Damage to Washing Machine Bearings From Detergent

   The wrong detergent can cause a washer's bearings to wear faster.

The amount and type of detergent you use in your washing machine can impact the washer's performance over time. Using too much soap can lead to too many suds, which can cause various parts, including the bearings, to deteriorate and ultimately become permanently damaged. The same problem can occur if you use the wrong type of detergent in your washing machine. Refer to your washing machine manual for operating instructions before you use your washer or if you experience problems with the appliance. Does this Spark an idea

   When clothes are placed into a washing machine, they go into the tub, are moved about — agitated — in soapy water, rinsed with clean water, and finally have all of the water wrung from them before being ready to remove for drying. The entire process works because the tub is able to move back and forth, agitating and then spinning the clothes in the machine. The tub is able to move because it sits on bearings, a group of small steel balls that let it rotate freely.

   Washing machine bearings are not loose in the machine, but are held in a round track with a hole in the center for the tub’s support spindle. This entire part — the bearings and the framework holding them — is typically also referred to as the bearings. The bearings assembly fits in a recess on the bottom of the tub. The entire tub rests on the bearings.

   Many times, bearing problems are not readily apparent, since washing machine bearings cannot be seen without dissembling the bottom of the washer. There are a few symptoms that can help to identify bearing problems. Often, however, there are several possible causes for each symptom, so the presence of a specific condition is not necessarily a sign of bearing failure.

   The drum bearings sit at the back behind the drum and allow the whole things to spin nice and smoothly. So how do you know if you need new drum bearings? Well one customer described it sounding like a concrete mixer on overdrive; it can make a real racket if the drum bearings have gone. The other thing is to look for the amount of movement between the drum and the outer tube. Now the bearings on this machine are fine, you can see there is no real movement there. But if your bearings have gone, the inner drum will move a lot in relation to the outer tub.

   So here we have the front bearing, the rear bearing and the bearing seal, and they come as a complete set for this Bosch machine. You may find that for your make and model you do need to buy them separately, but do buy all three as we want to replace the lot. 

   We also have a tub seal in this set, because we going to need to remove the whole tub, split it in two and when we put that back together again it’s important that we put a new seal on so that it’s nice and water-tight. Now this is a big job, not for the feint hearted , you are going to need a little bit of space to work in, but it’s going to save you a fortune compared with buying a new machine or calling out an engineer. Safety first, make sure you are unplugged from the mains. So let’s get on with removing the tub from the machine. 

   Now we’re using a Bosch WFL series machine for this video, the layout is going to be a little bit different depending on your make and model, but it should give you a good idea of what you need to do. I’m going to start by removing the top panel which is just held in place by a couple of screws. They’re Torx-head screws and you can get a full set of Torx keys on the eSpares website. I’m actually going to us a Torx-bit on an electric driver.

   So that’s the lid. Remove the soap dispenser. There’s just a little catch there that comes away. Then I’ve got three screws here and one on this end to take the fascia away. Do keep all your screws separate so it’s much easier to remember where they came from when you are putting them back. 

   So now the fascia just comes away and you can see the control module here. If you do need to disconnect everything, do make sure you take a few photos beforehand so you remember how to put everything back together again. I should just have room to rest that on top, so I don’t need to disconnect everything.

   So next the kick plate, or plinth, that should just come away. Take that drain hose off. And now, you should just have probably four screws holding the front panel on. I’ve got one here, and here, and then some up at the top. Start getting those undone. 

   So now I’m just going to remove the seal from the front panel. This one has a spring and a retaining band. They vary a bit by make and model, but it should just pull away like so. And then the seal just comes away. That’s just going to allow me to get at the door interlock here. There we are. And that should mean that I can lift the whole of the front panel away. There we go.