I Just Got Intimate

[Bull]

With the washing machine, that is

See, I was cleaning up an SK Wayne ratchet from the flea to list on here. Had the guts all apart, and of course there are some tiny parts in there. The laundry sink where I do this is right next to the washing machine. Sometimes, I put a paper towel on top of the machine and let the parts I am cleaning dry there. Tonight, the tiny little "bullet" that pushes on the pawl slipped out of my hand, landed in the crevice around the machine's lid, dropped into the barrel, rattled around a few times and then fell into one of the many holes available. Gone. Out of sight. So, a man's gotta do...

Can you see it in there now?

Let me show ya!

Reunited with its family

I have never had one of these washers apart before, so it was kind of neat, even though I had other stuff I needed to be doing. Oh well.

On another note, I was appalled at how dirty the washing machine is in hidden spots that you just don't see when it's all buttoned up. Layers of nasty scum and whatnot. It's not an old machine, either. So, I scrubbed it all down with a brush and Simple Green, then when it was back together I ran it empty with hot water and Zep citrus cleaner. Should be squeaky now!

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Dave, you spend so much time with those tools and on here you better be careful the wifey ain't having an affair!

 

[jerryW]

Welcome to my world!

I've seen that view often enough. That looks clean to a lot I've seen! Out of sight out of mind!


jerry

 

[Bull]

Dave, you spend so much time with those tools and on here you better be careful the wifey ain't having an affair!

Why would she wander away from an awesome hunk o'man such as myself?

She and the baby go to bed very early, so the nights are my play time!

 

[Bull]

Welcome to my world!

I've seen that view often enough. That looks clean to a lot I've seen! Out of sight out of mind!


jerry

You work on these, Jerry?

I should have snapped some pics of the nasty areas. From now on, I am going to run an empty cycle on hot with some degreaser every month or so.

 

[A_Pmech]

That little thing was fairly close to the tube of doom!

 

[Bull]

That little thing was fairly close to the tube of doom!

I know...it could have been messier than it was. But I was determined to retrieve that piece.

Now I have to wonder if the ratchet is begging me not to be sold or if this was all just an accident.

 

[glenmore]

Try using liquid detergent only after you get it all clean.

There is stuff in the powder detergent that builds up after a while.

 

[Bull]

Try using liquid detergent only after you get it all clean.

There is stuff in the powder detergent that builds up after a while.

The odd thing is, we never use the powdered stuff at all.

You know that shaft in the middle of the agitator screw, into which you can pour liquid fabric softener? That entire thing was gummed/caked with liquid detergent residue. Seriously. It looked like Slimer from Ghostbusters ran through there a few times.

 

[A_Pmech]

Now I have to wonder if the ratchet is begging me not to be sold or if this was all just an accident.

It's an omen. You need to give the ratchet to me before you reap the consequences of it's use.

 

[Bull]

It's an omen. You need to give the ratchet to me before you reap the consequences of it's use.

Heck, I've seen what you can do. You're likely able to MAKE a ratchet far finer that this little old vintage Wayne!

 

[tcianci]

Our washer was a front loader and my wife refused to use less detergent like the manual recommended, so it stopped pumping on short order. I was about to tear it apart to see what was going on when an appliance repair guy told me to just run a quart of white vinegar through it. It worked! Dissolved the clog.

 

[Bull]

Our washer was a front loader and my wife refused to use less detergent like the manual recommended, so it stopped pumping on short order. I was about to tear it apart to see what was going on when an appliance repair guy told me to just run a quart of white vinegar through it. It worked! Dissolved the clog.

White vinegar, eh? Maybe better than Simple Green and Zep citrus?

What they heck, I might try it!

 

[airdale]

Wow, I work on things in the laundry room fairly often too. I can just imagine the verbal reaction I would have had!
Good job finding it, I think it wants to stay in your toolbox. Either that or it was aiming for your eye?

 

[Merkava_4]

Love the thread title....

 

[glenmore]

The odd thing is, we never use the powdered stuff at all.

You know that shaft in the middle of the agitator screw, into which you can pour liquid fabric softener? That entire thing was gummed/caked with liquid detergent residue. Seriously. It looked like Slimer from Ghostbusters ran through there a few times.

The trick to using fabric softener is to dilute it. In our machine you are supposed to load the softener in a little compartment and when the time comes a stream of water washes it into the tub. In theory anyways. That compartment always got gunked up until the wifey figured out to dilute the softener with an added cap full of water.

 

[diogenes]

Bull, I just got this from your wife. She said she thought you looked cute digging around in the washer for the "wrench thingy" and snapped your picture.

 

[ironheadtom]

Too funny. Makes me think of the other thread where the guys wife shook her head when she saw him polishing his sockets. I could imagine the look if the washer was apart at the same time!

 

[Handyman163]

The odd thing is, we never use the powdered stuff at all.

You know that shaft in the middle of the agitator screw, into which you can pour liquid fabric softener? That entire thing was gummed/caked with liquid detergent residue. Seriously. It looked like Slimer from Ghostbusters ran through there a few times.

My washer got to be the same way with the fabric softener dispenser in the agitator. It would get so bad that it would spew out goop from three little tiny holes hidden under the spiral parts of the agitator during the final spin cycle and get spots on the otherwise clean clothes. We now either use the liquid detergent that has the fabric softener in it, or pour the fabric softener into the machine tub when it's got some water in it above the clothes.

 

[Flathead Youngin']

i may have to try this....just run a qt. through about every few months...

Our washer was a front loader and my wife refused to use less detergent like the manual recommended, so it stopped pumping on short order. I was about to tear it apart to see what was going on when an appliance repair guy told me to just run a quart of white vinegar through it. It worked! Dissolved the clog.

 

[y20dth]

The manual to our washer says to run 1 empty cycle every month with a minimum of soap, no softner, hightest temperature. I actually do that.

I read something about some sort of bacteria that has been found in washingmachines that causes the clogging.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

Was this playing while you "got intimate"?

 

[selohssa]

Now that is dedication.

 

[arkangel06]

Wow bull! I guess you really wanted that piece back

 

[Skin]

Try using liquid detergent only after you get it all clean.

There is stuff in the powder detergent that builds up after a while.

really? i was told the exact opposite. We used nothing but liquid, long story short the drum on a 4 year old $1200 Whirlpool front loader snapped in 2 points and made a very very loud noise. Either the water or detergents or the combination of the two ate right through the metal. Quite impressive actually. The spindle portion of the drum is not the most robust thing either which was pretty sad. Thankfully the drum is the only part on the entire washer that is covered by a lifetime warranty so they shipped a new one no questions asked. Apparently its a common problem on the specific washer but of course the new drum, which had a new p/n, was the exact same.

In addition to switching to powder we do the vinegar rinse once a month now as well.

 

[glenmore]

Looks like there is almost as much controversy over "powder vs liquid" as there is about "Snap-On vs ***".

One thing seems to be clear, dissolve the detergent first before adding clothes.

 

[SirPoopsALot]

That little thing was fairly close to the tube of doom!

I was thinking it would have been easier to take the cabinet off, and take the hose off the bottom of the drum, and shake it into the "tube of doom"... haha.

 

[Mr.Nutcase]

lol........ what brand?

 

[jerryW]

Hardness of water can make a difference on type of detergent to use. Liquid works better in hard water. Using a name brand can help also. Tide has all the latest developments included, then they are trickled down to the lower brands. Stay away form the 5 gallon bucket for less money. If it gets to0 much humidity in it, it can lose effectiveness.

I usually tell customers find a Downy ball and use it instead of the dispenser in the agitator. Does the same job, but doesn't get the build up.

Does it still work Bull?

I usually use a cookie sheet when doing ratchet rebuilds. Raised edge keeps things from rolling off the edge.



jerry

 

[Bull]

Cookie sheet sounds like a good idea. I do have a small magnetic dish, too, but it is full of stuff at the moment and I didn't think to grab it.

The washer worked fine last night when I ran the degreaser through it. We'll see how it does clothes later this week. I didn't have any red loctite, so I did not put any on the bolt that holds the plastic agitator screw on. Might have to remove that bolt and add loctite.

 

[PowderKeg]

Now Bull, washing machines are not meant for washing tools, they're meant for washing clothes (and the occasional bag of really nasty range brass that will ****** and foul up the new media in the brass tumbler). Are you starting to slip into a serious case of Merkava-phobia?

I know what you mean about all the scuzzy **** the washer seems to attract/create. I had (emphasis on had) a new GE washer that ate the transmission after a year - @#)! thing's tub seal was virtually engineered to fail in short order. The trans was GE warranty-covered, but I was gonna have to eat a few hundred in service calls (and a bunch of time without a washer) for the sob's to fix it under part-only warranty, so I cussed profusely and tackled it myself with a new trans off fleabay (at about a 1/3 of the part cost from the local appliance shop). About a year later and guess what, the #$#$!@#@) tub seal failed as before and leakage ate the trans bearings again! Out the door and down the steps it rolled (literally, because you REALLY shouldn't upset a PowderKeg). "Nasty" doesn't begin to describe the inside/underside of the tub and top of the ******/motor mounts. Think I'll have to try that vinegar rinse thing myself.

You went to way more trouble than I'd ever go - there's a shifter spring from an Easco ratchet likely still in the elbow of the kitchen sink drain from a similar "oops" moment here. I don't "do" plumbing, not for any reason anymore...

 

[Bull]

You went to way more trouble than I'd ever go - there's a shifter spring from an Easco ratchet likely still in the elbow of the kitchen sink drain from a similar "oops" moment here. I don't "do" plumbing, not for any reason anymore...

Doesn't that spring just eat away at you, day after day? That's what this pawl piece would have done if I had not retrieved it. Failure was not an option!

Have you tried a telescoping magnet inserted into the kitchen drain to try and coax that spring back into the light?

 

[PowderKeg]

Doesn't that spring just eat away at you, day after day? That's what this pawl piece would have done if I had not retrieved it. Failure was not an option!

Nah, that's what Jack Daniels is for!!

Have you tried a telescoping magnet inserted into the kitchen drain to try and coax that spring back into the light?

The holes in the drain top (or would that be the sink bottom?) are just big enough for the spring and not the magnet. Besides, it would just be all scuzzy from the drain crud and I'd have to clean it up again, and likely drop it again.... Life is a vicious cycle.... Awww, just pass the Jack...

 

[jerryW]

Bull, don't worry about re-loc-titeing the agitator bolt, they rarely if ever come loose.

If it worked for the degreaser, it'll work for the clothes.


jerry

 

[Bull]

Bull, don't worry about re-loc-titeing the agitator bolt, they rarely if ever come loose.

If it worked for the degreaser, it'll work for the clothes.


jerry

Thanks for the 411, Jerry!

 

[Bull]

Uh-oh...trouble.

Just did a small load of laundry. During the spin cycle, there was an awful banging, and when it was over, the clothes were still sopping wet. Tried to run the spin again, and the drum is slamming into the right side of the cabinet...majorly slamming it. I am not sure what I might have done to cause this, since I just unbolted parts and then bolted them back on

Can I get some help with this? Otherwise, this Bull's privates might become Rocky Mountain Oysters due to an angry Mrs. Bull

 

[jerryW]

Pull the front of the cabinet off. See if all the suspension springs are still in place. Should be 6 of them. Is the top on right? With the dispenser receivwer at the right front corner?

Possibility of a broken off/loose bolt in the inner tub mounting?

Wish that I was closer to check it out for you.


jerry

 

[Bull]

Jerry, I will investigate taking the front cover off. When I had the top cover off, it seemed like the four sides were all one piece, but maybe I am wrong. The top cover seemed to go on properly, but the dispenser is on the front left corner, which is the side it was on when I removed it.

I will investigate and report back. Wife is getting angry...clothes piling up.

 

[jerryW]

Should be 2 5/16 hex head screws in the corners to get the front off.

Best of luck.


jerrry

 

[mkdive]

On another note, I was appalled at how dirty the washing machine is in hidden spots that you just don't see when it's all buttoned up. Layers of nasty scum and whatnot. It's not an old machine, either. So, I scrubbed it all down with a brush and Simple Green

That's funny bull, I would have done the EXACT same thing for a lost pin or ratchet part!

I had to replace the dogs in the agitator on my washer a couple months back. I too was surprised at all the scum (built up softener and detergent) in our machine. It was freaking nasty!

Our machine is only 2 years old, was very surprising! Took a lot of scrubbing to get it all clean again. Since then we changed brands of detergent...."charlies" brand detergent we get it on amazon. Stuff works great! I'm amazed at how cheap it is & how far a bag of it goes. Every week I do a load with all my used micro fibers (no softener or drier sheets of course)....but I'm amazed at how the new detergent brought "new life" into those microfibers!