Safety in appliance repair. During a recent call, I encountered a situation that is every appliance repairman’s worst dream.. She had responded to a call about a washing machine not spinning from a very frustrated housewife with three children whose clothes were piling up.
After removing the front screws and removing the front cover, I quickly realized that the last person to fix this washer was either a hobbyist or a handyman with a penchant for impromptu engineering.
The reason this particular washer refused to go into the spin cycle was that the wire leading to the lid switch had snapped and burned in two, though thankfully it hadn’t affected any other parts of the washer. .
The biggest problem though was that someone in the past had completely bypassed the lid switch, while those of you not in the appliance repair trade may not realize the implications of such a move. dangerous, any appliance repairman worth his salt will tell you. this is a big NO, NO!
To explain, the purpose of a lid switch, which is usually, but not always, connected to a lid locking device, is to keep the washer lid securely closed while the machine is spinning at high speeds, which can reach hundreds of RPM (revolutions per minute). This is the period of time when your washing machine presents the greatest danger to your family or anyone using the machine..
Not a year goes by without some unlucky individual foolishly deciding to stick their arm into a machine that is spinning at high speed in a misguided effort to slow it down or stop it. The results are almost always tragic.
The clothes in the washing machine often catch the person’s arm and then literally twist it. In the best cases, the arm is broken in several places, in some of the worst, the arm has been ripped from the body, an event almost too horrible to imagine.
To tie this in, the purpose of your lid switch is to make sure this doesn’t happen to whoever is using the washer or anyone passing by. Under no circumstances should a lid switch be omitted.nor should you perform any other repairs on a unit that has had the switch jumpered.
In the few instances where I have encountered this problem, the owner was upset to learn that the main security feature of their appliance had been bypassed and was more than happy to pay the small additional cost to have the home security system installed. lid will work properly.
How can you check that your washing machine is working properly? Put a load in your washing machine and turn it on and let it fill with water. Most washing machines will allow you to open the lid on the agitate cycle so you can add detergents and fabric softeners.
Now with the machine full of water, open the lid and advance the time to the spin cycle. In any washing machine that works properly, THE WASHER MUST NOT SPIN WITH THE LID OPEN!!
If your washer does, call your local appliance repairman. As the old saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
