We have been fighting with the combo washer/dryer for several months now. It's been about nine months to a year ago since I found instructions on cleaning the unit from another blog I follow. From those instructions I learned when certain lights start flashing continually it means the washer needs to be cleaned to remove lint from the unit. According to the information I received if it should be done regularly (every 3 months) to keep the machine operating properly.
I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that before we left for Big Bend, I called the Splendide troubleshooting number in my manual. The man that answered the phone was so nice. He wanted to know if I knew how to clean it. I told him I had found information on another blog, and I had been doing this every 3 months. I explained while it was better the first time I cleaned it, it has gradually become worse, even though I had cleaned in between the 3 month cycle as well; and now it would quit all together on the "dry" cycle. He told me I should be doing the cleaning cycle once a month, and that I should have received instructions from Splendide on the process to clean the machine since we had purchased it new.
So not only was I not cleaning it monthly, the instructions I received were probably an older version. The instructions I had said to turn the dial to #2 at the start of the final rinse cycle (you do three full cycles as part of the cleaning process), but he advised me I should turn the dial to #12. He said I would see a huge difference. Well, he was right. It was like white water compared to a few ripples. While following this new procedure caused quite a bit of lint to be released in the cleaning cycles, we still were not getting good air flow outside at the vent.
He told us if the cleaning cycle did not work, Dean would need to pull the machine out and take the back off to clean the lint from the machine. So that was our next step. It was quite an ordeal to do this, as it meant taking all of the food items out of the shelving on the door; taking the door trim off, then pulling the unit out of the small pantry closet.
 |
| Door and trim removed and set aside. Of course, everything in the shelves on the door had to be removed. |
 |
| Dean then removed the washer from the pantry. |
A few months ago Dean purchased this neat little magnifier/camera with a light at the end of a long cord that he can insert into areas where it's difficult to see. He can then transfer the picture to his phone via wifi from the camera. It was great for today's project. He was able to see the buildup inside of the vents and we realized it was much worse than we realized.
There was quite a bit of lint buildup that we could see.
 |
| This is the vent going outside. |
 |
| The end of the hose that is attached to the vent going outside. |
 |
| Where the other end of the vent hose connects to the washer. |
 |
| Dean used my sweeper to pull out as much of the lint as he could. |
After Dean pulled the washer out I noticed the bottom shelf in the pantry was sitting much lower and pushed forward on the right side. Actually, it turned out to be a good thing we worked on the washer. I'm not sure how long the shelf would have lasted if we had not noticed it in time. Dean had to take the shelf out, remove a section of the plastic strips that run up and down on the wall, as well as the plastic clip the shelf set on. He cut the damaged portion off and attached a board to the wall to strength the shelf. The strip holding the right front of the shelf had broken, pushing the shelf forward. It could have caused damage if items on the shelf had fell, possibly damaging the washer and/or the door, or even pushing the door open. I'm not sure we would have noticed it had we not pulled the washer out. It was very noticeable once the washer was removed.
It also gave me an opportunity to clean behind the washer and I discovered our little mouse friend who visited a month or two ago must have been hiding here for all he left behind. Another reason I'm glad we had to pull that washer out. Eek!!
By the time we got the washer back in place, and all of the grocery items back on the shelves and in the door storage bins, it was time to make dinner. I put a load of clothes in to see how it was going to work. Dean went out to check the vent and it now has a strong air flow as compared to earlier when there was barely any air flow at all.
I'm thankful my husband is not afraid to take on a project and keeps things working in our home on wheels - just like he did in our sticks and bricks home!
Today has been a cool day outside, with rain off and on. We were glad to be inside even if it meant there was work to be done. We accomplished a lot today and it's a good feeling.
No comments:
Post a Comment