensing fill heights for energy and water conservation efficiency. This also necessitated spin cycles > 50RPMs, which is no longer safe to coast-stop under UL certification. So now the lid needs to lock when the unit is in use, and that’s why they all have pause buttons now so the machine can safe-stop whatever it’s doing.
It’s also why people say they don’t work as good, because they probably are still setting their settings like they always have. Also I bet a lot of them actually suck ass.
If it doesn’t have an agitator, your cloths aren’t getting clean
Our water company gave us a Samsung machine when we got our house to save water. It saves so much sometimes half the clothes never touches the water. You have to pour in water to soak the clothes before you start it to raise the weight to get enough water for it to wash right
I bought mine in 2019, it does lock but only when in spin cycle. When its just filling with water you can still open and toss stuff in
Also I bet a lot of them actually suck ass.
Adjusted for inflation, the price of things like a washing machine is now far lower than they once were.
Partly that’s because of efficiency of manufacture. But largely it’s because manufacturers are cheaping out in a race to the bottom, because they know the price tag is one of the most important things consumers look at when buying a new appliance.
You can still buy expensive appliances that last forever, mostly in the form of commercial/industrial units. But be prepared to spend 10x more on it.
Not the new ones. (Not that one I use anyway.)
Love top loaders. When I was little the one we had would stay running even with the top open. I played with my horse figurines in the water by making them swim around and stuff, best time of my life
I definitely read that a women was keeping the door locked to the laundry room until the machine stopped… The internet has ruined me
Saaaaame…I was trying to figure out how this was supposed to be a euphemism for masturbating
If it helps I am batin now
The machine beeps when the software cycle completes but often the mechanical process termination lags behind this due most commonly to sunspots. Happy now.
