It’s hard to characterize in a single sentence, so I’ll just break it down into its constituent parts.

The Beep

When the laundry cycle finishes it does the following:

  • It beeps super loudly for 5 seconds
  • If you don’t run to switch it off, it will wait 30 more seconds and then continue to beep super loudly for 5 seconds
  • If you switch it off whilst it’s beeping, it will continue to finish its beeping
  • There is no volume setting nor any way to switch this off.

The Door

When it’s finished. It does not release. That beeping sound from earlier to tell you to come get your laundry? No no no, that was just the “come and watch me drain” alarm.

  • Switching it off has no effect on the door release.
  • It releases whenever it wants. It could be 5 minutes, it could be 20.
  • When it does release, all you will get is a <clunk> sound, so you better be around to hear it.
  • If you miss this sound, it will lock itself again 10-15 minutes later and rotate your clothes.
  • It will then repeat the release process.

HELP ME. HE-ELP ME.

  • dafo@lemmy.world
    0·
    10 days ago

    We have/had a combination machibr from Whirlpool which we got in 2019. It was fairly cheap, I don’t remember exactly, but second €600 on a sale.

    I’ve replaced the heater element twice. The shock absorbers twice, because as I was installing a new one the threads stripped immediately. I’ve replaced the drain pump once. Now it’s been sitting unused for a month, rusting because the heater element has broken once again.

    Good thing we’ve got a shared laundry room in our apartment complex!

  • kat_angstrom@lemmy.world
    0·
    11 days ago

    Mine just throws a fit every decade or so, and stops generating heat.

    Also, it’s the most famous appliance in my house because a video on YouTube of me opening my dryer door has almost 500k views

  • wazzupdog (they/them)@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    0·
    11 days ago

    I learned my lesson the hard way too. After suffering, I bought the cheapest washer and dryer at the local appliance store, it has an end of cycle alarm that was a simple unplug in the back panel.

  • DigitalDilemma@lemmy.mlEnglish
    0·
    11 days ago

    Why don’t they have proper ball-bearing bearings on the drum instead of just a bushing?

    I had to replace mine last week. Okay, it’s been a decade of zero maintenance, and the part only cost a tenner, but still - if this was a decent bearing it would be fine.

    • BCsven@lemmy.ca
      0·
      11 days ago

      Assumptions: For the size a bearing can handle load better, and can be a self lubricating material. Ball bearings are small contact points, and a lot of off center vibration of the machine might wreck the ball bearing. Especially if it gets warm and grease runs out. So they would need to have a much larger ballbearing race like you see on industrial machinery, and the cost probably doesn’t justify it.

      My dryer seals broke this year, in replacing them I could see why they wore through. The back of drum wheels are just bearings (no balls), the weight of drum had the wheel bearings wear a wide groove in the support shafts so it shifted everything. And front has no bearings it just rides on the seal. I rotated/swapped them all around so they start with a fresh wear face and replaced a wheel. It should support itself better. Maybe we will get 5 more years out of it.

      • DigitalDilemma@lemmy.mlEnglish
        0·
        11 days ago

        I personally think it’s down to cost and planned obsolescence. The bearing is so soft, it’s clearly sacrificial. There’s a lot of dust from the eroded part, and the spindle was still as new. Even though the part is cheap and fitting it is quick, most people wouldn’t know how - and calling someone out to do it would cost more than half the price of a replacement dryer.

        Can’t be heat - ball bearings, even just steel ones, are fitted to engines and car wheels. A dryer gets hot, but not that hot - and even if it did, ceramics are available. Same with diameter - if it’s too small you just increase the spinder size.

        • BCsven@lemmy.ca
          0·
          11 days ago

          Yeah, main bearings on car, like crankshaft and cam are solid bearings and journals. Wheelbearings are a timpkin flat roller, I think, to support a lot of load and thrust. They are packed and sealed. But if it isn’t heat, then I would say the part size just gets big when you need an inner race (around shaft), bearings , then outer race, housed in a bracket. Lot cheaper for just the sacrificial part, till the wear like you show starts affecting other parts.

  • ikidd@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    11 days ago

    That sounds like a “sell it and make it someone else’s problem” situation.

  • Mayor Poopington@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    11 days ago

    Had an apartment with a washer that could wake up the dead. And of course, no alarm setting. Turns out, it was pretty easy to open the front plate and rip out the buzzer.

  • adarza@lemmy.caEnglish
    0·
    11 days ago

    mine is a few blocks away, and requires sacrifice of an always-increasing amount of coinage (literally every other trip costs more).

    the dryer half does the same but also now takes twice as long to do its job–requiring even more coinage sacrifice.

    they’re also now scared of the dark (it isn’t 24/7 like it used to be), meaning i can’t go there at odd hours to avoid people.

  • ladicius@lemmy.world
    0·
    11 days ago

    Y’all have been to cheap with your washing machines.

    Stop whining complaining and buy quality. It pays.

    • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      11 days ago

      1. Ironically, the cheapest machines are less likely to be annoying in the way OP describes because they have less fancy electronics (or might even still be electromechanical if it’s an old design, but probably not because PCBs and microcontrollers are even cheaper nowadays).

      2. Even expensive machines aren’t necessarily higher-quality these days, unless you’re really careful to do your research and buy the right brand. For example, I would not actually expect an expensive Maytag to last longer than a cheap Amana because both brands are owned by Whirlpool and might very well share a bunch of the same internal parts. The Maytag would be fancier and prettier, but probably not actually better-made.

      • Laurel Raven@lemmy.zipEnglish
        0·
        10 days ago

        Having just replaced a Maytag appliance only 4 years into its supposed 10 year warranty (that only covers the parts not likely to fail) because it would have cost as much as the machine did new to fix it, yeah… The Maytag is absolutely not better made and their “reputation” is just false advertising

  • blame [they/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    0·
    11 days ago

    the scale in this picture is so confusing

    anyway my current washer & dryer are pretty good but ive had ones in the past that would have different behaviors like this…unlocking is always one of the more frustrating ones. A previous washing machine would also display a unitless number that counted down until it was done. It didn’t seem to be time based because 18 didn’t mean 18 minutes, it meant 18 more numbers until it was done.

  • winni@lemmy.world
    0·
    11 days ago

    ours is im the basement (rental apartment), quiet but likes to eat socks, the damn thing. I think electric plug is just carmouflage, it runs on socks

  • BCsven@lemmy.ca
    0·
    11 days ago

    We have a front filter drain model. If draining is stuck you flip the flap open, and uncap the drain tube and lower it into a shallow container. Check the filter, and close the flap. I have had to do this 2-3 times in 5 years

  • Dave.@aussie.zone
    0·
    11 days ago

    Samsung front loader washing machine here.

    It is generally musical while selecting program options. It sings a little song when finished, which is only after it unlocks the door. The little song only plays once. The little song can be changed to other tunes by subtle and undocumented button presses.

    After about 10 minutes it plays a few notes while turning itself off that are easily recognisable as the notes it plays when it turns itself off, so if you miss the first little song, once you hear that you know it’s definitely finished. After that it is done. No more door locking shenanigans or tumbling or clothes.

    Generally I use the “sportswear” cycle which is about 1 hour, my clothes are generally not that dirty. Sometimes I treat towels / linen to a hot cotton cycle which is 2.5 hours and a 90 degree (Celsius) wash.

    Had it for 10 years now, no mechanical or electrical issues. I always leave the door ajar when finished and once every few months I do a cleaning cycle.

    I also have a Fisher and Paykel dryer. I have owned it for 8 years, in which time it has needed a replacement drive belt as it gets used heavily. The bushes on the drum need replacing soon, but I just turned it upside down so it will last for a while longer

    Regarding your door issues, well that’s because idiots try and open the door during a load, and then when it’s locked, they turn it off and still try and open the door. They subsequently complain about the water going everywhere. Don’t forget that manufacturers have to deal with the lowest common denominator end user.

    • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      11 days ago

      Samsung front loader washing machine here.

      Had it for 10 years now, no mechanical or electrical issues.

      Good luck. This is probably in your imminent future:

      That’s called the “spider arm,” and is the only part in the entire machine that’s exposed to water but made of non-corrosion-resistant metal. It is very obviously designed that way for planned obsolescence.

      If your machine starts making a loud thunk and the drum stops turning, that’s the part you need to replace.