Sep 24, 2009

A Woman's Work...

... is never done.

On my day off work, my plan was to get laundry done (including bedding), and clean my kitchen. Early morning, I stripped the bed and threw it in the washer. About an hour and half later, I wandered to the basement to find this:


A tub full of water and unwashed linens. What the....? Twist the knob to empty. Nothing. Twist it to spin. Nothing. Twist it to rinse. Again nothing.

*ACK!* Visions of toting laundry to the laundromat danced through my head. The "Crack Kills" view of the repairman's behind played like a movie in my mind. I pictured myself going into cardiac arrest over the repair bill, and the potential realization it might be cheaper to buy a new washer instead of having this one fixed. Yes, my mind went through various scenarios!

Then I came back to reality. I let my fingers do the walking to You Tube. Yes, You Tube! Incidentally, I would've never thought about this if it weren't for my brother. He fixed my doorbell chime by looking on You Tube. But I digress...

On YT, I did a search on washer repair. Amazing how many videos there are! After watching a couple, I *thought* I figured out what the problem was. I took my laptop to the basement with me and I set to work using one of the videos. Brave soul, aren't I? lol I told myself: How much damage could I do? It looks easy enough!

Had to open up the washer...
almost like surgery, don'tcha think?
Kinda scary!

I had to "rewind" the video many times to get the washer torn apart in order to get the offending piece out of it. So what was wrong? According to my internet research, a common problem is a broken lid switch. A quick trip to the local Sears store (my washer is Kenmore) revealed a 3-10 day wait for a part. *ack* No, I need it NOW! I also figured it could get it much faster by ordering online myself. After getting home, I had three plans of action. (Yes, 3!)

First, I noticed that the plastic casing around the switch had come unglued. Why couldn't I superglue it back together? It could work, right? Right!

The "suspect" switch

I figured it was worth a try, so I put some superglue where I saw the old glue gave way. It was a tight squeeze, but with the help of a handy dandy toothpick I was able to get some down in there. Add a quick clamp from the set I bought a couple weeks ago and viola!

If the switch still didn't work after gluing, Plan B was in order: A pair of wire cutters and I would be doing some serious surgery resulting in bypassing the switch. Clip, clip of the black wires, twist the two together, and wrap with electrical tape. Viola, the washer could work with the lid open (not that I've ever left the lid open), or closed.

Plan C involved finding a replacement switch online. Last resort.

Turns out that Plan A worked!! Incidentally, if you look at the video comments, wiitard1210 had the same problem. :) Nice to know I'm not alone. My Dad thinks that the plastic part has points inside that weren't making contact when the old glue came undone. (He came over to help after I had everything apart) After testing the switch to make sure it worked, I put the washer back together under the "supervision" of my Dad.

It Works!!!

32 comments:

CJ said...

Congrats!! You are one handy gal.
Can I call you next time I have an appliance problem?

See ya!!

CJ

Debbie Jo said...

Awesome!!!!!! Glad you could get it fixed on your own.

Jinger said...

Wow! You rock!

Mylene said...

Great job, Meari! Glad you were able to repair it.

Carol R said...

Congratulations Meari - you are such a resourceful girl!

Emily in NC said...

YEAH, my husband does all the handy stuff, I would have called a repair person.

Sandy In Montana said...

You Go Girl!!! You are living proof to men that we don't need them for every little repair.

Blu said...

Wow that's incredible.
Not that the washer broke but that you took it apart and *fixed* it!
Way to go, Renaissance Woman.

Carolyn NC said...

Wow - that is fantastic - you go girl!

Nancy M said...

But only you would think to document the work with photos and blog about it!!! Glad you fixed it, HATE laundry mats! You're still keeping the lonely Maytag repairman from working.

Anonymous said...

Meari - You ARE a super woman!!!!
Why do washing machines always break when they are full of sheets or towels?

Gabi said...

Maeri I'm in awe!!! I would never had the courage to do so. Good on you that you do so, and even better that you fixed it too.

Cindy said...

Kudos to you for tackling that repair!! Our washer gave out a couple of years ago right when we were expecting an influx of company. We wound up getting a new one :(

Marita said...

You are truly inspiring! I never would have thought to look on YouTube either.

Well done on the fix.

Vicki in CO said...

You never cease to amaze me! Good job girl!

If the same thing happened at our house, my DH would scratch his head and then tell ME to call a repairman! He is NOT handy with home repairs, so it is generally less expensive to just let my fingers do the walking through those yellow pages....

Rene la Frog said...

You are my idol! You could have your own hom repair show on TV.

Chars said...

Great job Meari and thanks for the U-Tube idea...

My husband is useless when it comes to DIY and repairs... So I tend to tackle it and if all else fails we call that dreaded repair dude!

Once I called the repair man for my washer... he pulled it apart to tell me that a bobby pin had blocked the pump... $200 later!! GRR.

Funnily enough I was watching his every move so the next time I tackled it myself and BINGO I fixed it.

Anonymous said...

well done and great courage to try all the repair all by yourself I like to do diy but for sure not this big and great isea to search on internet

Lillie said...

Wow! my salute to you! You are real brave to attempt something like that.

Well done!

mbroider said...

Meari, you are amazing!!

Katrien said...

wow, congrats!!!

~~~Melinda said...

Good to know there are you tube videos on repairs...my dryer is making a squeaking noise! I would taken the machine apart beofre searching for help lol Way to go Meari!!

Jennifer said...

My goodness woman - you are going to make a FABULOUS husband some day!!! LOL I am in AWE of your mad appliance repair skillz. :-)

Curious said...

All I can say is Wow Your are great

Debbie S

Mary said...

Congrats on fixing the washer. You are definitely brave and ingenious!!! I will have to remember You Tube when the next household disaster occurs.

Rachel V said...

you are amazing!! Congrats on a job well done!

Shelley - ILCS said...

Congrats to you for proving that just because we are female we are NOT helpless!!! I bow down to you oh great handy woman!!!

Alberta said...

That is incredible!!!!

Anonymous said...

You never cease to amaze me with all the talents you have. One might ask - why do we need men anyway? lol
Barb in TX

CJ in OK ;-) said...

Impressive. You are right I would never have thought of You Tube for things like that.
Amazing what we can do, right. CJ ok;-)

Kristin said...

I am truly impressed!

Debra said...

Way to go!!!