OT: Washing machine migration problem.

[Sean Murphy]

How can you keep a washer and drier to stay put. It seems that mine wants to migrate around the room all the time.

Sean
SeanAndMel.com

[Ruby in NC]

I've had a washer dance with an unbalanced load, but never had a problem with the dryer. So, these are just some thoughts that may be helpful.

Make sure the W/D are level and that the height adjusters are ALL bearing weight on the floor. There may be one adjuster that's barely touching the floor. If so, there may be just enough room for it to rock slightly when in use.

Run each of these machines without adding clothing. Observe what's happening and when. If the problem occurs, you know that unbalanced loads aren't the initial cause of the problem. If either of them 'walk' during this test, can you stop the 'walk' by applying pressure to one side (corner) of the machine? That would probably indicate something isn't level.

Get 4 shallow furniture cups and glue circles of tire inner tube to the bottom of the cups. Alternates to the tube could be flexible mouse pads, rubbermaid non-skid shelf liner, or something similar. Note: If your floor covering is vinyl, this might cause discoloring over time.

If your W/D are still under warranty and these thoughts aren't helpful, you may want to have them serviced, just to make sure it isn't a problem with their construction.

Hope some of these ramblings are helpful.

Regards,
Ruby

[Ken Zack]

As I sit here, I'm not even sure what brand we have (and yes, I do do laundry). I know, though, that after our washer migrates, it needs to be tilted to reset the levelers. I believe you grab the back (control panel) and tilt it towards you a couple of inches off the ground. You hear an audible "click" as it resets itself. If that doesn't work, maybe you need to lift the front by pushing the control panel away from you.

My only other thing I would add to Ruby's thoughts is maybe the floor joists are not strong enough and they are "bouncing" away. This could happen in an old home, because of termite damage, because of a previous leak that caused rot in the joists below, etc. Of course if it is sitting on a concrete basement floor, you would have to have termites with some pretty tough molars!

Good luck,

Ken

[Hal Flynt]

An easy way to level the clothes washing basket is to fill it up to the 3 or 4th row of holes (empty of course). and make sure the water is level with the holes all the way around.

[Sean Murphy]

Thanks everybody, these are some good tips.