I don't want to blame the victim here, but I wonder if the fact that you've recently moved the washing machine might be relevant. Front-loading washing machines are the norm in Britain, and every one of those I've ever bought new came with bolts that secured the drum to the outer housing and had to be removed before it could be used. Moving the machine without those installed can damage the drum suspension. I suspect you're American, and I assume top-loaders are still the norm in the States. If you didn't wedge the drum firmly in place before you moved the machine, it might have banged around enough inside the machine to damage something.
As others have said, most appliances aren't designed to last these days. As others have also said, part of that is because manufacturers need people to keep buying their products, and that market would be much smaller if everything lasted forever. But the biggest problem is that appliances are designed to be as cheap and simple to produce as possible, since this reduces the price tag.
Most people are primarily interested in getting a bargain in the store, so that makes sense from the manufacturers' point of view. People have been trained to accept that appliances won't last for long, so when one fails, they usually just grumble and head off to buy the cheapest replacement they can find. And so the cycle repeats. Another factor is that a whole lot of people believe they deserve something shiny in whatever colour-scheme is currently fashionable every couple of years anyway, so deep down, they get a sense of satisfaction out of getting something new.
There are brands - Miele is a good example - which sell themselves on reliability and longevity. They're well-engineered, the components are robust, and they're designed to be repaired when parts wear out. But the price tag reflects those facts, and that's what most people focus on, rather than the long-term comparison between buying a new appliance every few years and paying up-front for one that will work reliably for decades.
Like olderdude, I try to repair appliances when they go wrong. None of them are fundamentally that complicated, and if you know how to use Google, it's not that difficult to identify what part has most likely failed before you even open the thing up. Repairing appliances requires some understanding of how mechanical and electrical things work, and you obviously need tools, some degree of mechanical aptitude and enough confidence to give it a try, but the internet makes buying replacement parts so much easier these days than it used to be, and there's most likely at least one YouTube video of someone repairing a machine that's much like yours.
Whenever I decide to try to repair something, I go into that with the attitude that it's already broken, so I can't make anything worse, and I might as well give it a try.
Who knows? If you try to diagnose your washing machine's problems and you manage to fix it, that might give you such a huge degree of satisfaction that you decide you might like to become an appliance repair person. I understand there's a huge shortage of those in the States at the moment, and there's good money to be made in the trade.
Yes, I am American, and you have a lot of good points. This washing machine I guess has been moved a few times, and traveled about an hour and a half in a trailer to be brought to my place, so it's very possible it could've been damaged. It is a front load.
I don't understand the color thing when it comes to a washer and dryer, myself. They are in my garage, so there's no need for them to be beautiful, they just need to work. Actually, they are an ugly gray and fake chrome (which is peeling off) that I don't care for, but they can be purple and green for all I care as long as they are functional, lol!
I'm definitely going to see if I can repair it, but I am not good with technology at all (it took me several hours to figure out how to hook up my DVD player to my TV, as there wasn't much info out there online for the specific type of TV I have because it is so old (and has a million different plug-ins in the back unlike the TVs in a lot of the YouTube videos I watched, making it more difficult), and I just don't know much about it; I eventually got it by removing the adapter I was told I needed, though!). If I can't figure anything out, I can have a couple of more savvy family members take a look at it before calling out a repairman. I don't have a manual for these, but they should be new enough to have info online unlike my TV, I imagine.
I actually have been wanting to learn to be more handy, so I guess this is a good opportunity!
Front-loading washing machines are susceptible to damage when being moved because there's a huge lump of iron (on concrete) that's linked to the drum-suspension in order to damp down vibration when spinning.
If those transit bolts aren't used to secure the drum and the washing machine is jostled about while moving, the suspension can be damaged.
But since I don't see you saying anywhere what exactly is wrong with the machine, that might be totally irrelevant.
My experience is that what usually fails in washing machines are the electronic control boards or the rubber seal around the door. Both can be a pain to replace, but it ain't rocket science.
My 7-year-old Samsung washer just shit itself.
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I don't want to blame the victim here, but I wonder if the fact that you've recently moved the washing machine might be relevant. Front-loading washing machines are the norm in Britain, and every one of those I've ever bought new came with bolts that secured the drum to the outer housing and had to be removed before it could be used. Moving the machine without those installed can damage the drum suspension. I suspect you're American, and I assume top-loaders are still the norm in the States. If you didn't wedge the drum firmly in place before you moved the machine, it might have banged around enough inside the machine to damage something.
As others have said, most appliances aren't designed to last these days. As others have also said, part of that is because manufacturers need people to keep buying their products, and that market would be much smaller if everything lasted forever. But the biggest problem is that appliances are designed to be as cheap and simple to produce as possible, since this reduces the price tag.
Most people are primarily interested in getting a bargain in the store, so that makes sense from the manufacturers' point of view. People have been trained to accept that appliances won't last for long, so when one fails, they usually just grumble and head off to buy the cheapest replacement they can find. And so the cycle repeats. Another factor is that a whole lot of people believe they deserve something shiny in whatever colour-scheme is currently fashionable every couple of years anyway, so deep down, they get a sense of satisfaction out of getting something new.
There are brands - Miele is a good example - which sell themselves on reliability and longevity. They're well-engineered, the components are robust, and they're designed to be repaired when parts wear out. But the price tag reflects those facts, and that's what most people focus on, rather than the long-term comparison between buying a new appliance every few years and paying up-front for one that will work reliably for decades.
Like olderdude, I try to repair appliances when they go wrong. None of them are fundamentally that complicated, and if you know how to use Google, it's not that difficult to identify what part has most likely failed before you even open the thing up. Repairing appliances requires some understanding of how mechanical and electrical things work, and you obviously need tools, some degree of mechanical aptitude and enough confidence to give it a try, but the internet makes buying replacement parts so much easier these days than it used to be, and there's most likely at least one YouTube video of someone repairing a machine that's much like yours.
Whenever I decide to try to repair something, I go into that with the attitude that it's already broken, so I can't make anything worse, and I might as well give it a try.
Who knows? If you try to diagnose your washing machine's problems and you manage to fix it, that might give you such a huge degree of satisfaction that you decide you might like to become an appliance repair person. I understand there's a huge shortage of those in the States at the moment, and there's good money to be made in the trade.
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Yes, I am American, and you have a lot of good points. This washing machine I guess has been moved a few times, and traveled about an hour and a half in a trailer to be brought to my place, so it's very possible it could've been damaged. It is a front load.
I don't understand the color thing when it comes to a washer and dryer, myself. They are in my garage, so there's no need for them to be beautiful, they just need to work. Actually, they are an ugly gray and fake chrome (which is peeling off) that I don't care for, but they can be purple and green for all I care as long as they are functional, lol!
I'm definitely going to see if I can repair it, but I am not good with technology at all (it took me several hours to figure out how to hook up my DVD player to my TV, as there wasn't much info out there online for the specific type of TV I have because it is so old (and has a million different plug-ins in the back unlike the TVs in a lot of the YouTube videos I watched, making it more difficult), and I just don't know much about it; I eventually got it by removing the adapter I was told I needed, though!). If I can't figure anything out, I can have a couple of more savvy family members take a look at it before calling out a repairman. I don't have a manual for these, but they should be new enough to have info online unlike my TV, I imagine.
I actually have been wanting to learn to be more handy, so I guess this is a good opportunity!
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Boojum
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Front-loading washing machines are susceptible to damage when being moved because there's a huge lump of iron (on concrete) that's linked to the drum-suspension in order to damp down vibration when spinning.
If those transit bolts aren't used to secure the drum and the washing machine is jostled about while moving, the suspension can be damaged.
But since I don't see you saying anywhere what exactly is wrong with the machine, that might be totally irrelevant.
My experience is that what usually fails in washing machines are the electronic control boards or the rubber seal around the door. Both can be a pain to replace, but it ain't rocket science.
I don't want to blame the victim.
Wow. You might as well have asked what she was wearing, or if she had a beer...wow