So, do you remember the part in A Christmas Story movie where the dad is revered for his ability to change a fuse quicker than a jack rabbit on a date? I’m not sure what that means. I’m actually afraid to google it. However, the point is, he had replaced a fuse so many times, he was quite good at it. Quick too!
Well, I bet you didn’t know this was a washing machine story, but it is! Hah! Whirlpool built our washing machine, which has a bad habit of devouring socks. But instead of chewing them up and spitting them out, it chokes on them. Yep. You heard me. The washer comes to a complete stop and chimes a pretty chime – every few minutes over and over and…well you get the point. So, back to the socks. Where do they go? Nope. Not to another universe – but to the drain pump filter.
And where is that filter? Glad you asked! Well, the engineers at Whirlpool decided that to get to this filter which simply unscrews by hand, one must first remove 3 bolts along the bottom of the door and pull the entire front of the washing machine away enough to get a hand inside (see photos) to unscrew, empty and replace the filter.
But, meanwhile, expect a torrent of water upon removing the filter. And, I bet Whirlpool engineers didn’t also anticipate that for me to get to the three screws at the bottom and pull the entire front of the washing machine forward, I would have to remove the door to the closet under the stairs (a circa 1936 solid wood door) and pull the washer machine out of the doorway, with the dryer sitting on top.
And with the frequency that this occurs (usually right after I wait a few weeks and push it all back in and reinstall the door), you’d think that it’d be a great idea if there were a door or cover on the front one could easily remove to get to the filter without having to use the jaws of life to pull the front of the washing machine away while also donating most of my arm to filter relief.
I’m writing this after realizing (yes, finally the point!) that I just did this for the Nth time and not only that, with precious few curses and in a matter of minutes. In fact, it took me longer to google the cost of a washer & dryer combo (LG for $1645 on Amazon, but won’t dry as well as a dedicated dryer) as a possible replacement and solution to this tragedy.
Should I replace the dryer sitting on top of a washer shoved tightly in a doorway under a stairwell or buy stickers to mark each time I have to retrieve a sock the hard way?