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Topics Discussed:

• 1992 Kenmore Upright Freezer Turns On but Doesn't Get Cold
• 1993 Sharp Countertop Microwave Oven Doesn't Heat
• Whirlpool Gas Dryer Control Board Not Taking Commands After a Power Outage
• Whirlpool Gas Oven Broiler Works but Oven Does Not Heat For Bake Options
• 1995 Whirlpool Gas Dryer is Tumbling but Not Heating
• 2005 GE Countertop Microwave Turntable Coupling Cracked
• 1958 GE Cabinet Style Refrigerator Not Cooling and Freezer Has Frost Buildup
• Amana Refrigerator Ice Maker Overflowing and Creating Ice Buildup in Bin
• 2006 Maytag Atlantis Washing Machine Has Pervasive Odor

 

 

1992 Kenmore Upright Freezer Turns On but Doesn't Get Cold

 

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Here's Bill, in Grosse Ile, with a question on a Kenmore freezer, here on the Appliance Repair Show. Good morning, Bill!

 

BILL

Up north at our cottage we have a small freezer and I've had it up there for a number of years and last year the wife and I tried to restart it and see if it would function, and it turns on and everything else, but it never gets cold. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Freon may have seeped out of it. I was wondering is there a chance of using the 134 Freon type of thing that they have. Could we inject that into it and bring it back to life?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Is this a chest freezer?

 

BILL

No, it's an upright.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

It's an upright. It's a manual defrost? You have to defrost it yourself?

 

BILL

You know, I've had it so long, I can't really remember.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

More than likely it's a manual defrost. Most of the smaller freezers, even the uprights, are manual defrost, where every six months you have to turn them off and let them thaw.

 

BILL

Okay. It's a good fifteen years old or more.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, to answer your question, first of all, if it's running and not cooling, I think your suspicions are correct. You've probably developed a leak in the system and unfortunately, for most of the chest freezers and a lot of the uprights, the leak is in the condenser coil, which is actually in the cabinet. So what they do when they manufacture these is, they put the refrigerant lines around the outer shell, and then they put in the inner compartment and then they foam all the way around it. So to get at that condenser to repair the leak is almost impossible. You have to totally tear apart the whole freezer and it's not worth it.

 

BILL

Okay.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Now, on some units there's what they call an external condenser kit, which you would then go into the refrigeration system and bypass all that tubing that's on the inner portion of the liner, and then mount an exterior radiator or condenser to the unit. But again, for what it would cost to go buy another freezer, it would probably be cheaper to go do that.

As far as the refrigerant goes, if it's fifteen years old-

 

BILL

It's at least that old, sir.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah. If that's the case, more than likely it's R-12 refrigerant in there and the R-134, to put that in there, it's not going to last very long. You don't want to mix those two.

 

BILL

It's not worth even messing with, is that correct?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

If it's running and not cooling and there's nothing really obvious that's wrong with it, to get at the leak is a hard thing to do. So yeah, the cost of messing around with it, plus a new one is going to be more energy efficient anyway. So I recommend that you jack it up and put a new one underneath it.

 

BILL

Okay! That's a neat way of putting it! I thank you very kindly for your advice, sir.

 

1993 Sharp Countertop Microwave Oven Doesn't Heat

 

JOHN MCCULLOCH

And here's Jan, in Troy, with a question on a microwave, on the Appliance Repair Show. Go ahead please, Jan.

 

JAN

I have a Sharp convection microwave oven. It's about fifteen years old. The microwave part of it has quit, and I'm wondering if it's worth my while to get it repaired?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

The convection oven does work? The element still comes on for that? You can still use it as an oven?

 

JAN

Right.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

And the microwave itself, does it count down and not heat, or does it not program? What specifically is it doing or not doing?

 

JAN

It counts down. Yeah, it counts down, but it doesn't heat. It doesn't work.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay and does it make any abnormal noises? Have you noticed anything in its operation that seems out of the norm?

 

JAN

The only thing I hear is that the turntable is a little grinding, but that's it.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, normally a countdown but no heat situation, there are several things that can cause that to happen. One is just a door switch in the microwave that supplies power to the high voltage could have failed or anything in the high voltage section of the microwave:  there's a magnetron, a transformer, a diode and a capacitor that make up the high voltage system. I normally don't recommend people working on their own microwaves because they do store electrical energy even when unplugged.

 

JAN

Right.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

First of all, this is a microwave combination, so it was probably a fairly expensive unit when it was purchased. So to go out and buy something similar would probably be three to five hundred dollars, I would say.

 

JAN

That's correct.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

So I would say at this point, sometimes it's something really inexpensive that can cause this, and if it needs a new mag tube or something like that, you could have a two hundred dollar repair. At this point, I'd at least have somebody come out and look at it and diagnose it. You'd pay the cost of a service call, but it might be worth it given the cost of a new machine, and if it's something fairly simple then you're up and running again. If it's a major repair, then you might want to look at shopping and see what kind of new one would fit into your kitchen.  The other thing you want to keep in mind when you're replacing one is if you're not going to install it yourself, you're more than likely going to pay fifty to one hundred dollars to have somebody come out and take down the old one.

 

JAN

This is a counter top.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Oh, this is a counter top? Well, that's easy then. Most of those are over-the-range units.

 

JAN

Right.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

If it's a counter top you're in even better shape, because a lot of repair places will let you drop off the microwave and pay a nominal fee to diagnose them. Normally, it's between twenty and forty dollars to have a bench check on that. If that's the case, I'd certainly have somebody look at it before you toss it.

 

JAN

Okay. I thank you very much!

 

Whirlpool Gas Dryer Control Board Not Taking Commands After a Power Outage

 

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Here's Anita, in Warren, with a question on a Whirlpool dryer on the Appliance Repair Show.

 

ANITA

Hi. I'm having a problem with my gas dryer. It's electronic, and I went downstairs to use it and all the lights are on like it's set to run and it won't shut off, it won't let me hit the cancel or the off. You know, it turns off while I'm holding the button, but as soon as I let go it goes back. It won't let me switch to a different kind of setting or anything either.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

So the control board is not taking a command?

 

ANITA

Right and we had power surges and the power went out for a couple seconds yesterday, and I'm wondering if that screwed something up?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

It's more than likely that that could be the cause. The first thing you should do is turn the power off to the unit for several minutes, and then turn it back on, because-

 

ANITA

We did that. We unplugged it for about ten minutes and then plugged it back in. It said, "power something" and then it went right back to doing what it was doing.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

So it recognized the power failure?

 

ANITA

Yeah.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

And the board is not taking a program now.

 

ANITA

Right. It's set on permanent press, 46 minutes. It won't let me change it to anything else.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah, it sounds like the control board has been compromised. If you've had any power spikes or brownouts, with all of the lightning strikes we've been having lately, then you might need a new control board for that unit.

 

ANITA

Okay.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

If you take the model number as it reads off the door or the control panel go to our website, RepairClinic.com, and put that into the search box, you'll see a picture of all the common parts, including your control board.

 

ANITA

Okay.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

You can have one shipped to your door; so you can repair it yourself, or you can have somebody come out and do that for you and just have the part ready so it's there when the repair man comes.

 

ANITA

Do you know if it's easy to replace, so that my husband could do it?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Most of the control panels are just a matter of a few screws to access. Obviously, we'd like you to turn the power off to the machine first. Most of the control boards either snap into a plate with some plastic tabs or there are a few screws that mount them, and then there are some wires that you have to detach from the old board and then plug into the new one.

 

ANITA

Okay.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

But most of the time it's pretty straightforward.

 

ANITA

I think he can handle that! All right, thank you very much!

 

Whirlpool Gas Oven Broiler Works but Oven Does Not Heat For Bake Options

 

JOHN MCCULLOCH

We'll go now to Sheila, in Swartz Creek, with a question on a Whirlpool oven, on the Appliance Repair Show.  Hi Sheila, go ahead please.

 

SHEILA

Yes, I have an AccuBake Whirlpool oven and range. The broiler works, but the oven doesn't heat up.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Is this gas or electric?

 

SHEILA

Gas.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Gas. So the broiler works, but the bake does not work.

 

SHEILA

No.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Do you see, when you set it up for bake, does this have a control board in it? A digital display?

 

SHEILA

Well, it's electronic...

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. So you set it up for bake at 350 degrees or whatever, and then it just sits there?

 

SHEILA

It doesn't heat up. It counts down, and you can see it lighting up in that little opening underneath the oven...

 

JOHN SOWDEN

So you do see a glow?

 

SHEILA

I do see a glow.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. Well, I would say that even though you see that glow, which normally indicates that the igniter in the system is getting power, it's still more than likely that the igniter has failed. The igniter has to heat up to a certain point, and it actually has a resistance change or resistance drop that then allows the current flow to act on the gas valve and open it up. Most often it's pretty common that the bake will go out and the broil will work fine, because most often people use their bake ninety percent of the time, versus their broil. So I would say that the element of the bake igniter is bad. One thing you can do, if you go to our website and take the model number as it reads off of the unit, you can see if the bake and the broil igniters are the same. If they are, then you can simply remove the broil igniter from its position and mount it down in the bake and see if it works.

 

SHEILA

Remove the broiler one?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah. All you're doing is swapping them out to check.

 

SHEILA

As long as they're the same?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

As long as they're the same, right.

 

SHEILA

Igniters?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Yes.  Some have a different one for the bake and the broil, but others use the same igniter for both.

 

SHEILA

Where's the model number on this unit? It's not on the inside of the door of the oven.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Do you have a broiler drawer or a lower kick panel?

 

SHEILA

Yeah.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Slide that out and it will probably be a sticker along the frame.

 

SHEILA

The bottom little storage drawer?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Yes.

 

SHEILA

All right! I'll have him try that.

 

1995 Whirlpool Gas Dryer is Tumbling but Not Heating

 

JOHN MCCULLOCH

And we go now to Shirley, in Brooklyn, with a question on a Whirlpool dryer, here on the Appliance Repair Show. Hi Shirley!

 

SHIRLEY

I have a Whirlpool dryer. It's about thirteen years old and it's not heating.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay.

 

SHIRLEY

And I really don't have the model number with me, but I do know where it is.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay and is this gas or electric?

 

SHIRLEY

It's gas.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

It's gas and when you set it to heat, the drum turns, everything works, but...

 

SHIRLEY

Everything turns but when I open it up, the clothes aren't dry! It's just not heating.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Do you have, on this particular unit, is there a lower kick panel on this or is the front of it all one piece?

 

SHIRLEY

The front is all one piece.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. On a lot of those, so you can still see what's going on, if you look at the front panel you'll see normally about one inch plastic plug, that's basically a peep hole that you can look inside the dryer while it's running. You can pop that out and look in there, and what you want to see is if the igniter is glowing or not. In normal operation you will see the igniter glow bright red for a minute or so and then you'll hear a click which is the light sensor saying, "I recognize the igniter is glowing", and then you'll hear the gas turn on.

 

SHIRLEY

Do you think it might be the igniter?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

It might be the igniter. Also on some units, there's a thermal fuse, which will either cut power to the whole dryer and keep it from turning, or cut power to the heating cycle, depending on how it's wired.

 

SHIRLEY

I tried both cycles and it wasn't heating.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

How long is the vent on this unit?

 

SHIRLEY

It's only about a foot and a half, but my husband took that off and cleaned that all out and that didn't solve the problem.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

But was it plugged up at the time?

 

SHIRLEY

No, I don't think it was plugged up. Every time I dry I pull everything out of the lint system. We keep that pretty clean.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, at that point I'd say that more than likely your problem lies in the ignition system of the dryer. There are a couple ways you can go. You can either call for service or if it's something you want to tackle yourself, you can go to our website, RepairClinic.com, and type "Dryer Help" in the search box and it will take you to our dryer help page where we have some pictorial breakdowns of the different brands of dryers. You can also get step-by-step instructions on how to disassemble and how to get that front panel off and diagnose the machine yourself. So if you choose to save a few bucks and do it yourself, we have a lot of information available for you to use but if not, you can always have a service man come out and take care of the problem for you.

 

SHIRLEY

Do you think it's worth doing, at thirteen years old?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Sure! A lot of the dryers today, especially since yours is a Whirlpool, are similar in design and built as the one that you have. So you're not upgrading much in terms of design and reliability by buying a new one. If you need, after fifteen years, to put a hundred bucks into it, that's ten dollars per year maintenance cost, which isn't really that exorbitant of a price to pay. While you're in there you might want to look at the belt and the rollers and some of the wearing parts. There are rebuild kits that you can buy that will replace all the wearing parts for your unit. So if you can get it heating again, put a new belt and roller on it, and hopefully get another ten or fifteen years out of it before you have to get a new one.

 

SHIRLEY

Yeah, I know. I have a Maytag washer that's I think twenty two years old and it's still rolling!

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Yes! As long as everything's turning and everything else is working fine, most often the components for the ignition cycle aren't that expensive and again, belts and rollers aren't that expensive either. So if you can do it yourself, put a few bucks into it and get a few more years out of it.

 

SHIRLEY

Okay. Well thank you so much.

 

2005 GE Countertop Microwave Turntable Coupling Cracked

 

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Here's Bob, in Traverse City, with a microwave question, on the Appliance Repair Show. Good morning, Bob, go ahead please.

 

BOB

I've got a GE countertop microwave, about three years old, and the little plastic spindle for the carousel has just snapped off. I'm just curious, is it worth taking that in to have it repaired, or is it going to cost me a fortune to have a seventy-five cent part put in?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

The coupling, the center piece that sits on the turntable motor has melted or broken?

 

BOB

It's cracked.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Most of those will just come right off. A lot of times when they melt on there you have to pry them off. You can normally slide a new one right back on. Does the motor still turn?

 

BOB

Well, I haven't stuck my head in there while it's running, so I guess I don't know.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, I advise strongly that you just view through the door rather than going the extra mile and sticking your head in there, which you can't do anyway because they won't run with the door open!  If you can, you've got a real problem in the wiring. Most often that's just what they call a coupling and it presses onto the shaft of the stirrer motor, which is mounted in the floor of the microwave. What it does is that engages the tray, normally the bottom of the tray will have a pattern that interlocks with the coupling. A lot of times they'll heat up and melt, they'll get some debris on that and then the microwave is actually cooking that along with the part.

 

BOB

Gotcha.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

You can pull them off and slide a new one on. Getting the old one off can be a pain sometimes because they will melt onto that shaft, so you might want to get in there and try to pry it off but once you get it off, slide a new one on there, and as long as the motor isn't compromised, it should be back in operation. Most of the couplings are between five and twenty-five dollars, depending on the model.

 

BOB

Okay.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

If you go to our website, RepairClinic.com, and put the model number in, it will give you a better idea of not only the cost, but you'll see what the uncompromised coupling looks like and give you a better idea of how to get it off. 

 

BOB

So to see if that motor is still turning, maybe take the glass tray off, run it and just kind of look in with a flashlight and see if there's any movement?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah. Just see if it's turning. You don't want to run it empty for very long. You could just put a little cup of water in the corner or something like that, but you want to try to have a load in there. You just need a quick visual to see if the motor is still turning.

 

1958 GE Cabinet Style Refrigerator Not Cooling and Freezer Has Frost Buildup

 

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Here's Brian, in Franklin, with a fifty year old refrigerator, on the Appliance Repair Show. Hi Brian, go ahead please!

 

BRIAN

I have a fifty year old General Electric. I call it a cabinet refrigerator; it mounts on the wall and the ceiling. It has got two doors on the left, the refrigerator, and a door on the right, that's the freezer. It is running, but I don't think the compressor is coming on.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Now, is every part of the machine failing?  The freezer, the refrigerator?

 

BRIAN

For three days the freezer has had frost on it but I'm not cooling in the refrigerator at all.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. And this is a built-in to your cabinet's custom?

 

BRIAN

It looks like your upper cabinets of your kitchen.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Right. Now is the compressor and all that what they call a remove unit? Where they have the compressor and the condenser in a separate part of the home? Or is it up above?

 

BRIAN

No, it's in the top of the unit.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay, because I've seen them both ways. Well, more than likely, if it's running and not cooling, what you have is a leak in the system and given the age of it, you're kind of in a dilemma because to replace it, it's going to be a lot of cabinet work and things of that nature.

 

BRIAN

Right. I want to stay with the unit I've got.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

But to have it repaired, you're probably going to spend the long dollar on that, because more than likely all the parts for that unit have been discontinued for quite some time.  So if you need a cooling coil or something like that, it's going to have to be fabricated. On those older ones, it's often just a bunch of copper tubing that they have in a coil or a serpentine pattern along the back wall, or along the perimeter of the cabinet.

 

BRIAN

Okay. Would it be worth having somebody come out just to look at it?  Could it be something as simple as just needing a recharge?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, obviously if it's got a small leak, a recharge will get it up and running temporarily. You never know how long; it depends on the leak, and they never get better, they always get worse. The other thing is that, with all the refrigerant laws and things of that nature, most people won't just dump a charge knowing that it's leaking.  They'll want to repair the leak and then make sure that the system is sealed before they would recharge it. That's again where the money comes in.  I would call several places and let them know what you have, because a lot of them have probably never even seen-

 

BRIAN

Most people don't understand what it is.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah! Fortunately or unfortunately, I've worked on several of those units; there's a lot of old Revcos and things like that that were similar that were part of the cabinets.  They were remote systems where the compressor and the condenser were actually down in the basement. I've worked on several of those and a lot of it was fabrication, where if you have to replace something you find yourself kind of remaking it, putting in all new tubing and that can be expensive. I'm sure there's somebody out there that's done it and you just need to let them know right up front what you have, and let them know before they come out.

 

BRIAN

Right. I think we had it recharged about thirty years ago and we haven't had any trouble since then, so I just was hoping for another thirty years.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

I doubt it! I could be wrong, but normally if it's something that's slowly happening then it's a sign of a leak in the system. With something like that, again, if you want to keep that, I'd recommend that you have the service person inspect the wiring. You can spend several hundred dollars or more, but then also the cost of tearing it out, the cabinets, all that good stuff, that can be an issue. Then on the other hand, if it's time to do it, maybe it's time to do it, to remodel the kitchen. So you're at a pivotal point there in your decision making.

 

BRIAN

Do you know of anybody who might know about this? Because that's my trouble, I've been calling people and they don't know what I'm talking about.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Yeah. The one thing you might do is, if you call people that work on appliances, it's kind of hit and miss. You may want to talk to somebody who does commercial work or light commercial work as well. People that work on walk-in coolers and things of that nature, who are really geared just for refrigeration only.

 

BRIAN

Okay.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

They might have a better idea and/or expertise because that's what they do all day, is just refrigeration. You might have better success that way. You might find an old timer who can come out there and tell you what's going on.

 

BRIAN

Yeah, I need somebody old! Okay. Well, thank you for your help!

 

Amana Refrigerator Ice Maker Overflowing and Creating Ice Buildup in Bin

 

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Here's Gus, in Saginaw, with a question on an Amana freezer, on the Appliance Repair Show. Gus, good morning!

 

GUS

Good morning! I have an ice making unit in my freezer that is, when the water comes into the unit, which is one of the units that the ice comes out of, is overflowing into the ice box and creating an ice buildup.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

So the ice maker is leaking water from the ice maker mold?

 

GUS

Yeah, it seems like its overflowing. Now, I might add that I had a leak in the unit and I replaced the coupling on it and it seems like since the coupling was put on, it's been overflowing.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

You replaced a coupling...

 

GUS

In the back of the freezer, where the water comes in, it was leaking.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay.

 

GUS

That little brass or copper fitting that goes in there, I replaced that. It seems like since then, the unit has been leaking. What one has to do with the other I have no idea.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Is this a lot of water that you're getting, or is it just a small puddle in the back of the ice maker?

 

GUS

There isn't anything in the back of the ice box now. In the back of the freezer where the unit is, it's building up ice in the box that the cubes fall in.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Right, in the ice bin itself.

 

GUS

Yeah.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

But is it more towards the back...?

 

GUS

Yes!

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, in light of that, the ice maker, when it fills, the water travels through the water valve and it trickles down the fill tube and then that tube sits in a cup at the rear of the ice maker.

 

GUS

That's right.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Now, what happens, at times, is that water will actually, as it fills, back up and travel underneath that plastic cup and then drip off the back edge of the ice maker.

 

GUS

Okay.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

So the quickest way to fix that is to take out the two or three screws that retain the ice maker, pull it out and that rear cup will kind of snap out of place, and just put a small dab of silicone on the mold, so that when you snap that rear bushing fill tube assembly back in, that it seals it up so the water can't back up and overflow on the rear of the unit.

 

GUS

Okay. It seems to be coming out where the last ice cube comes out, closest to the unit.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Right, at the very rear of the machine? It's dripping down the back of the ice maker?

 

GUS

It's dripping down the hole where the ice cube comes out.  It seems like its overflowing.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Well, it's possible, normally those will fill for about seven seconds and so you want to make sure that's what you're getting, as far as the fill goes. After that, the only other thing that can cause it is if you're not getting a full fill. What happens is, it will fill and then the ice maker will short cycle because the sensing thermostat for that is at the very front of the ice maker.

 

GUS

I see.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

So that will cycle the unit prematurely, so what you'll have is partially frozen cubes, but now you're getting more water because it's not sensing properly and it'll start spraying out. So I would start by taking it out and sealing up that rear dam or that rear portion where the water comes in. Then empty the ice maker out, put it back in and let it naturally fill. If the problem goes away, great, if not, then I would start looking at how much water you're getting into the machine. It's possible that the ice maker water valve is sticking open, but from what you're describing, a lot of times it's just the water dripping off the back edge and then freezing all the ice cubes into one big glob.

 

GUS

Back in the rear corner?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Yes.

 

GUS

All right, well thank you for your help. I appreciate it.

 

2006 Maytag Atlantis Washing Machine Has Pervasive Odor

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Let's talk to Karen in Rochester.

 

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Karen in Rochester, welcome to the Appliance Repair Show. You've got to be quick.

 

KAREN

Okay! I have a Maytag Atlantis washing machine that I recently acquired. I'm told it's about a year and a half years old. My situation is it has an odor to it that I cannot get rid of. I've tried to clean all the parts I can get to, I've run multiple loads of bleach and I've run loads of baking soda. What can I do to permanently get rid of this smell?

 

JOHN SOWDEN

You said that you recently acquired this. Was it used when you purchased it?

 

KAREN

Yes, it was.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. So you have no idea how it was used in its past ownership?

 

KAREN

No. I'm just assuming the gentleman that I got it from used it.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

And how long did it sit unused?

 

KAREN

Never.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

So it's always been in operation? It hasn't sat out in the garage for a while?

 

KAREN

Right.

 

JOHN SOWDEN

Okay. It sounds like there's something stuck, normally in the outer tub, that's causing that. It could be a soap scum buildup; sometimes even a small garment or something of that nature that gets caught between the tubs; normally you'd run into draining and spinning problems if that was the case but there's something that's staying in the tub, as you know. So what I would recommend is using the hot cycle, you said you've already tried the bleach. I'd try that again, but what I'd also do is after it's full to the very high level, add about another gallon or so of hot water and take that water up just a little bit higher than it normally would be, and that way if you've got a soap scum ridge along the outer tub it will help wash that away.

 

JOHN MCCULLOCH

Try that and if it doesn't work, get back to us next week!