DIY Home Appliance Repair

Hi Everyone,

Recently my washing machine LG WT-R852 started playing up and it wouldn't drain the water from the tub. I immediately searched for my invoice to check if I have any warranty left on the washing machine, after a long and endless searching of two days, finally I found the invoice and the warranty booklet only to discover that my washing machine was already out of warranty.

To my dismay I started looking at other options, I spoke to my wife which at the time was already slightly irritated for having to hand wash most of the laundry. We discussed that if the repair cost is going to be over AU $400 we might as well buy a new one, the big problem is we do not have the spare cash to buy a new washing machine which would probably set us back by at least AU $800 for a decent brand and model.

The next day I contacted LG and I was told that to get some over my house just to look at the machine, it will cost me AU $150.00. Reluctantly I agreed hoping that the repair cost plus the parts will only cost me around AU $300 and if I decide not to go ahead with the repair it's only going to cost me AU $150 just in case we chose to buy a new washing machine.

For several days we had to drain the tub manually by removing and replacing the drain hose at the back of the washing machine just so my wife doesn't have to hand wash the laundry. The big problems is, you have to be standing right next to the machine almost the whole time it's washing to allow the cycle to complete. As soon as the washing is done, the rinse cycle will need to drain and replace the water at least two times to complete the cycle. And the only way to do this manually it put the drain hose down when the machine wants to drain water and put the back up again when it needs to fill up with water to rinse. Then put the hose down again at the end when the machine starts to spin dry.

t took about three days before LG got back to me saying that a technician will come over within a week to check my washing machine. Luckily, earlier that day I was chatting with one of my workmates who was an electrician and he advised me to pull out the drain pump which was just held by a couple of screws and give it a good clean and put it back again. He also told me that if the motor does not start even after cleaning just give it at tap on the side. I decided to ring up LG after the conversation and cancel the appointment for the technician coming over to check my washing machine.

Immediately when I got home I started pulling apart the back plate of the washing machine and pulled the drain pump. I disassembled the pump to give it a thorough clean using compressed air and WD-40 to clean all the pieces. Once I was satisfied, I reassembled the drain pump and replaced it back to the washing machine.

Wow! It worked like brand new, my washing machine was working again! Hurray !!! I just saved my self hundreds of dollars.

By the way, the same drain pump was being sold on the internet for only AU $36 which I also bought just in case the old pump fails permanently. It's already been 4 months now and it's still working, I may not have a chance to put the new part in but you'll never know.

I hope this story will also help other people save money in repair costs.

Regards,

Reynaldo