And now what did you do TODAY?

[n_maher]

I'm on apres beverage 6 or so.

My lift ticket came with a bacon bloody mary, which was also quite good.

The view from the top.

[MexicanDragon]

Yesterday, I went to watch my son in his magnet school's spelling bee. He made it to the final round, and lost out only to his friend and classmate. Super proud of him, and we went and had a celebratory dinner at our favorite Mexican place.

**BRENT**

[tyrion]

So jealous Nate but isn't all the snow at Sunday River? I haven't skied A Basin in years. It will be January before I am on skies again. have fun!

[Iron_Dreamer]

Dammit, Jacob!

[n_maher]

So jealous Nate but isn't all the snow at Sunday River? I haven't skied A Basin in years. It will be January before I am on skies again. have fun!

Everywhere has good snow right now, I just happened to be visiting a friend in the area so the opportunity was not to be missed. They'd gotten 12" of fresh snow just two days before I went and we were able to cut some fresh tracks in a few spots.

Sadly, because of all the snow I had to cut the trip short a day and came back late last night. Looks like a wise choice as we are supposed to get 12-18 from now thru Monday night.

[Edwood]

I didn't order enough sushi.

[Voltron]

I paid tribute to the Crow King with Irish soda bread

[Iron_Dreamer]

What did I do?

You weren't there to finish what Ed ordered

[shellylh]

I found out that a washing machine is heavy to move around by yourself.  

 

Our washing machine (front loader) sometimes fills up with water for no reason.  We keep the door open (so it doesn't get moldy smelling) but the water never filled up past the bottom.  We couldn't find the solution online but thought it was a problem with the control board since it would have random beeps like it was turning on when we weren't using it.  We bought the replacement part for $150 and installed it ourself.  That worked for a while but then we had the same problem.  Also, I think the new control board also beeps randomly sometimes but a lot less that the other one did.  I had the idea to keep it set on drain/spin since then if it turned on it would presumably just drain.  Nope, that didn't work.  Today, I was in the kitchen and heard leaking and realized that it had filled up and was leaking out the front of the washing.  Luckily there wasn't too much water on the ground.  At this point, I have to decide whether to get a new washer and try to get someone out to figure out what is wrong with it and repair it - sigh.  The problem is that I don't know if I am going to be able to keep the house and so I am reluctant to get a new washer (I suppose I could move it with me if there is room in the new place).   However, I may not know for a really long time what is happening with house.  Sigh.  For now, I have the water turned to the washer.  This is an ok temporary solution but I am worried that if I turn on/off the water too often this is going to lead to me having to get a plumber out to replace the shut off valves.   I guess I could also keep the front door to the washer closed and just run bleach through it every once in a while.  

 

It sucks to not have Tim here to help make this decision. 

 

Any suggestions? 

 

The washer is from 2006 so it isn't that new but isn't all that old either. 

Edited February 9, 2015 by shellylh

[Salt Peanuts]

Shelly, anyway to check to see if all the water is draining during drain/spin cycle?  It sounds to me like not all the water is being drained and backing up to the washer.  Your washer's drain pump filter may be clogged.  My old colleague had a issue with clogged drain pump and his problems were similar to yours.

Edited February 9, 2015 by Salt Peanuts

[MexicanDragon]

Can you get us a model #?

**BRENT**

[shellylh]

There is no water left after it drains as far as I can tell.  Also, it doesn't consistently fill up with water and it doesn't do so that slowly.   In fact, it probably hasn't filled up since Tim passed I think.   This has also been going on for years, this is just the first time that it filled up enough to drip out the front.  

 

I should also say that when the clothes are done, there is no water that I can see in the tub. 

Edited February 9, 2015 by shellylh

[shellylh]

Can you get us a model #?

**BRENT**

 

Frigidaire FTFB4000FS0

[VPI]

http://www.repairclinic.com/RepairHelp/How-To-Fix-A-Washing-Machine/41-2-915469-/Frigidaire-Washer-won-t-drain-FTFB4000FS0

 

Not particularly useful.

[ironbut]

Shelly,..

Kinda sounds like something my washer does every once in a while.

Mine's a top loader so it's a little easier to get a look at what's going on. If your problem is like mine, the "shut off" valve isn't closing completely and water is dripping in.

It happens maybe once every 20 or 30 loads so even though I've known what the problem is, I haven't bothered fixing it.

Of course, like I said, mine's a top loader so it would take a long time to fill the tank and start leaking.

 

IHMO, I would get a repair guy out to check it out. If it is just a valve that's getting stuck, I can't see it being super $$$. And depending on where your washer is located, you don't want to get water damage.

Edited February 9, 2015 by ironbut

[aardvark baguette]

Massive house clean up and furniture rearranging.

 

I feel like I just moved into a new house.  Good for the soul.

[skullguise]

Shelly, a plumber can also install a valve on the input pipes as well, cheaper than replacing the whole unit.  We did that to help avoid a possible water issue.  The only thing we need to remember is to turn the valve on/off when starting or completing a cycle.

[shellylh]

I haven't been able to find a decent and reasonably priced plumber so I'm definitely not going that route (Is rather get a new washer). Plus, idling know if they'll know what the problem is.

If I get a new washer, I'm definitely thinking of a top loader over another front loader.

[MexicanDragon]

Frigidaire FTFB4000FS0

 

 

http://www.repairclinic.com/RepairHelp/How-To-Fix-A-Washing-Machine/41-2-915469-/Frigidaire-Washer-won-t-drain-FTFB4000FS0

 

Not particularly useful.

From the same site Jeff linked:

http://www.repairclinic.com/RepairHelp/How-To-Fix-A-Washing-Machine/48-2-915469-/Frigidaire-Washer-overflowing-FTFB4000FS0

 

There is some more information here; it gives three scenarios for why it would be overflowing or filling. Do any of these fit what you're doing?

**BRENT**

[n_maher]

Shelly,

 

Sadly, you're likely to find that just getting someone out to look at it will require a substantial investment.  When our 4 year old washer bit the dust last year we were quoted $800 to fix it and the guy knew exactly what it was over the phone.  Granted, it was much more of a catastrophic failure than yours but modern stuff isn't designed to be fixed, sadly.  Unfortunately the replacement has not been great and has a nasty habit of leaving lint on my wife's black pants and shirts.  I haven't found a solution to that one yet but in the interest of marital harmony I don't see this current unit lasting all that long either...

[shellylh]

[ironbut]

It kinda looks like the "inlet" valve from Brent's link is what I was thinking might be bad. On my old machine, it's much cheaper.

You're probably looking at at least $200 for an appliance guy (never use a plumber to work on appliances since their labor is X2 and they usually have a minimum) to fix it if that's the problem.

[Pars]

Sounds like the inlet valve to me as well Shelly. Damn, that is an expensive valve.

 

If you do go the new washer route, the service guy we use has a website with some good advice regarding brands etc.

 

http://www.allbrandservicenaperville.com/products-washer.html

 

I kind of blow off some of his recommendations regarding controls to a point (he likes manual and hates electronic stuff). I learned this after I paid him $300 (or was it $600?) for the control unit in our old furnace, which he called the "brain box". I took the dead one apart and all it was was a few relays and a couple of basic looking ICs. Brain box, indeed

[Pars]

[rant]

This counts as yesterday, but I replaced the power window motor and lock actuator on the drivers side front door on my wife's Honda. We had had it in the dealership (not in warranty) for power steering noise ($200), and the window and door lock problems ($800). Fixed all of it for $120 in parts. The lock actuator wasn't easy, but got it done. Window motor was pretty easy, had it done in an hour.

 

The power steering problem was covered by a service bulletin, which the service guy didn't mention. A $0.75 o-ring, 10 minute job, done.

 

The car was a Honda certified car. My wife had complained about the window making noise at least 3 times while it was in warranty, starting about a month after we bought it. About 2 months ago, it made a huge noise when my wife rolled the window down, then quit working completely shortly after. They never did anything about it. When I mentioned this to the service guy this time, he said that Honda doesn't consider a part bad until it has actually quit working. He did get a 20% discount approved. Fuck them. All fixed now. I may contact the district zone office anyway to see if they will do anything.

[/rant]

[Augsburger]

Shelly,

 

Sadly, you're likely to find that just getting someone out to look at it will require a substantial investment.  When our 4 year old washer bit the dust last year we were quoted $800 to fix it and the guy knew exactly what it was over the phone.  Granted, it was much more of a catastrophic failure than yours but modern stuff isn't designed to be fixed, sadly.  Unfortunately the replacement has not been great and has a nasty habit of leaving lint on my wife's black pants and shirts.  I haven't found a solution to that one yet but in the interest of marital harmony I don't see this current unit lasting all that long either...

This    /\   /\  /\  /\. From my limited experience and from numerous interviews with our annual appliance repair session technicians, newer appliances have a five year life expectancy on average.   Some last longer some less, but rest assured with the new technology a repair service call will be about 65-75% the cost of a brand new unit.  Sucks to live with first world appliances.

 

Nate, you are checking and cleaning your washer's lint trap on a regular basis right?  Like after each towel and sheet load? For the time being until this is fully resolved also try turning her pants inside out and buttoning her blouses and turning them inside out then running them through the wash cycle.