I just moved to a new house, and after setting up my washing machine it now shakes a lot while running, like it moves itself 3 or 4 inches sometimes. It seems to really shake for a 5-15 seconds then runs normal for a while. No real discernible pattern.
I’ve already tried leveling it and making sure the feet all hold some weight, but it’s still happening. It’s an older style top loader with an agitator.
Any ideas on how to stop the shaking?
If it is a new washing machine there are breaks screwed into the back of the machine.
They are put there so the drum does not move during shipping from the factory to the customer, maybe they were also put in when you moved. If they remain in the washing machine motor is fighting against the break pads and the machine will shake violently. Please look at the manual or search on the internet how to take them out.
i had the same problem with a front-load machine. Feet seemed to be even, but the machine pivots clockwise about left front foot causing it to screw in (and shorten), which then worsens as it goes. My fix was to lengthen that foot more so that it seems to bear more load than the other three feet. I don’t consider it a permanent fix because that leg still manages to eventually get shorter anyway, but takes much longer.
I guess my next move is to drill a hole in a circular piece of wood giving a donut-like shape, and use that as a spacer to stop that foot from shortening under vibration.
Sounds to me like the drum might be floating really loosely inside the machine. It not spinning dead center is gonna cause the weight to be thrown around and move everything.
Thanks for the idea! Is that something I can go in, recenter, and tighten?
Depending on how the machine is made it could be a couple of components on the fritz. At a guess I’d say either the belt that turns the drum is stretched from use, or the frame the drum glides on might need replacement.
What if you carefully distribute the weight of your laundry evenly? Mine doesn’t have an agitator but whenever I’m loading laundry, I make sure to do it in the shape of a donut, evenly distributed around the drum so that it doesn’t get thrown off
I’ve tried that, it all ends up floating around anyway. Small items vs big items don’t seem to matter either
A load will go through multiple fills. This presents the opportunity to get off balance each time. It should tend to naturally settle in a pretty evenly distributed fashion. If your machine only does the violent shaking every so often, it could be an off balanced load. If it’s shaking for most of the loads, there’s likely something more wrong.
