My first landlord said never trust a washer that hums on spin cycle

Ignored him on a Samsung last month, spent 3 hours replacing the bearing assembly after it locked up mid-drain on a Thursday - anyone else have a pet peeve sound that always means trouble?

3 comments

3 Comments

loganburns2mo agoMost Upvoted

Man, that Samsung washer hum is a dead giveaway. Honestly, I've had a similar thing with a dryer that would make this low growl right before the belt snapped. Did the machine give you any other signs before that bearing failed, or did it just go from humming to locked up out of nowhere? I'm trying to figure out if those sounds are worth catching early or if they're basically a death sentence for the appliance once you hear 'em.

margaretw412mo ago

Isn't a hum usually a sign you caught it early enough to maybe save the thing? That growl before the belt snapped sounds like it was already on its way out, but a hum can be a worn bearing that still has some life left if you act fast. I'd say it's worth opening it up and checking before you just toss it, a bearing is a lot cheaper than a whole new machine.

tylerr392mo ago

Three hundred bucks for a new bearing kit versus eight hundred for a whole machine. That math is pretty simple if you ask me. I cracked open my old Maytag last summer for the same hum and it was just some gunk caked on the drum rollers. Cleaned it up and it ran quiet for another year until the drain pump finally gave out. Worst case you waste an afternoon and learn something. Best case you save yourself a trip to the store. Either way you are ahead of the guy who just buys a new washer every time it makes a funny noise.