loose chain + washing machine pump = help!

January 10, 2007 9:09 AM

Laundryfilter: Emergency washing machine help, please! I've got something stuck in my washing machine pump-- is there any way to get it out?

I was doing laundry this morning and forgot to take my favorite necklace out of the pocket of my jeans before washing them. The pendant was in the bottom of the washer, but not the chain. I started the next load of laundry, thinking maybe the chain had fallen out of my pocket somewhere, and lo and behold! A hideous whirring noise and a water leak from the bottom of my washer indicated that my chain had gotten sucked into the pump or somewhere very similar somehow.

Is there any way I can get in there to remove this, barring the use of a large sledgehammer and several dozen burly men? Can my washing machine be saved? What kind of damage would do this do? Is it dead forever, or doomed to a life of sounding funny and leaking out the bottom? I've got zero experience deconstructing washing machines, but I do at least know how to use a screwdriver.

It's a Maytag Performa, several years old, if that helps at all. Thanking you in advance, MeFites!

posted by WidgetAlley to home & garden (6 comments total)

Well, when my wife decided to felt something made of mohair in our (small, portable) washing machine, I was able to take apart the washing machine, remove the pump, and pull out the mohair. It worked again afterwards.

I would recommend taking whatever panels you can off the washing machine, trying to find the pump (It might be easiest to find based on the plubing outlet), and opening it up (assuming it has screws or some reasonable fasteners).

If the washer is otherwise dead, it's not as though you'll make it worse. Depending on what happened to the pump, I would think there's a decent chance for a full recovery.
posted by JMOZ at 9:31 AM on January 10, 2007

You're going to be visiting the laundromat for the next few days, I'm afraid.

You can take the machine apart and look for the chain; it might well be caught at the entrance to the water pump (i.e., step 5 in the water pump section on that page). The pump sucks water (and chains) out of the tub. "Hideous whirring noise" sounds a lot like "chain caught in the pump impeller" to me. Taking a washing machine apart is not complex, but it is a pain in the ass.

Or you can call a repairman, of course.
posted by jellicle at 9:36 AM on January 10, 2007

I helped a friend put a new circuit board in his (way too high-tech) washing machine last year and was surprised by how easy it was to get into the thing to work on it (no special tools, etc). We used repairclinic.com to figure out the part we needed and it has worked well ever since. That was my only experience with the company, but it was a good one. We had to call for clarification at one point and they were very helpful over the phone even before we ordered a part from them.
posted by richmondparker at 1:01 PM on January 10, 2007

These guys have instructions for disassembly (and repair) of common washing machines.
posted by caddis at 3:02 PM on January 10, 2007

oh, wait, that is the same place richmondparker linked. Nevermind.
posted by caddis at 3:03 PM on January 10, 2007

I've fished out an underwire under similar circumstances. It was pretty easy to get to the pump if I recall--just take off the panel (front or back--don't remember) and remove the tube going to the pump for access to it.
posted by RikiTikiTavi at 4:06 PM on January 10, 2007