thread: Can this damage my washing machine?

  1. #1
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    Can this damage my washing machine?

    About 8-10 weeks ago my shower & laundry drains started to block up. tried almost a full box of bi carb & bottle of vinegar first. Nothing. I gave caustic soda a try & it made little to no difference. Then my friend pointed out the water coming up from a drain outside the house. I put it down to the lint from my washing machine being flushed through & figured maybe that blocked it. Caustic soda again.

    But it still made no difference, so I contacted housing & they sent out a plumber. What he pulled from the outside drain was nasty :/ Beer cans, a kids drink bottle & something that looked like a long dog bone. Anyway, drains are now unblocked.

    While this was all going on, my washing machine had been playing up. Water would back up into my laundry tub & I assume back up my washing machine hose & into my washer. Suds Loc is what is displayed on my machine. Every single load it'd do it 2-3 times while draining.

    I assumed once the plumbing was fixed that it'd pretty much resolve the issue. The water would stop backing up & all would be good. But it isn't. My washing machine still isn't running through a full cycle. It's still pausing, saying Suds Loc, even though the water is now draining properly.

    Because the plumbing blockage was due to the previous tenants, I contacted housing about my washing machine. To find out if they were able to fix it, or at least help me fix it. But their plumber seems to think it shouldn't have done any long term damage.

    So does anyone know if this could've actually damaged my machine? Or is this a separate issue? I only bought it 2 years ago. It's a $1400 fischer & paykel. It's not a cheap dodgy brand. Maybe I'll call F & P after I've spoken to the housing officer again & see what they say. But does anyone else have any idea? Or had this happen to them?

  2. #2
    2013 BellyBelly RAK Recipient.

    Apr 2006
    Winter is coming
    5,000

    Re: Can this damage my washing machine?

    No idea but let me know if you find a fix for it - my cousin has a f and p that does the same thing every cycle. She even tried getting a replacement, only for it to do the exact same thing.

  3. #3
    Registered User

    Dec 2008
    Brisbane, QLD
    5,171

    Re: Can this damage my washing machine?

    My first thought was can you reset it? Maybe it's a memory issue. Our maybe something had come back through the house into the machine and is blocking the sensor?

  4. #4
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    Re: Can this damage my washing machine?

    Arte, do you know which model she has? Maybe there's a fault in them?

    Will look into resetting it. Housing are sending out a plumber for a full assessment of all drains, so I'll talk to him about it.

  5. #5
    Registered User

    Dec 2008
    8,986

    Re: Can this damage my washing machine?

    If it's a front loader, try cleaning the filter at the bottom of the machine. My washing machine plays up when that's full so it's worth trying before spending heaps of money on someone to repair it.

  6. #6
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    Re: Can this damage my washing machine?

    Top loader. But will look into it & see if there's a filter somewhere. It is doing it less, but still happening.

    I ran an empty cycle to clean it out, but no hot water was getting through. I might ask the plumber about that. The tap was on & I could feel hot water in the hose, but only cold in my washing machine. I've never tried a hot load before though.