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Smoke from the washing machine

Smoke from the washing machineIrreplaceable in everyday life, the washer deals with both water and electricity, therefore it is considered to be doubly dangerous household appliances. It is strictly forbidden to leave it unattended, on the contrary, it is necessary to constantly monitor the washing process and in case of an emergency to timely respond to a problem. The worst thing is if the washing machine is smoking, because with inaction everything will instantly go into fire. You can not hesitate - you should stop supplying current and identify the cause of the fire. Detailed instructions are provided below.

Immediate action

If smoke has started from the machine or a burning smell is felt, then the first thing to do is to de-energize the equipment. If the current supply is cut off in time, it is possible to stop the fire and prevent the onset of the fire. Therefore, we turn off the corresponding machine on the shield, but it is better to cut off the electricity in all rooms.

It is strictly forbidden to pull out the plug of the power cord, which is still under voltage! It is life threatening! Great risk of electric shock!

Urgent de-energize the washing machineWhile the apartment is not de-energized, you cannot go to the typewriter or touch its body. Remember that if there is a problem with the wiring, current will leak to all conductive materials, including metal. It’s dangerous to even approach the machine - there may be a pool of water nearby, dangerous with similar consequences. Therefore, at the slightest suspicion of a fire, we quickly turn off the electricity supply and only then we begin to search for the root cause and evaluate the scale of the trouble.

What could have happened?

When electric shock is no longer threatening, you can slowly begin to search for the source of ignition. We wait a few minutes and remove the plug from the outlet. Now nothing threatens your life.

Next, inspect the power cord, plug and socket. Most often, they are the ones who suffer from voltage drops, contact breakdowns, or other causes of fire. Therefore, we are looking for traces of melting, burning, or a smell characteristic of them. Smoke could occur only when high-temperature exposure to the upper insulating layer of conductors. If the external examination did not reveal suspicious moments, then the washing machine was smoking for another reason. Then we continue to search for problems in the washer itself.

We are looking for the cause of smoke in the machine body

Often smoke comes from inside the machine, so we conduct a thorough inspection of the unit. For convenience, it is recommended to drain the water from the machine through an emergency drain, then disconnect it from the sewage system with water supply and move it away from the wall. Further search for the source of ignition is as follows:

Be guided by the sense of smell - by the intensity of the burnt smell it will be easy to find the cause.

  1. We open the door of the hatch and check if the burning smells from the drum. If smoke is present, the cause is a frayed drive belt. It is worthwhile to understand that during long operation some parts are erased and displaced, which affects the tension of the rubber band. Due to the changed load, the ring rubs strongly against neighboring elements, causing smoke and an unpleasant smell of burnt rubber. To fix the situation is simple - just replace the belt with a new one.TEN caused smoke and fire
  2. We pay attention to the rear panel, where the power cord is connected to the case. If there are signs of fire, take a closer look at the surge protector. Visually evaluate its condition and be sure to check for performance using a multimeter. If the part is defective, replace it.
  3. We remove the back panel, the drive belt, the engine, we find the heater and, unscrewing the bolt holding it, we get the heater. Strong scale or problems with the contacts on the heating element is the first on the list of what could cause the washing machine to smoke. More often, the wiring connected to it is oxidized or contaminated, or the part overheats due to the “fur coat” created by the scum layer. With this malfunction, the smoke does not disappear even after turning off the machine. We check the heater for operability, clean or change to a new one.

In the process of searching for the root cause, do not forget to immediately assess the condition of all wires encountered. A core break and a short circuit could happen on any part of the circuit, so we look for traces of soot, reflow on the insulation and do not forget to sniff all suspicious places. The smell of burning rubber lasts a long time, and there is every chance of a successful diagnosis.

If it was not possible to find a source of smoke, and traces of ignition are no longer visible and inaudible, then it is strictly forbidden to include a faulty unit in the network. It is necessary to call the service worker, who with special equipment quickly and accurately localizes the problem.

   

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