Download a PDF version of this transcript

Repairclinic.com Call Center: 1-888-34-FIXIT (1-888-343-4948)
Open 8:00AM to Midnight EST Seven Days a Week

Topics Discussed:

• 2000 GE Profile Refrigerator Water Dispenser Working Intermittently
• Amana Refrigerator Needs Instructions on How to Reassemble the Icemaker
• Dishwasher Leaking Water from the Bottom of the Door
• Side By Side Refrigerator Door Gasket Has Come Loose and the Magnetic Strip Is Exposed
• 1998 GE Wall Oven Self-Cleaning Cycle Begins But After Two Hours the Over Temperature Alarm Beeps
• Kitchen Aid Front Load Washing Machine Won't Start and Shows a Door Lock Error Code
• Kenmore Oven Not Working Even Though the Igniter Glows
• 1991 Kitchen Aid Dishwasher, Model KUDM220T2, Not Completely Draining the Water
• 1994 GE Potscrubber Dishwasher Fills with Water Then Makes a Humming Noise
• 2005 LG Front Load Washing Machine Has a Bad Odor during the Drain Cycle
• Laying a Refrigerator down during a Move
• 2001 Bosch Dishwasher Never Completes the Cycle

2000 GE Profile Refrigerator Water Dispenser Working Intermittently

JOHN MCCULLOCH

We'll start out with a refrigerator that isn't working right, with Jay, in his car, here on the News Talk Radio WJR Appliance Repair Show, brought to you by RepairClinic.com. Good morning, Jay.

JAY

The question is, I have a GE Profile, seven years old, and when we go up in the glass distribution where the water comes out, sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. Random, completely random. It'll go off for a few days, and then work for a few days.

JOHN SOWDEN

This is the water side? Is the ice portion of it consistently working or is that intermittent too?

JAY

The ice works consistently. But the water does not.

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, as far as the ice dispensing goes, there's a tank in the refrigerator section that stores the water and then cools it, and when you push your glass under there you're actually making a switch, which then it depends on the model, sometimes there's a little control board in there which will then send power to the solenoid valve and then allows water to be pushed through that cooling tank and then up into your glass. You could have an intermittent electrical problem with the dispenser switch or the board, or on occasion what's happened is that tank in the refrigerator section is freezing, and you have an ice buildup that's causing intermittent restrictions. So, you might want to monitor your refrigerator temperature and see if you're running it down to thirty-two, thirty-four degrees, you might have a situation where you've got intermittent ice blockages in there and it's causing it to physically stop the water from coming through.

JAY

Okay, I'll look at those. Thank you very much.

Amana Refrigerator Needs Instructions on How to Reassemble the Icemaker

JOHN MCCULLOCH

And, we go now to Eleanor, in Livonia, with another refrigerator question on the Appliance Repair Show on News Talk 760 WJR. Something wrong with the icemaker, Eleanor?

ELEANOR

I had a serious problem yesterday after my power was restored. I started to empty out the things in my refrigerator that I knew I couldn't keep, and taking the ice bin out, I took it out on my deck, and it slipped out of my hands and went down on floor to the, well the asphalt below, and now I have four pieces that I need to reassemble and get back in my refrigerator, although, the faceplate of it is pretty scarred up and cracked. I wondered is there a company here in this area that would reassemble this for me and order the part that I would need. I'm sure it's going to need a new faceplate.

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah, we have to see what exactly is broken. I don't know, sometimes you can buy that as an assembly, the whole bucket, and not have to deal with the reassembly. Most service companies, if you take it in, would do that for you and they would have to inspect it and see there are several components that make up that ice bucket. There's the outer bin and then the front faceplate, and then all the little cutting wheels inside that when you press it for crushed ice they spin around and chop the ice up.

ELEANOR

Yeah, that part seems to be okay, there's one screw that's out, but I found it out there, and I brought that back in the house, but I still need somebody that can put this back together for me properly.

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, is it, you have it disassembled now, or...

ELEANOR

Well, do I have it disassembled? It fell apart...

JOHN MCCULLOCH

It disassembled when it hit the asphalt.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. Well, one thing you can do is you can go to our website which is Repairclinic.com and put in the model number provided and have a look at all the individual components; it might help you decide what you do need for the different pieces and how they come. As far as reassembly goes, most of the time those aren't too complicated; it's just a matter of a few screws that hold them together. So if it's largely still intact, you might be able to look at the individual components and kind of figure out what's going on. Otherwise, I'd say if you take it into any other service company in your area, they should be able to help you for a nominal fee.

ELEANOR

For instance it's an Amana, so take it to an Amana service dealer?

JOHN SOWDEN

You could do that, yeah. Normally if you take it to a dealer who is an authorized warranty servicer for that product line, generally they will be a little more, well versed on that product line.

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Could she order the whole assembly, John?

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, that's what I have Diana looking at right now, and it doesn't look like this one comes as an assembly. Some do come as an assembly, with parts versus labor you just order a new one and plug it in. This particular one does come in pieces; you do have to replace it component by component.

ELEANOR

Oh, okay. Well that helps. Thank you very much.

Dishwasher Leaking Water from the Bottom of the Door

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Let's go to Lorraine, in Rochester, with a question on a dishwasher, on the Appliance Repair Show. Hi Lorraine.

LORRAINE

I got a dishwasher that leaks, and I was wondering how much it would be to put around a new gasket, or if I could do it myself?

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, it depends on the machine, and basically the first thing you need to do is find out where it's leaking. People normally think it's coming from the door gasket itself, but is it leaking out of the door area, or are you just finding water on the floor?

LORRIANE

I found water on the floor, and I blamed the dog for it but it wasn't her.

JOHN SOWDEN

It could be coming from underneath the machine; the pump itself could be leaking and just running out onto the floor. Or, it could in fact be coming from the dishwasher door gasket. At times, you will find that if you have a knife or something that's sticking through your silverware basket, it will stop the wash arm and actually spray so much water into the corners of the door seal that it will force it out. So, make sure that there's nothing restricting the wash arms.

LORRAINE

It comes from one side, and it's right in the corner, I can see where it's kind of deteriorated.

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Which corner?

LORRAINE

Facing it, it would be the right corner. And I put some goop in it, and it's helped a lot, but it still leaks a little bit. I stuck a towel up there every time I washed dishes, to absorb the moisture, but it still gets a little damp. I know it needs a gasket.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. The door seal for that one is really an easy installation, it just pushes into place; you just pull the old one out and push the new one in. You can go to the website, Repairclinic.com and enter your model number in and order it and have it shipped to your door. Or, you can drive to our parts counter, which is open today, and pick one up if you wanted to make that a project today. The other thing you want to look for on this particular unit, is there's also a small gasket that goes around the soap cup door, that little latch that sticks out through the door, there's a little rubber gasket there. That in fact can leak, cause water to run down the inside of the door panel and drip off of the corner, and simulate a door gasket problem when actually it's the grommet and latch assembly, which is, it's a four dollar and ninety-five cent kit, and that's probably a more common thing I've found with that particular unit.

LORRAINE

That doesn't work any more. I mean, it doesn't open up after the second or first wash.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay, well that might be part of your problem, it could be that it's hung up and that gasket there has failed.

LORRAINE

But that soap dish, you could just pull that out?

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah, once you remove the front panel of the dishwasher, you can gain access to the dispenser assembly.

LORRAINE

Okay, I'll look it over.

JOHN SOWDEN

So now you've got two problems.

JOHN MCCULLOCH

But you took care of both problems.

JOHN SOWDEN

That's what we're trying to do.

Side By Side Refrigerator Door Gasket Has Come Loose and the Magnetic Strip Is Exposed

JOHN MCCULLOCH

With a refrigerator door gasket problem, here's Bill, in Ray Township, on the Appliance Repair Show. What's the problem with the gasket, Bill?

BILL

It came loose from the bottom of the refrigerator door. It's a side by side and it's not the freezer door, it's the refrigerator door.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay and you say it came loose, is it in the corner of the door?

BILL

No, it's about a foot in length on the bottom of the door.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. And is the gasket torn in any way?

BILL

Yes, it's torn, and then there's an inner, like an inner black gasket inside of the white gasket that you look at.

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah, that's actually a magnetic strip that you're seeing, that's made to...

BILL

That is exposed.

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah, then you, it's time for a new door gasket, and to replace that one, if you peel back the gasket you'll see a series of quarter-inch screws around the perimeter of the door frame. If you loosen those screws, you loosen up a metal track that retains them, and you can loosen the screws around the perimeter of the door, and it's a matter of taking the old one off, kind of un-tucking it from underneath that metal frame, and then installing the new one. Sometimes it's a little fun to get it to seal again, because the gaskets come in a box, and the best thing to do is soak them in some hot water--tap water, not boiling out of your tea kettle hot water. And if you can, lay it out on the floor somewhere and let it kind of stretch out, it makes it easier. When you put the new one on you might have to kind of loosen the door screws and adjust the door to the frame. Once you get that straightened on, if you have any other wrinkles, you can take a hair dryer and gently go over that area and try to get the wrinkles out. But sometimes the door gasket will take a week or two before it will completely seal again. The other thing you want to make sure of is a lot of times; the gaskets will stick and tear at the bottom because of spills. So, if somebody spilled some Kool-Aid or something at the bottom of the refrigerator, then that will act as a glue and when you open up the door, the door opens but the gasket stays there and that's what normally will cause that to rip, so you might want to clean up the whole door frame area and go from there.

BILL

Okay. And this item I could order at the Repairclinic.com?

JOHN SOWDEN

You sure could. Repairclinic.com, we have one in stock and it's under sixty dollars, you could either pick it up today, our call center hours have now changed, we're open from eight o'clock to midnight seven days a week, and our store hours, our walk-in counter hours are from eight am until six pm seven days a week, so you can either stop in and pick it up or you can log in and have it shipped to your door and get on with your day, whatever you want to do on this nice day outside.

BILL

Okay, where is your store located?

JOHN SOWDEN

It is on Michigan Avenue, in Canton, Michigan, between Beck and Denton Road, which are the two major cross streets. We're only about two or three miles from the I-275 exit on Michigan.

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Three point two miles.

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah, John, he's come over and visited, he Googled it I guess, or MapQuest.

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Actually I used my odometer.

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah, well, if he says it's three point two, then I'm going with John, it's three point two miles.

BILL

Okay, great, I appreciate the information.

1998 GE Wall Oven Self-Cleaning Cycle Begins But After Two Hours the Over Temperature Alarm Beeps

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Let's go to Gary, in Clarkston, who has an oven that is giving him fits on the Appliance Repair Show. Go ahead, Gary.

GARY

I've got a GE built-in self-cleaning oven. It was new when we built the house, a little over nine years ago.

JOHN SOWDEN

This is a wall oven?

GARY

Yes.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay, is this a single, one or two-cavity oven?

GARY

It's a single oven. And after this has been going on for four or five years now, when you put it into self-clean mode, it will go ahead and heat up and locks the door, and after about two hours it goes into an over-temp alarm. And, it basically doesn't finish the cycle, just sits there and beeps at you until it cools down, which drives me nuts. And it just, it doesn't finish the cycle, it happens if I try to self-clean it from a cold start or from a hot start, doesn't matter.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. Well, in self-clean, what an oven generally does is, it locks the door up, gets up to between eight hundred and a thousand degrees and just burns everything off the oven interior. And years ago, they used to have glass doors where you could see inside the oven.

GARY

Yeah, this one does.

JOHN SOWDEN

--and they used to, now they've kind of changed it so the door's glass is a little darker, but years ago when you could see in there, people were calling the fire department thinking they had a fire inside their oven, so then they went to where you had to pull a shield up inside the door to ... it helped for the heat reflection and keeping the outer glass from getting too hot, but it was also just to keep people from seeing what was really happening in there. So, I just thought I'd share that with you.

JOHN MCCULLOCH

A little history there...

JOHN SOWDEN

A little history on self-cleaning ovens! Anyway, what you have is if it goes into an over-temp, a lot of time what happens is there's a fan that comes on once the oven reaches a certain temperature and it circulates air around the oven cavity. It could be that that fan has failed, or the thermostat that's supposed to be sending power to it has failed.

GARY

No, I can hear a fan run just in normal use, so it seems to be working in normal use.

JOHN SOWDEN

Right, but again in self-clean it might be a different circuit. The other thing is that oven, most ovens, are made to have some sort of makeup air around the perimeter of them, and if the cabinetry is too tight to that, it's possible that it's not allowing it to dissipate the heat and causing a heat buildup to go into a failure code. So, I would start with looking at the installation, if it's really packed in there. That could be the problem. And the other thing you might want to look at is some ovens that run into this have, I guess a kit for lack of better words, and what that generally entails is a different set of ductwork to go around it, if that's the case, then a lot of times it'll go into a higher rated failsafe thermostat so it will continue to run.

GARY

That's just built in to; it's just a stand-alone cabinet with drawers above and below it, but its pretty close on either side.

JOHN SOWDEN

Right, you might want to look at contacting GE, see if there are any kits or anything of that nature. Or, you can send us an email, and we can research it for you. Go to Repairclinic.com, click on the "Contact Us" section, put your email address in so we know how to get a hold of you, and give all the information, model, serial number, problem you're having, and we'll have somebody look into that for you and hopefully resolve it.

GARY

Okay, well I appreciate it.

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Now, when somebody does that, when they ask by email, your people actually go do the research and then personally email that person back?

JOHN SOWDEN

That is correct, yes.

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Pretty good service!

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah, and it's all for the low cost of zero! We do it as something that we'd like to help people out, and normally we can find out what the problem is. Sometimes people have something that is unusual, and they have the luxury of being there and seeing the installation or seeing the problem and without being there there's only so much we can do, but we do try to research it for them and find out what's going on.

Kitchen Aid Front Load Washing Machine Won't Start and Shows a Door Lock Error Code

JOHN MCCULLOCH

We have a washer question; it's a Kitchen Aid question, from Harold, in Utica, here on the Appliance Repair Show. Harold, what is the problem with your Kitchen Aid?

HAROLD

When we go to start it, it won't necessarily always start, and potentially it gives me a door lock error code.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay... is this a top load or front load machine?

HAROLD

It's a front load thing; it's very similar to a Whirlpool Duet.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay, okay, it's the same. Yeah, you might have a problem in that door lock assembly, it could be sticking, and that's located in the front panel. You normally have to remove the front panel in order to get at that, it's all one piece, it's a nice plastic assembly with three or four switches in it, and it's possible that one of those is sticking occasionally. Or, the latch itself, the little catch that protrudes into that door lock assembly could be broken or cracked and not always making contact, but that's where I would start.

HAROLD

Okay, well I have actually already replaced both of those, and it worked for maybe another four months and now we're back in the intermittent thing of it worked three times yesterday and the last load it would not.

JOHN SOWDEN

Hmm. It still sounds like you have a problem with the door lock, the other thing I would look at is if the door adjusts and it's closing well. It's unusual that you'd replaced that and it still doesn't work, but it's possible that it has failed. You've seen it, its one big plastic piece, if you have any door slammers or anybody in the family like that it can cause it to fail, but I'd still lead towards it, the door lock assembly for that. It's possible the control board is reading a false failure, and the only way to determine that is to check the switches, to make sure they're opening and closing properly in the door lock assembly, as it's closed.

JOHN MCCULLOCH

How would you do that?

JOHN SOWDEN

That's a matter of getting in there with an ohmmeter and doing some electrical diagnostics and that, but I'd probably start with putting another door lock in and see what happens.

HAROLD

Okay. I've checked the one I took out as well as the new one, with the ohmmeter, and making a little jumper from wire to wire to some of the switches, my question specifically for diagnostics would be is the voltage to the solenoid, it's a double solenoid obviously for lock and unlock, is that an A/C or a D/C voltage?

JOHN SOWDEN

Most of them normally run an A/C normally five to ten volts on that. It depends on the particular unit, and I don't have a print for your particular machine to tell you specifically. Normally, it's a control voltage; they wouldn't run it in A/C. But they could, it does go particular to your machine. The wiring diagram will tell you that, and that's normally either in the control panel or glued to the back panel of the machine, they always make it nice you have to pull the machine out to get to stuff.

HAROLD

Well, I know it's not below the top, so you're right, it may be on the back.

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah, but to specifically answer that I'd have to see the print for your particular machine, but most of the time they'll run a low voltage to that.

HAROLD

Okay, I was trying to ascertain whether it's a computer problem or basically what you're saying, some of the switches in there.

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah, the problem you're having, it's basically intermittent, and until you catch it at that point, it's going to be hard to say, you could check everything, everything checks fine, put it back together, it works, it doesn't work, and those are the worst kinds to diagnose because you almost have to catch it when it's doing it. Sounds like you've spent a lot of time on it; hopefully you'll figure it out.

HAROLD

Okay, the last question is do you know typically is the signal they send out of the GPU is that a short signal to just energize the solenoid and then turn it off for the rest of the cycle, or does it stay on?

JOHN SOWDEN

It depends on what you're trying to do. Normally if it's a lock, they would go ahead and maintain being locked. And some of them would use a solenoid or a wax motor to lock that. It depends on what you're trying to do, turn it off or turn it on, and generally if it were going to lock it, it would be a constant voltage to that. But again, you have to check you're wiring diagram on your particular unit to see what's happening there.

HAROLD

They should show on there what voltage?

Kenmore Oven Not Working Even Though the Igniter Glows

JOHN MCCULLOCH

It should show the voltage, yes. Well thank you for calling this morning and we're going to go to Sandusky, Ohio, and Jeff has got a Kenmore stove that's giving him problems.

JEFF

I've got a problem with a gas stove. The burners on the top are working just fine, but my oven will kick out, and it well, we haven't used it much, we've been barbequing a lot lately, and its summer, you know how that is?

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah.

JEFF

I went underneath; you know how you can take the plate off the bottom?

JOHN SOWDEN

When you say it's kicking out, could you be more specific?

JEFF

Yeah, it just shuts...it'll warm up, and then it'll shut off. Like I said, it shut off there and now it won't start back up. I went underneath one time you know where the regulator is. I kind of played around with that pipe and stuff and it started back up.

JOHN SOWDEN

Do you have a glow bar ignition for this oven; is there a glow bar that glows bright orange?

JEFF

Yes.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay, and when you turn it on, is that glowing?

JEFF

Yes, it was.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay, but it's still not lighting?

JEFF

Right.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. The most common thing is the igniter has failed. Even though it's glowing bright orange, it actually has to draw a certain amount of current in order for it to work in conjunction with the oven safety valve and open it up. By you messing around or tapping on that area, you might have just jarred the valve to open that time to get it to work. You can check the regulator or the oven safety valve itself to see if it has failed, there's actually a small heater in there. If you take the wires off it, and, obviously, turn the power off, you should have one or two ohms of resistance across those wires going into, or the actual terminals on the safety valve. Ninety percent of the time, it's the igniter, and it's just not drawing enough current to interact in the system properly, even though it's glowing bright orange. It's the biggest argument we run into these days with the style is "I know it can't be the igniter because I see it glowing," and it's not a matter of if it's glowing or not, it's how much current it's drawing.

JOHN MCCULLOCH

So if he gets the model number and goes to Repairclinic.com he could have one on his doorstep...

JOHN SOWDEN

Whenever he chooses. He can choose next day, second day, standard ground. It depends on how long you want to cook on the grill down there in Sandusky, Jeff.

1991 Kitchen Aid Dishwasher, Model KUDM220T2, Not Completely Draining the Water

JOHN MCCULLOCH

And now let's go to a Kitchen Aid dishwasher question from Kevin, in Sterling Heights, on the Appliance Repair Show on News Talk 760 WJR. Kevin?

KEVIN

I have a little problem with my Kitchen Aid dishwasher. It runs, but it doesn't seem to fully drain the water in the bottom. It doesn't stay high enough up that it floods, but it's just below the height of that pan of dishes in the bottom. I've pulled out the plastic pieces that surround the rotating element, can't find anything clogged in there anywhere, so I didn't know if there's a pump or a switch or something because it just doesn't have the old oomph to it anymore. Its sixteen years old.

JOHN SOWDEN

Its sixteen years old? Okay, it depends on the style of dishwasher you have. Do you happen by any chance have the model number of the unit?

KEVIN

I tried to find that, but it's not on the door panel unfortunately.

JOHN SOWDEN

If you open up the door, look at the side of the machine on the frame itself and there should be a metal tag.

KEVIN

Okay, here we go! Model KUDM220T2.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay, that's the Monterey series, that's what the M stands for. At any rate, what you have is, it's not draining all the water out, you probably have either a restricted drain going out to your sink, you're air gap, if you have an air gap on your sink check that, you'll probably have a popcorn kernel or something like that stuck in there, and not allowing it to drain. If not, then something internal in the pump is either plugged up, or some of those impellers for the drain have been broken off and a lot of times that's from debris, broken glass and stuff getting in there, and as you pointed out it doesn't have enough oomph to push all that water out between the wash cycles and so, at the end of it you've got a small amount of water left. The machine is made to drain for a certain designated period of time, and if the pump doesn't have enough force, then it just accumulates water over and over again. I would start with checking your drain line, make sure it's free and clear from the dishwasher to the disposal or wherever it's draining to, and then from there I'd look into the internal pump assembly and see if something's broke in the pump mechanism, or it's full of debris and not able to get the water out.

KEVIN

How would I get to the pump?

JOHN SOWDEN

That is something that the easiest way is to take the whole assembly out. Take and loosen the hoses going to it and you might want to slide a towel underneath it because you're going to get some water on the floor, and a lot of those, the pump assembly will pop up right through the tank, you can pull it up from the top.

KEVIN

Okay, so I've got the machine installed her underneath the kitchen cabinet. If I pop off that front panel, will that be enough to get to it or from the inside am I going to get it or do I have to pull it out from the cabinet?

JOHN SOWDEN

No, you shouldn't have to pull it. If you take the lower panel off and look at the pump assembly, a lot of times there will be a series of locking tabs, and if you move those to unlock it you can just, once you disconnect the pump and motor you can just pop it out of there. But, I wouldn't do any of that until I inspected the drain line. Make it as short and sweet of a repair as you can on yourself.

1994 GE Potscrubber Dishwasher Fills with Water Then Makes a Humming Noise

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Yeah, why not make it easy? Gloria, in Romulus, you're next on the Appliance Repair Show on NewsTalk 760 WJR.

GLORIA

Okay, honey, I've got a GE Potscrubber 650. What its doing is, it will fill, then it goes to click to make the washer arm go into the washer cycle, and then it goes "mmmm", and that's it.

JOHN SOWDEN

That's it? The outstanding poor appliance joke is the reason it hums is because it doesn't know the words. From what you describe, the motor pump assembly has failed. The motor has quit working.

GLORIA

It's seized!

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah, it's seized. One thing you can do, if you remove the lower panel, there's a set of fan blades that cool the motor. If you, with the power off, can stick your finger in there, and again be careful because it's sharp, can sometimes move those fan blades and break loose if there's something caught in there. But most often that's a short-term repair, and you need a new motor pump assembly in that. They're about, I think around one hundred and fifty dollars for the motor and pump assembly, and then if you have it installed it can probably add another hundred dollars on to that.

GLORIA

I'd be better off buying a new dishwasher.

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, it depends on the shape of that one, if the racks are still in good shape...

GLORIA

Oh yeah, it's beautiful, I mean it's old, it's like thirteen years old, but I mean it's not that I've ever abused it.

JOHN SOWDEN

If it's generally in good shape, if you have somebody who can help put it in for you, it would be something to look at rather than just throw it away. But if it's time for a new one, or if you just wanted a new one with more cycles and buttons to push, yeah this would be the time to look at that.

GLORIA

Okay honey, thank you very much, I appreciate it.

2005 LG Front Load Washing Machine Has a Bad Odor during the Drain Cycle

JOHN MCCULLOCH

To Gibraltar and Kenneth with a washer with a bad smell on the Appliance Repair Show. How bad is it, Kenneth?

KENNETH

It's real bad. On the discharge cycle, I noticed a real bad smell. It's down in the basement, so normally when I'm upstairs I don't smell it, but when I go downstairs and it's on the rinse cycle I smell this odor and it's an LG front load washing machine that I bought in 2005.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay, now you say you only smell it when it's draining, you don't have any odor coming from the tank itself when you open it up to put the clothes in?

KENNETH

No, there doesn't seem to be any odor when I open it up, it's just when it's on rinse or discharge. But I do see on that front seal, when you open the door...

JOHN SOWDEN

You've got some scum and mold in there?

KENNETH

...yeah, scum and stuff.

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, I'd start by gently wiping that away the soap will kind of build up in those areas in a lot of front loaders. And then, I would go ahead and run it...do you have a sanitary cycle?

KENNETH

I'm not really sure.

JOHN SOWDEN

What I'd do is I'd run it through a cycle, put in some bleach, run it on the hottest cycle you have, maybe a couple of times, then empty, and normally that will clear out any of the smell. And that unit, do you use it a lot?

KENNETH

Yeah, it's used quite a bit.

JOHN SOWDEN

A lot of times water sitting there is a bigger problem; it's the lack of use. But I would start out with a real hot wash, empty it, and throw in some bleach to kill any of those bacteria and stuff and see if that doesn't help the smell.

KENNETH

Okay, so basically keep that seal clean. Wipe it down after every load?

JOHN SOWDEN

It doesn't hurt.

KENNETH

Yeah. Okay. Thank you very much.

Laying a Refrigerator down During a Move

JOHN MCCULLOCH

And, here is a question on moving a fridge from Sean, in Canton, on the Appliance Repair Show.

SEAN

I'm just moving out of state, North Carolina, and I have no more room in my moving van, and I want to know if I can lay a refrigerator down, or does it have to remain standing up?

JOHN SOWDEN

The rule of thumb is you shouldn't lay it down unless you absolutely have to. If you do, you should stand it upright, preferably for forty-eight hours before you plug it in and run it. The reason for that is when you lay it down, all the oil that lubricates the compressor runs out into the refrigerant lines, and then if you stand it right back up and plug it in, you're running a compressor with no oil in it and then it's a short trip to the appliance store to get a new one. I'd say if you can get around it at all, leave it upright. But if you do have to, and it's not recommended, then I would at least let it stand upright, let that oil run back into the compressor before you plug it in again.

SEAN

Okay, great, thanks a lot.

JOHN MCCULLOCH

What happens if he does that, I mean is it...the pressure just burns up?

JOHN SOWDEN

It's like draining all the oil out of your car and then starting it up, it's the same thing.

2001 Bosch Dishwasher Never Completes the Cycle

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Okay. Here's a question on another dishwasher from Bill, in Bruce Township, on the Appliance Repair Show. Bill?

BILL

Yes. I have a Bosch dishwasher; it's about six years old. Originally, the problem was the cycles were messed up, it just kept on going and going and going and the last five minutes it never finished. And then, there was still water in the dishwasher, so I went online and they said I need a new master panel.

JOHN SOWDEN

Yes, control board.

BILL

Control board. I'm on my third one, and it keeps on doing it. It changed from in the last five minutes to the last minute, but it never completes the cycle.

JOHN SOWDEN

It never completes the cycle?

BILL

Yes.

JOHN SOWDEN

I'd say if you've been through three control boards, then the control board probably isn't the problem and that there's something else causing it. Normally, the reason it won't advance through a rinse cycle is normally the water has to be heated to a certain point and then there's a thermostat that says, yeah, it's hot enough in here, we're going to go ahead and advance the cycle. So, I would start looking at the heating element for the unit and the thermostats mounted underneath it that control that and then send the signal back to the control board.

BILL

Now that would be in the very last minute of the program?

JOHN SOWDEN

Normally the last rinse cycle, so it's going to be in the last several minutes.

BILL

Like I said, it's at the very end and there's still water in there. But it's hot, it's hot, but it doesn't drain it all out and going into more of the dry mode.

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay, have you looked at the drain pump?

BILL

The drain pump works fine, it drains all out fine, but my wife says when it gets to the very last minute, instead of completing it and saying it's done, it keeps on going and going...

JOHN SOWDEN

Bill, I tell you what, we're running out of time, but log into our website, give us your model number and we'll research that and get back to you.