Front Load Washer Troubleshooting

Front load washers are considered to be high capacity, low-energy, water efficient machines.  The price of some front loads have come down quite a bit making them more affordable to people.   Most people who buy them are looking for these things, and are generally happy with the performance of the washer.  However, as stated in the top load segment, they are designed differently than top loads. This design requires a sturdy floor to ensure the performance offered.  They are a bit more technical than the top load designs and can sometimes take a technician a couple of trips to catch the problem if the problem doesn't occur while he's there.  Our company will only charge one trip charge, and when the problem is fixed, charge only for the parts used on the return visit.    One of the most common problem we run into with front load washers is excessive shaking.  This could be several different problems, but usually  this heavy machine is put on an old wood floor.  On top of that most people want the pedestals for storage and to bring the door up a little higher.  The combination of a weak floor and a pedestal are going to give you a lot of excessive shaking.  When these machines shake excessively they will also sense this shaking, try to adjust clothing, and sometimes won't reach a high spin.  Its a great feature given that its sensing an out of balance load and not excessive shaking because of the floor.  It will just continue to try to redistribute the clothes, trying to eliminate this shaking.  First thing you want to consider is your the floor's condition supporting the washer.  If you feel it is sturdy enough move on the check the pedestal screws to make sure they are tightened.  If the pedestal screws are tight, but the floor you feel is the problem and your able, our suggestion to the customer is to put floor jacks under the floor to support the floor better if you would like to keep the pedestals.  That reduces the shaking sometimes.  If that doesn't work , remove the pedestal, or call a technician to remove the pedestal, and see if that improves the problem.
   Another problem we've ran into a lot is the washer: "customer complaint: never going into high spin, won't get my clothes completely dry, or won't finish the cycle."  If its giving you a long drain code or you feel its not draining like it should.  The first thing you want to do is check the pump trap to make sure its not plugged.  Depending on the make of washer your looking at, the pump could be behind the lower front panel, access through the back of the washer, or the more customer friendly models in the access door for the pump. If the pump is clear, you will need the aid of an experienced technician.  You could have and electronic board issue, which are hard to diagnose without the knowledge and experience with the washers. 
   Another problem commonly associated with front loads is a mildew smell that develops in a short time.  This problem occurs because of how well these units seal.  The suggestion given with this specific problem, and is probably suggested when purchasing, is to keep the door open after each use to allow the tub some air flow and prevent mildewy smell.  Clean the inner door seal well with bleach or pinesol.  There are products such as, techno fresh offered to help withe eliminate the smell.  Only use HE detergent to prevent over sudsing.  Use the sanitary option on the washer, with the hottest water option a few times.
   These front loads are meant to use HE (high-efficiency) detergent.  If the buyer is not aware or thinks its not necessary, because it costs more, IT IS NECESSARY.  On top of the excessive suds it will create, associated with the mildew smell, it will cause what seams like a malfunction in the machine.  Sometimes this gives you a SUDS code.  Sometimes no code, and will turn a the appliance owner on to the idea that its not operating correctly.  This over sudsing will not allow it to run through its operation because the motor control is built to detect this issue, stopping the washer from moving to high spin, or sometimes any spin.
   If you are hearing a roar in spin where once it was nice and quiet, Call a technician.  There are bearings in both the spin tub and the motor.  It could also have something between the inner and outer tub.
  Some things that will help the technician if you have to call:
- What is the problem?
- What detergent your using?
- What part of the cycle is the problem occurring in?
- If there is water on the floor, try to pay attention to when this is happening during the cycle?  Is it happening all of the time, or intermittently?
- If there is a noise, pay attention to when during the cycle you are hearing the noise? load size being washed when you heard the noise.
- If you've personally attempted different things to repair the issues.  What were they, and did it help?
- If you have a digital display.  What, if any, failure codes are showing up.  Write them down, a lot of people see these codes, but forget what it was they saw.
Note:  The more information you can give a technician about the problem, the more likely the technician can properly diagnose the problem.

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