It's NOT dead yet!!!

I don't like accepting that something is "dead" until it really is dead.

I have been having some problems with my washing machine for the last 2 years. The water coming into the tub has been decreasing very slightly but consistantly over time. By the time we moved into this house this past December the cold water was down to a trickle. We replaced the hoses thinking perhaps there was some buildup over the years that we couldn't see.

Didn't help.

So, I resorted to drastic measures. I switched the hot and cold lines so that when our machine said "cold" it was really Hot water and vice-versa. I washed everything on Warm since that was the coldest I could possibly get the water. This "warm" setting was a very hot warm too.

I've been sitting here wondering what to do. I've been dying to have my "excuse" to buy a new washing machine. Only problem is $$. It's around $1,000 to get the one I want (a front loader) and we don't have $ for even a repair guy to come out.. let alone the $ for my "dream machine".

So.. it finally dawned on me... There is a website out there that I found many years ago when our window a/c unit died. After spending a LOT of money to get it (It was a vertical one and not a cheapie horizontal one - we had small and tall windows) I couldn't bring myself to replace it. We must fix it!!!

www.repairclinic.com

MEMORIZE that address!!!

You can buy a part for pretty much ANYTHING you have in your house that might need a part. There are also instructions for some items that help you to fix the thing. If you really get stuck you can e-mail them and they WILL respond!! We had to ask a question that the site didn't answer and the answer was intelligent and well thought out!

When I was on the site I saw the part I need (or think I need) and it was about $30ish. If I called some dude to come out and say "boo" to me it would cost about $150... then the $30 part on top of that. Got me to thinking... I would love to see what I can find.

These images were taken with my cell phone (so I could see how everything goes back together). Sorry they are so lousy.

This is the part in the back of the washer.


Here it is away from the washer... about to be attacked!



I had started cleaning out the screens when I thought... WOAH!!! I need to grab a pict of the junk.. it would go great with my blog.



This is just a shot of some of the junk I was getting out of the screens.



So.. after adding water in those inlets.. and banging it on the counter a bunch, I was able to get quite a large amount of those little metal chunks out. Those are from using the machine for 11 years in a house built in 1911. Every time we turned on the bathtub, bits of rusted metal would come out at first. I just didn't associate the junk in the tub with what could be wrong with the washing machine.

I am now... washing a load in COLD water for the first time in a couple of years!!! At some point in the near future I would love to buy a new water inlet valve. It is still not back to "normal" but it saved me a TON of $$ by doing it myself. ;-)

I was so happy at what I was able to do, and for how much non money I did it for, I had to share it with you all.