Saw a video where a guy fixed a washing machine with a zip tie instead of a $200 control board

I was scrolling through YouTube last week and this guy had a washer throwing error codes like crazy. He opened up the panel and found a cracked plastic bracket holding a sensor. Instead of buying a whole new assembly, he drilled a tiny hole and used a zip tie to hold the bracket together. Worked perfect. That got me thinking about the line between a true fix and a temporary patch. On one hand, a zip tie is like 10 cents and might last years. On the other hand, some folks argue you're just masking the real problem and it could fail when you're not home. I lean toward the zip tie being a win, but I've also had a few duct tape solutions bite me later. What do you all think? Where do you draw the line between a clever cheap fix and something that's just asking for trouble?

2 comments

2 Comments

evan_campbell15d ago

I mean I get where you're coming from with the safety stuff but I think the line is a little blurrier than that. Like a zip tie on a sensor bracket is probably less likely to suddenly snap than a rubber hose that's been slowly dry rotting for ten years. Those original hoses fail all the time and nobody calls those a "temporary patch." I had a buddy use a zip tie to hold his dryer duct together for like six years before he sold the house and the inspector didn't even mention it. Idk maybe it's just me but if the part is just a positioning thing and not under constant tension or heat, a zip tie is probably a better fix than whatever plastic the manufacturer used.

the_max15d ago

Oh man, this is such a good question because it really gets down to what a "fix" even means these days... I lean hard toward the zip tie being a win, especially when the alternative is tossing a whole machine. But here's where I start to wonder though... what about safety stuff? Like if that zip tie breaks and the sensor falls off, does the machine just stop working, or does it risk flooding your basement or something worse? That's the line for me, I think. I can deal with the washer dying mid cycle and having to redo laundry, but I don't want to come home to water damage because a 10 cent part gave out at the wrong time. I guess my question back to you is... where does the potential failure point land on the scale from "annoying inconvenience" to "real property damage or safety hazard"?