The drum is jammed in the top-loading washing machine

A top-loading washing machine has a lot of undeniable advantages, but it also has a disadvantage, which in itself can block these advantages. We mean a drum in which there are wings. Some of you may ask: what does the flap of the drum of a top-loading washing machine have to do with jamming of the drum? In fact, the connection is direct, let's talk more about this in the framework of the article.

The cause and effect of the breakdown

The most common reason why the drum of a top-loading washing machine is jammed is the opening of the wings during washing. The fact is that the drum of the washing machine with a vertical loading has two metal wings, which must be closed with a special latch before washing. This latch is quite reliable, but it can wear out and loose over time.As a result, during washing or spinning, the latch breaks, the sash opens and as a result it turns out that the drum is jammed.

The flaps may open and the washing machine has a vertical loading machine due to user errors. For example, if a child gets to your home helper and manually rotates the drum when the shutters are open. True to such a case, the manufacturer provided for a special stopper in the design of the washing machine, but it is also true that our children are very talented and are already used to overcome various obstacles from early childhood. If you open the leaves, and then rotate the drum so that the leaves are outside the barrier, you will not be able to open them, as well as turn the drum back.

Not only children become the cause of such an unpleasant breakdown. If an adult stuffed a full laundry drum and a flap fell between the parts of the latch, the sash latch will not close and these sashes will open during washing, creating a problem for you.

Factory defects may also occur, so when you buy a new top-loading washing machine, make sure that the drum leaf latch is in good condition.

What are the consequences of dropping the flaps of a drum of a top-loading washing machine? At first glance, this problem does not seem serious, but in fact, everything can turn out very badly for your washing machine. The fact is that if the flaps of the drum open during the spin cycle at a speed of 1000-1200 rpm, they will chop everything that they’ll hurt like a meat grinder’s knives. What kind of breakdowns does this lead to:

• tank walls are damaged and water from the machine starts to leak;
• Damage (bend) of the leaflet of the drum;
• The heating element bends and breaks.

It often happens that the opening of the folding drum of a top-loading washing machine during the spin cycle immediately leads to the three above-mentioned breakdowns. Repair in this case will be very expensive, you may even have to think about replacing the washing machine. Here are the consequences of a seemingly banal opening of the drum flaps during washing, so be extremely careful and do not allow this to happen in the future, but if the trouble has already happened, we will look for a way out.

We repair without disassembling

If the flap of the drum opens during washing at a speed or even less during the spin cycle, its edges break through the protective barrier and begin to rotate in a circle, breaking the walls of the tank and breaking the heating element. All this will happen until the electronics forcibly stops the washing process (on some models of washing machines), or the user, hearing a wild knock and rattle, does not de-energize the washing machine with his own hands.

Next, you will need to try to return the drum to its original position.

The problem is that when you try to manually spin the drum, the lid will open inside and cling to the walls of the tank.

You don’t need to pull strongly because there is still a chance that the tank has survived, you can start to scroll the drum with force - just damage it. The best solution is to disassemble the washing machine, get to the drum flaps from the inside and close them, return the part to working condition.

Dismantling is a guaranteed, but dreary solution that requires effort and time. To begin with, if the leaf with the drum jammed, try to close it without dismantling the washing machine. There are not many chances, but given the complexity of disassembly, it’s worth a try. We do the following:

1. We find a thin steel wire. The requirements for it are simple, so that it is strong, elastic and that it fits well into the hole in the drum.
2. Using pliers, bend the end of the wire (half a centimeter) into a hook.
3. Carefully push the end of the wire with a hook into the hole.
4. Next, we begin to wield with one hand holding the wire, and the other a flashlight. The challenge is to try to pick up and close the sash in order to open the ability to rotate the drum.

On some models of top-loading washing machines, the holes in the drum are very small, it is difficult to do anything through them. If the washing machine is not under warranty, one of the many holes can be expanded a little and through it the indicated manipulations can be performed.

A similar trick with proper patience and sleight of hand takes place in about half the cases. If the leaf does not cling to the wire or it is possible to pick it up, but cannot be held (the leaf still opens when the drum rotates), you will have to disassemble the washing machine.

Repair with disassembly

Quite a lot of masters are skeptical about the “method with wire” if the drum jammed when the sash opens during washing. In their opinion, you should immediately begin to disassemble the washing machine "... without wasting time on nonsense ...". In some ways they are right, but for an amateur, disassembling a top-loading washing machine may seem like a very complicated and time-consuming job. There are a lot of models of top-loading washing machines, so we can only describe the general order of work. The following should be done.

• We examine the drum and try to understand in which position it jammed. If the door opens below and the drum stuck in this position, then try to get to the desired object through the bottom of the washer.
• We disconnect the washing machine from the electric network and from other communications.
• We put the car on its side.
• We remove the pallet together with all the giblets, only at the same time you need to be careful not to tear off the wiring.
• We examine the insides of the machine and find with our eyes a small balancing load.
• We unscrew the load, a small hole will appear behind it, through which it is difficult, but possible to crawl by hand, to close the naughty sash.

There is another option to get to the jammed drum leaf through the side wall. To do this, the wall is unscrewed, the heating element is pulled out and through the hole formed, the flaps of the drum cover are returned to their original position.

Closing the flaps may be difficult because they are bent during the above incident. In such a difficult case, you will have to try yourself or call the master.

To summarize, we note that returning the drum of the washing machine with vertical loading to working condition, do not calm down, and even more so do not immediately start the wash. It is necessary to make sure that the drum flaps are not deformed, the tank remains intact, and the heating element is not damaged. If damage to the washing machine is irreparable, you may need to choose a top-loading washing machine instead of the lost one, it’s better to take the “home assistant” with front-loading - there will be less trouble.