Author Topic: Washing machine help! Filling with sludge and not draining. burning smell  (Read 4644 times)

Maya

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Ok was feeling super MMM and proud of myself for getting a free second hand machine after ours died. It seemed to be in really great shape, newer whirlpool machine.  Worked awesomely for the first week.

today I washed a load and a whole bunch of mud like stuff and hair was all over the clothes.

I rinced all the clothes and then rewashed the load after cleaning out the machine,
sThe clothes were covered again in the sludge again but this time the machine smelt like burning and didnt drain.

it will go in the spin cycle, but won't empty and started to smell like burning when we stopped it.

WWYD? appliance repair man? plumber? links to tutorials. Ideas of where the sludge is coming from and how to fix the problem.

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: Washing machine help! Filling with sludge and not draining. burning smell
« Reply #1 on: September 29, 2015, 06:05:23 PM »
Sounds like there's a reservoir of sludge in the machine that might be surrounding the drum? If that makes it hard to spin, that might explain the smell. I'm guessing you haven't put as much hair into it as you've received?

Maya

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Re: Washing machine help! Filling with sludge and not draining. burning smell
« Reply #2 on: September 29, 2015, 06:31:48 PM »
update: it's more filled with lint and hair in the machine. definitely some sludge around the drum when we got it. Any tips or things to google will be most appreciated!

MMMaybe

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Re: Washing machine help! Filling with sludge and not draining. burning smell
« Reply #3 on: September 29, 2015, 07:33:12 PM »
You may need to clean your machine. As far as I know, fabric conditioner and eco or non-bio detergents can cause a sludge build up in the machine.

Google (how to clean a washing machine) this as there are different methods but one I've read is to put washing soda crystals into the powder dispenser and into the drum. Vinegar into the softner drawer. Put the empty machine on a 90 degree wash and that may dislodge it. You may need to do this a couple of times :)

I have not had this problem but I typically dilute my softner half and half with vinegar, which I think helps for maintenance purposes.

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: Washing machine help! Filling with sludge and not draining. burning smell
« Reply #4 on: September 29, 2015, 07:40:27 PM »
Unsurprisingly it appears that running Drano through your washing machine is a horrible idea.

Maya

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Re: Washing machine help! Filling with sludge and not draining. burning smell
« Reply #5 on: September 29, 2015, 07:51:50 PM »
It's this whirpool model: http://www.whirlpool.com/digitalassets/MLPDF/Use%20and%20Care%20Guide%20-%203366874.pdf

It's supposed to have a magic self-cleaning lint filter. I wonder where all of this lint and hair is coming from. will unhook the pump tubes and try to see if they are clogged and throughly clean the machine before attempting to run it again.

Maya

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Re: Washing machine help! Filling with sludge and not draining. burning smell
« Reply #6 on: September 30, 2015, 07:41:36 PM »
So we found a problem, and hopefully it's the only one. Took the pump off, machine still wasn't draining so took the pipe off of the machine and finally all the water and gunk came out. The pipe was full! cleared it out, so now we just need to get the cover back on the machine and test it out. Hoping it'll work for a bit and we can avoid the call to the repair man.

Greg

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Re: Washing machine help! Filling with sludge and not draining. burning smell
« Reply #7 on: September 30, 2015, 10:07:02 PM »
Some newer machines have a filter in the drain system, it can clog and is often hidden behind the front lower panel.  Because it's not always mentioned in the owners manual I call it a "service call generator".  Anyway make sure your machine doesn't have one, or if it does that it's clear.

MMMaybe

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Unsurprisingly it appears that running Drano through your washing machine is a horrible idea.

Drano is sodium hydroxide, a caustic agent.

Washing soda is sodium carbonate, a commonly used laundry ingredient, which softens water and removes grease.


zolotiyeruki

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So we found a problem, and hopefully it's the only one. Took the pump off, machine still wasn't draining so took the pipe off of the machine and finally all the water and gunk came out. The pipe was full! cleared it out, so now we just need to get the cover back on the machine and test it out. Hoping it'll work for a bit and we can avoid the call to the repair man.
That makes me wonder if the previous owners threw it out because it wouldn't drain, rather than trying to get it fixed.  In which case, you really scored!

ShoulderThingThatGoesUp

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Re: Washing machine help! Filling with sludge and not draining. burning smell
« Reply #10 on: October 06, 2015, 10:48:17 AM »
Unsurprisingly it appears that running Drano through your washing machine is a horrible idea.

Drano is sodium hydroxide, a caustic agent.

Washing soda is sodium carbonate, a commonly used laundry ingredient, which softens water and removes grease.

I wasn't meaning to imply that anybody else was suggesting that. I just looked it up because the thread made me curious.

Maya

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Re: Washing machine help! Filling with sludge and not draining. burning smell
« Reply #11 on: October 07, 2015, 08:31:08 PM »
Just realized I forgot to update. We fixed it! Massive block in the machine to the pump. Cleaned it out, fought to get the machine back together and so far all is good! Yeah! Thanks MMM for inspiring me to try. Wouldn't have attempted this a year ago.