My ancient washing machine finally gave up mid-cycle last Tuesday, soaked the whole basement floor

I was just trying to finish a load of towels and the thing started making this grinding noise, then water just poured out from under it. Turns out the drum seal blew apart on a 15 year old Whirlpool model. I spent the whole evening with a wet vac and a mop, and now my wife wants me to just buy a new one from Lowe's for around $700. Has anyone else dealt with a sudden flood like this and found a decent brand that won't die in a few years?

2 comments

2 Comments

oscarb7716d ago

Wait, you're telling me your wife just wants to go drop 700 bucks on a new one right away without even trying to fix it first? Man, I get your frustration though, a flooded basement is no joke. I had a similar mess a few years back with a Maytag, water everywhere and I was stuck with a shop vac for hours. Idk maybe it's just me but 15 years out of a Whirlpool is actually pretty solid for a washer these days, they don't make them like that anymore. A new one from Lowe's might not even last half that long if you pick the wrong brand, I've heard horror stories about LG and Samsung models having circuit board issues. Maybe it's worth checking if a repair guy could just swap the drum seal for way less than 700 bucks, just a thought.

elliotadams16d ago

Wait, @oscarb77, isn't that actually a Whirlpool that's 15 years old not a Maytag? They're basically the same company now though, lol. But yeah, you're right that a new drum seal swap is way cheaper than dropping $700 on a whole new machine. I had a repair guy do a similar fix on an old Kenmore a few years back and it only ran me like $150 total parts and labor. That Whirlpool probably has another good 5 years in it after a simple seal job if the bearings are still solid.