Not only do I not blog frequently, when I have a perfectly bloggable event happen, I don't even take proper pictures so I can blog about it!
This past Saturday I went on a cleaning spree, and once the bathroom was done,I put all fo the bathmats in the wash and set them to go.
The washer stops, and I ask Jeff to put it into the dryer, but he finds it to still be full of soapy dirty water, and apparently one of the bathmats has completely disintegrated, sending little carpet threads and nasty plastic sand through the pump.
Uh-oh
Sure enough, after a bit of sleuthing it would appear that the pump is either burned out or clogged. It's a nearly 10 year old machine, so this isn't too upsetting. Worst case scenario we get a new washer, right? However, I'm not the type to just toss something that may be fixed so I get out my handy Reader's Digest Household Hints and Handy Tips book (Thanks Mom and Dad! Best book ever!) and look up what might be the problem.
I break out the putty knife and open the front and sure enough, the pump is sitting there, hot and not really pumping out any water.
Break out the hose and start bailing the washer, including all of the junk that came from the disintegrated rug. Then carefully pull off the hoses connected to the pump.
Did you know that there's still about a half gallon or so water left in the bottom of the washer's basin even after getting all the water out of the basket? I didn't.
Glush! All over the floor, me, and down the register. I start trying to dam the water away from going down the drain and all the time shouting for Jeff (who was in the bathroom and couldn't hear me). So there I was, fiercly pinching shut the hose from the washer with my left hand, and pushing water away from the air register with the right and shouting for Jeff to come help.
He's shows up to my panicked cries, and we get it mopped up. Fortunately not much went down the vent and Jeff was able to mop it up with his much longer arms. We flush out the basket with fresh water until no more carpet bits or backing comes out, and I run water through the clogged parts of the pump until it works.
The question then was is the pump burned out, or is it salvageable? I get out my handy voltmeter and determine that the motor is still conducting normally, so I'm hopeful.
A bit of a struggle to get the hoses reattached, curse words and a cry for some vegetable oil to lube this %$^& thing may have been uttered, but I finally got it back together and plugged back in. We poured a couple of gallons of fresh water into the basket and turned the washer to pump it out. . . .
Success.
Without a $200 service call from Sears.
Go me!
Unfortunately there are no pictures though, because I'm a bad blogger.
Maybe for 2011 I should have a set blogging schedule. Even if there's nothing to say, I will blog!
