Front load washing machine: spin extraction problem

November 6, 2015 11:43 AM

After a year of normal functioning, my washing machine's spin cycle is not extracting properly -- but ONLY with flannel sheets. They go through the spin cycle, but the water doesn't extract. The wash drum has no puddle. Just the flannel sheets are soaking wet. Other types of fabrics come out normal, with excess water extracted. Towels, jeans, percale sheets come out normal. Small flannel pillowcases come out normal.

I have tried the following:

* Washing only one sheet by itself. Comes out dripping wet.

* Washing on highest spin speed. Comes out dripping wet.

* I would like to do a "spin only" cycle, but the washer doesn't provide that option.

BACKGROUND: Our washing machine is 3 years old. It's a front-loading Maytag MHWE200XW00. I had it repaired once, two years ago. Due to overloading, it shook too hard on the spin cycle, and an internal plastic part cracked. Since the repair, it has worked fine. I load it carefully, and I set the spin speed no higher than "medium". No problems until this dripping flannel.

I'm not going to call a repair service. The last repair was $400. I am willing to try a dyi repair.

posted by valannc to Home & Garden (11 answers total)

Have you confirmed it is actually spinning? By which I mean been able to hear it and/or monitor it to check it does the whole cycle? I have had machines that have something broken (like your plastic piece) that has meant that unbalanced loads (like a single heavy item like that) have tripped some kind of 'out of limit' switch early in the cycle. They displayed an error message initially, but if I didn't get to the machine quickly enough (ie within 10-15 mins?) I couldn't tell if it stopped for an error or the cycle had finished.
posted by Brockles at 12:03 PM on November 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Try spinning on "low". Our front-loading Whirlpool does the same thing - it'll try to spin up, but if it decides the load is too unbalanced, it just stops (instead of backing off the spin speed 1 click and trying again - wouldn't that make more sense?)
posted by Rat Spatula at 12:03 PM on November 6, 2015 [4 favorites]

Probably it is becoming unbalanced right at the start of the spin cycle and never actually spinning up at all. It may make a half-hearted attempt at spinning up, go off-balance, and stop almost immediately. You could determine this by hanging around and watching what happens when the spin cycle starts. Normally there is some kind of off-balance alarm that goes off when this occurs--often something audible and quite loud. Maybe the lack of alarm is part of your malfunction, or you just haven't noticed it.
posted by flug at 12:05 PM on November 6, 2015 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I agree it might be a weight distribution thing. Can you try washing the sheets with some other items increasing the size of the load? I have a bath mat that does this. It just doesn't get going. When it happens to me, I readjust it and run a second spin only cycle and that seems to fix it. Or just wash it with more stuff.
posted by cecic at 12:38 PM on November 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

Nthing that it's unbalanced and thus canceling out of the spin cycle. Try washing the flannel sheets with, say, a load of towels.
posted by fedward at 1:12 PM on November 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks for these quick replies!

I'm going to try the following:

Wash sheets on low spin setting, and sit next to the machine for the entire cycle. Need to if spin is happening.

Wash a sheet and towels together.

I'll report back tomorrow.
posted by valannc at 1:18 PM on November 6, 2015

Best answer: Do you have a filter on the machine? It might need to be cleaned out.

Hear me out: since flannel sheets can hold so much more water, there is more water still in the system just before the spin cycle. If that water can't get past a slightly-clogged filter, it will stay in the system. You say there's no puddle in the drum, but it might be just below the drum.
posted by notsnot at 1:33 PM on November 6, 2015

Oh yeah, cleaning out the filter is a quarterly maintenance step for us, although our front loader is an LG and not a Maytag. It's supposed to indicate when the filter is blocked, but the first indication we had was when the drain pump burned out.
posted by fedward at 2:00 PM on November 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I searched the manual, and there is no mention of a filter. But I'm going to check the output hose and connector.
posted by valannc at 2:55 PM on November 6, 2015

If it IS the filter (and for the record, I'm on Team Unbalanced;-) it won't necessarily be listed in the user manual. Our filter clogged and, because ours were first generation, the entire front panel, door and drum seal had to be removed to get to it. We were definitely into Repair Man Territory and it was not in the user manual.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 6:14 PM on November 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: UPDATE: I have clean dry flannel sheets! I washed one sheet with a couple of towels, on low spin setting. Sheets emerged damp, but not dripping, and ready for the dryer.

Thank you mefi for your advice. You spared me a trip to the laundromat.
posted by valannc at 10:17 AM on November 8, 2015