"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
On 01/14/12 04:18 pm, Robert Green wrote:

Once I removed the tub and separated the halves it was easy to see why
clothes had come out dirty: large patches of greasy brown stuff, a
mixture of rust and grease, caused by failure of the seal, allowing
water into the bearings and allowing the mixture of rust, water and
grease to get out again and mingle with the clothes.

Is that a failure mode peculiar to front-loaders? I assume when the
same
thing happens with a top loader, the bearings are at the bottom of the
tub
and gunk doesn't migrate into the clothes being washed when the bearing
fails. Instead, water leaks all over the floor. If that's the case,
it's
another reason to get a top-loader. (-:

I suppose it is more likely to happen if the seal on a front-loader
gives way, but I don't see that top-loaders would be totally immune from
grease (less dense than water) seeping up into the water if the seal goes.

I would think the pressure of the water would force it down and out rather
than letting it bubble into the wash load. Here's to hoping I never find
out!

I don't know if front-loaders in general are more likely to suffer from
seal failure, but this particular model seems to have a very bad bad
reputation.

Isn't it great when you find something like that out *after* you've bought
it? (-: I own plenty of stuff like that including a Panasonic pocket
camera that lost all the labeling from its buttons after a few weeks of use.

We chose a front-loader because it uses far less water. And although
stacking the dryer on top of the washer was not seen as an advantage
when we bought them, that is the way we have them in our current home.

I can see the space advantage.

I repaired my last top-loader in 1984 when my GF's nylon stocking got
into
and wrapped around the pump impeller. It stretched out to almost 20'
when
I finally unwrapped it. Fortunately my Sears unit from 1985 has been
running strong (knock on wood!) for over 25 years (fairly light use,
though).

How would a stocking get the pump impeller? It should be contained in
the drum.

It jumped out of the delicates basket and sucked into the drain. Now that I
think about it, it could have been wrapped around the base of the agitator.
It was almost thirty years ago. What I remember clearly was unwinding and
unwinding this long, long piece of nylon that was wrapped tightly around
*something.* It seemed to have no end. It was one of those small "peds"
sort of stocking. The biggest burn was that after spending about 10 hours
pulling it apart, yanking it out and reassembling it she bought a new washer
the next day.

The only trouble so far is that rust spots have appeared inside the drum
because the enameling has failed at the edges of the tub's many drain
holes.
That's probably partly my fault because I often leave very heavily
soiled
clothes in the machine for half a day. It may also be due to the brass
rivets and snaps on dungarees banging into the drum while washing.
FWIW, no
rust stains have shown up on any clothing, so I haven't bothered to try
cleaning them off because I think that would make the problem worse.

Our tub is plastic, and the basket is stainless steel, so we won't have
that problem. The basket (approx. $250) has a lifetime warranty, but I
guess one would still be up for about 3hrs labor plus travel time, and
if the bearings were then found to be iffy as well...

This drum is grey enamel with flecks. I have plenty of stainless steel
items that have managed to corrode for one reason or another. Surgical
scissors from Pakistan, flatware from Korea and a stainless steel sink
that's developed tiny corrosion pock marks. On the other had, some
stainless flatware I have from my parents made in the 50's is still as good
as new.

--
Bobby G.