Adventures With A Front Load Washer

When I first saw a front load washer, I thought, "Wow. That's pretty. It uses less water? You can fit more clothes in there? IT COMES IN RED!?!?!" We needed a new washer and dryer and we were offered a GREAT deal on them, so I was thrilled to have them.

Fast forward 3 years later. I really do love the ease of use and all of the options, but water DOES stand in the front and besides making it necessary to clean them at least every month. They get a mildew smell if you're not careful. Besides the odor, apparently that leftover water can cause the seal to deteriorate. 

I noticed for some time now that our washer was leaking water underneath. I mentioned it to my husband several times, but he seemed unconcerned and said to add it to his list of things to look at/fix. Um. Okay. Man knows best when it comes to these things, right? Well...last week as I was looking down in the seal for any trapped baby mittens or socks, I noticed that the seal was ripped. BIG TIME. I made a mental note not to do another load until we were able to get it fixed. As we were leaving the house that day, we noticed water dripping from the ceiling in our mud room (directly underneath our laundry room). My husband poked a hole in the ceiling to let it drain into a bucket, and when we got home there was at least an inch of water in the bucket. GREAT! Now our washer needed fixed and our ceiling where the water did damage. 

The next day, I called Maytag to see about getting a new seal. I ordered one, but it was $137! (!!!!!) In my confirmation e-mail, they sent the part number and price. That's when I decided that this was STUPID. I didn't even have anyone to install it (what would that cost?) and John said he didn't know how to do it. Well...crap. Crappity crap crap. I'm not paying some repairman to come to my house. You know how these things go....They say they'll send somone between 10-5 (what kind of a time frame is that)? Then at 6 you call them and they say, "Oh, we couldn't get to it today. We had to reschedule for tomorrow." 

Okay so I'm not an idiot. I can figure things out. That is what I decided. No longer will I be helpless when it comes to maintenance. I immediately started looking online, searching for that part number. I found a seal on Amazon for $77. I have Prime, so shipping was free. Ordered. Done. Saved $60. I called Maytag and cancelled my order. Next stop? Youtube! I found this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFDqUvBgxH4 and this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qWZftMkA2k. I had to piece the two together since neither were my exact model of washer. 

I was a little hesitant. Best case scenario: I do this myself and we are only out $77. Worst case scenario: I can't fix it, I break something, then we need a new seal, a repairman, and additional charges for anything I break. That's a pretty bad worst case scenario, don't you think? Well...I decided to throw caution to the wind. If I never try, how will I ever know if I would have been successful or not? Am I going to let fear of not succeeding keep me from trying? No. Not anymore. Here we we go...

Step 1: Take everything apart that needs to be taken apart.

Also, I felt like I needed to label the screws and keep them together. They were really all the same except for the detergent dispenser ones. Peace of mind, people. Peace of mind.

Step 2: Remove the old seal (or bellows as it is properly called). This involved removal of a spring and a clamp too:

Step 3: Wait for new seal to arrive at my doorstep (pretty great, huh?) and install it upon arrival:

Step 4: Put everything back together. This is where that spring and clamp bit became a real pain in the....well, you know:

Voila! Isn't she a beaut? So far there are no signs of a leak. And I can't help feeling "like a Boss"! I'm so glad I took the time to figure this out. It's amazing what this did for my self-esteem. Booyah!