Your washing machine sounds like a helicopter taking off. It shakes, rattles, and bangs against the wall during every spin cycle. The neighbors probably think you’re running a construction site
Sound familiar?
An unbalanced washing machine drum is one of the most common laundry problems. It’s loud. It’s annoying. And if ignored, it can seriously damage your machine.
The good news? This is usually an easy fix. No repair technician required.
The culprit is often simple: uneven floors, overloaded drums, or clothes bunched up on one side. All things you can handle yourself in minutes.
This guide shows you exactly how to balance a top loading washing machine drum and bring peace back to laundry day.
Exploration of a Washing Machine Drum:-
When you are using a washing machine, this becomes mandatory to know its anatomy. That is one of the essential things in our daily life. Also, most of the problems are related to this device. If we gather at least the basic knowledge about which part is located wherein the washing machine, fixing issues will be much easier. Even if you don’t want to know about all the features, you must know the drum of a washing machine & how to balance a washing machine drum. Well, it is the part that you see just after opening the lid. Yes, the tub is called the drum.
There are two drums inside. The inner drum, where you load the clothes, moves around the washing machine. This drum is perforated with holes that let water in and out. And the outer drum, you can not see this from outside; it contains and supports the inner drum and stops water from leaking into the rest of the washer.
One thing I must say, when you buy a washing machine, check the drum type & size. It determines the capacity, how much load you can wash at a time.
WHY IS THE WASHER OFF BALANCE?
After buying a washing machine, the first task is to place and set up the washer. Remember to remove all the shipping materials. Only a single piece left can cause spinning problems. Even your washer can be permanently damaged. Plus, place the washer on an understandable level. The imbalanced machine will rock during spinning and make a loud noise.
Poor Levelling:-
Poor leveling is the most common reason that your washer is off-balanced. That is the very first thing you should check when the washer is shaking. As I have told you before, you must place it in a plain area. One side up and one side down will make it shake when spinning. So, choose a flat floor to place the washer. These common external problems; you should solve these quickly by using common sense. Just adjust the knobs at the base or change the placing.
Overloading:-
We all have a hurry and want to wash all the clothes when there are lots of dirty clothes. Most of the people out there are doing this. They then come up saying that my washing machine drum is not working, it is making noise, it is shaking, it is imbalanced, etc., etc., etc.
The washer needs some breathing space to spin the clothes properly. When you overload this, the drum can not perform the cleaning properly and become off-balanced.
Shipping Bolts Left Intact:-
When carried or transported to your home, a newly bought washing machine contains some extra external things to make sure that the appliances are safe and intact in their place. Shipping bolts are something like this. It allows the washing tub to be rigid and safe during transportation.
When you have installed the washer by yourself, there is a chance that you forgot to remove that. Then you may hear rattling noises coming from inside the tub during washing clothes. That can also be a reason.
Damage of Internal Parts:-
The damage to internal parts of the drum can also off-balance your washer. That can happen when you are using the washer for a long time. Or you have used the washer very roughly, didn’t take any care at all. The belts, screws, or bearings hold the washing drum in its place. When one part is broken or damaged, the drum can be imbalanced.
Even it can damage the other factors, which should never be your concern. You may need to service or replace the parts.
HOW TO BALANCE A WASHING MACHINE DRUM?
Almost all the households now have a washer. But, it is unfortunate that the washer drums get imbalanced so quickly. Though the word, imbalance may not seem that serious to hear, it can do lots of damages with disgusting noises. But, we can make it right again. There are some ways, luckily! Let’s see how to balance a washing machine drum.
CHECKING THE DISTRIBUTION OF CLOTHES:-
When you are washing clothes, if you hear any noise like something is rumbling inside, stop the machine immediately. Yes, in the middle of the cycle. Because the cloth distribution system is the main problem when the unevenly distributed clothes create the issue, running the washer without any cloth won’t do anything. You should be able to stop washing just by lifting the lid or opening the door. If it doesn’t work, press the pause button from the control panel.
When you have removed the top loader’s lid or opened the door of the front loader washer, what can you see? There should be unevenly distributed bunches of clothes. That is the only common reason for an off-balanced drum. If the clothes inside the washer are the main issue here, you will see many clothes sitting in one corner, and the other corner may be empty, or there may be one or two clothes lying.
Next up, you know what you should do now. Yes. Redistribute the clothes. Spread them evenly. Combine between large and small loads because there is almost the same number of clothes. The weight is the same all over the drum. You can count and arrange them to be more precise. Remember, when you wash bed sheets, don’t just wash them alone. Larger items tend to come together and settle in one corner. So, add some more things to counterweight the load.
If your washer has an agitator, especially when it is a top load washer with an agitator, the cloth bunch-up problem can occur readily. As you know, the pole-like agitator can be found mid-way inside the drum to help the loads move more effectively. But if there is less load or larger loads, they get wrapped around the agitator and bunch up on one side. That, in turn, causes the off-balanced drum issue.
When we have so many dirty clothes, we don’t want to wash them in two different cycles. We try to push all the clothes inside so that they get washed at a time. But this does not clean them at all. The load can not move or spin properly. You should see the guidelines on how many clothes you can wash at a time. Split the load into two. Although you have to wait for some time, you will save the washer.
MAKING SURE THE MACHINE IS LEVEL:
To check if your washing machine is in the level or not, tilt it back to get the front legs exposed. Call someone to hold the machine. If you don’t get anyone to help, put a piece of wood to hold the front legs up. Now inspect the other legs as well and make sure that the legs are placed perfectly balanced. Or the washer will shake during spinning.
Now, to make sure that all the legs are in the same plane or have the same length, use a ruler or a measuring tape. Because a small difference can cause significant shaking, it also causes bumping issues during the spinning time. If there is no uneven measure found, put the machine back in its place. But, if found any problem, make the length equal by adjusting the knobs.
To adjust the front legs, if it is necessary, follow some rules. There is a nut. You have to loosen that to adjust the knobs and Twist the nut. It should be facilitated. You can use a wrench for more safe work. Sometimes, there can be rust. That won’t let you loosen the nut. Tap slightly, and then you should be able to adjust it. After changing, remember to tighten the nut enough.
Where have you placed the washing machine? Is any of the legs are in between the tiles gap? Most of the time, we don’t notice this thing at all. Then the washer becomes off-balanced and shakes during spinning. On the floor you have placed the washer on, there should not be any downslope or up-downs.
Now, use a rubber vibration absorber or a carpet. You can buy those items from either your nearby shop or find them online. To them, tilt the back legs, then the front legs, and place the carpet in the right place. My opinion is to buy the rubber absorber. The carpet can slip anytime.
Conclusion: –
Hopefully, the steps mentioned above will be constructive in protecting your life from fading. When a top-loading washing machine breaks down, the busy life becomes more stressful. So it would be strong if you absorbed the anatomy of the washing machine drum. If you know the cause of damage from overloading, you can easily balance the washer drum. Busy washing machine drum unbalance means your life becomes unbalanced. So fix it quickly and get back to everyday life.
