Walking Washing Machine

[Burt Alcantara]

We have 2 front loaders - washer and dryer. They sit on a concrete floor in the basement. The floor is not level. Both sit on shop made stands made from 4x4 and doubled up 3/4" ply. The dryer is shimmed with wood. The washer, on the other hand walks around regardless of the shim material. I used wood, metal, various types of rubber but it still walks. Presumably, this is because of the violent agitation during the spin/dry cycle.

I'm an old guy and pushing the unit back in place is getting more difficult. I'd love to hear any suggestions on how to anchor this unit into place.

Thanks,
Burt

[Bill Bukovec]

I had the same problem.

I now use four separate feet to support the washer. This seems to have fixed the problem.

Bill

[russell lusthaus]

screw 2x4 around the edge of the machine to the ply base to keep in place. rubber feet for noise abatement.

[Jay Jolliffe]

how about putting a level on it to see if it is level

[Pat Barry]

Run smaller loads. Every-time we have this happen at my home its because my daughter overloads the machine.

[John McClanahan]

Run smaller loads. Every-time we have this happen at my home its because my daughter overloads the machine.

+1

My wife likes to pack it full.


John

[George Bokros]

For us that usually is caused by the load being out of balance or the machine is not level side to side and front to back. Try rocking the machine corner to corner, if it rocks one of the legs on that side needs to be adjusted to take out the rocking.

George

[Brian Elfert]

I've actually had the biggest problems with small loads, especially heavy fabrics like towels. The machine will get so out of balance it will shut itself down. I live by myself so I usually only wash a few towels at a time.

The individual rubber feet for front loaders are said to work really well to stop vibration. I bought a set more than a year ago and haven't got them installed yet since I will need help to lift the washer.

[Lee Schierer]

We bought a front loader a few years ago. Recently my wife asked me to raise it up so it would be easier to load and unload. I made a plywood box with adjustable leveling feet on the bottom and recesses in the top for the existing leveling feet on the washer. Our concrete floor is sloped toward a nearby floor drain so the first thing I did was move the washer away from the wall put the riser box in place and carefully leveled it. Then with some help I put the washer on top of the box and leveled it. The result was no walking and it is now at a more comfortable height. I purchased the rubber cushioned leveling feet at Home Depot. The trick to eliminate walking is to have the machine level.

To level your existing machine, you can use a flat pry bar and a block of wood to lift the machine while you adjust the feet.

[Earl McLain]

If not level, it almost doesn't matter what you do--they'll vibrate violently. If it's done this since new, check to make sure all of the shipping bolts were removed. Another quick check is to remove the back cover and make sure the shock absorbers are where they should be and attached. This fall our 3 year old Samsung started shutting itself off early in the spin cycle. Common failure with the machine we have was the shocks, but they were good. Common major complaint was the failure of the flange shaft assembly--made of an alloy that is dissimilar from the stainless tub and seems the HE detergents act as a catalyst for failure. Out of warranty and with nothing to lose, facing a repair bill that rivaled the cost of a new machine--I completely dismantled the machine and did find the flange shaft assembly to be as brittle as a ginger snap, and broken in two places. Took a few weeks to find a replacement at a reasonable price, but now have a like-new washer at a cost of about $150. Great learning experience, and I'm not sure i'll buy another HE machine. We're on a well and septic, so the 100-200 gallons of water I save every year were more than offset by the repair cost and the 3 weeks that SWMBO went to the Laundromat (which made me think that disposable undies might actually be cheaper than washing them!!)

Good luck!!

earl

[Burt Alcantara]

I've leveled the machine numerous time using different materials but it doesn't seem to matter. As far as load density, most of the wash is my wife's running clothes (no sweats) a few towels and normal clothing. The machine never struggles it just gently takes a stroll around the basement. The platform rests on the 4x4 and each leg has its own shim. I use a Big Max level front and back and side to side. Still walks. As a last resort I was thinking of sinking some bolts into the floor and using heavy L braces to secure the stand. Seems extreme.