What is worse than a day dedicated to loads of dirty clothes? A water leak flooding the laundry, the laundry room, the nearby carpet, walls, baseboards and more.
One of the top causes of catastrophic water damage in homes, a broken washer supply hose can release 650 gallons of water per hour into your home. In fact, bursting washing machine hoses are responsible for approximately $150 million per year in flood damage in the United States. Indoor water damage due to ruptured washing machine hoses can cause even more damage if no one is home when it happens.
Newer washing machines are so complicated to fix, you may feel helpless if you’re trying to find the source of a leak. Before worrying about the machine, worry about the house first. If a rupture occurs, 1) turn off both water supply faucets on the wall to stop the flow and 2) call the water damage cleanup experts at Design Builders for all your water damage cleanup needs in Las Vegas. Perhaps most importantly, the water mitigation crew will also apply mold remediation methods to prevent any growths from occurring near your washing machine.
This one is embarrassingly simple. The most common reason that will cause a washing machine to leak water is overloading. Look at your user’s guide for load limits and verify you’re not putting too much laundry in. Remember to balance heavy articles evenly around the drum.
The second most common leaks are from the hot or cold water fill hoses or the drainage line. Look at the hose’s connection from the back of the washing machine and be sure it’s properly secured. They’ll likely need replacement after a few years because they can crack, and leak.
Leaks under the washer are commonly caused by a damaged water pump or compromised hoses connected to the pump. Usually, you will notice lots of rumbling or shaking from the machine during a wash cycle if the pump is faulty.
If your washing machine is old, or if you relocated it and used the same hoses, the gaskets in those hoses can become brittle over time and leak. The coupler is a rubber or plastic seal between the motor and the drum of the washing machine. It’s actually supposed to break in the event of a malfunction as a way to save the actual machinery.
While fabulously efficient machines, the practical physics of front loaded washers work against you when there is a leak. If the door seal on a front-load washer is not kept free of soil and soap, the seal will leak. Inspect the seal and look for punctures or trapped items. Clean the gasket weekly and pay close attention to the edges.
A front-load washer can also leak in the back overflow area due to too many suds. You must only use a small amount of HE detergent. Too much can lead to excessive suds which can find their way out of your machine and lead to water damage. Sometimes, water softeners can increase your detergent’s ability to produce suds.
Note the location of the puddle when determining the cause. However, since water flows to gather at the lowest point in the area, if your floor isn’t level, the leak may be hard to pinpoint. Be sure your washer is level before you tackle a leaking problem.
With 30 years of experience building and restoring properties, you can count on the water damage cleanup experts at Design Builders after an appliance failure. When you contact the water damage cleanup experts at Design Builders for your water damage needs, you are getting a fully licensed general contractor that can restore any structural damage for your home.
