Washer question as faulty

[South Yorks]

Hello 

 

I took delivery of a washer purchased from Currys on the 14th August.  The washer was plumbed in by my husband and has worked fine until the 31st October. 

 

On the 31st it started leaking water from underneath, reported this under the guarantee and the engineer has just been. 

 

There is a hole in the drum which he says has been caused by either a coin/nail/screw left in a pocket but there isnt anything in the machine or drum.  Or a piece of polystyrene left in the cavity which was whole. 

 

Surely, the machines drum should be able to handle a coin/screw/nail, for me this item is not fit for purpose as going by the coin it could have been a metal button on trousers?

[BankFodder]

When the engineer carried out the inspection, did they actually managed to find this coin?

You say "… going by the coin…" as if you have seen the coin in particular and have managed to form an opinion about it.

[South Yorks]

Nothing found other than polystyrene 

[BankFodder]

So please can you tell us about the hole. Do you still have the washing machine? How big is the hole? Does it look as if the drum has been pierced from the outside or from the inside?

If you still have the washing machine then is it possible to produce a picture – well lit and clear and focused of the hole – from the inside and also from the outside?

[South Yorks]

Sorry taken a while had to wait for someone else to be in house to hold washer.  The hole is finger nail size and there is no damage internal drum or seal.  

 

Checked and nothing on floor under the washer.

 

 

Sorry - just seem other question just feel jaggard edges 

washer doc.pdf

[BankFodder]

Thanks for the picture. That looks like the outside of the drum – is that correct? If there are jagged edges, then if it was pierced outside the jagged edges will be on the inside. If it was pierced from the inside than the jagged edges would be on the outside.

Can you tell us about this please

[Hammy1962]

I'm no Washer Engineer, but if that was a Gearbox it would never pass as a manufacturing defect.

 

Two things, If you have taken out a Service Plan or insurance which includes accidental damage then it might be covered under that, just don't tell dx100uk as he hates them.

 

Or, maybe, if you have accidental damage on your house contents insurance you might be able to claim under that.

 

H

[BankFodder]

I tend to agree that it is unlikely to have been a manufacturing defect but it is very curious and it would be interesting to find out more.

My overall feeling is that it is unlikely that anything can be done about it without some very hard independent evidence that the damage was caused by some defect

[South Yorks]

There is nothing in or under machine though.

 

How can this be accidental 

 

Surely machine should be able to withstand more than 3mths of use 

[BankFodder]

I completely agree with you. However that a defect in the washing machine are supplied to you could cause a whole to occur in the drum. I'm afraid the most likely cause is something which was put in there as part of the washing.
I think that a county court judge would probably prefer this view in the absence of any specific evidence.

On that basis your argument has to be that people leave foreign objects in washing all the time and it is nearly unheard of for an object to penetrate the drum. On that basis the question has to be whether there was some fragility in the drum in your washing machine which meant that it is more susceptible to being pierced by a foreign object left in the washing.

I'm afraid that to ascertain this you would properly have to have the drum removed and assessed by some expert – possibly a metallurgist – and I can see that costing a huge amount of money.
If you manage to establish your case then you would get that money back but it would certainly increase the risk factor of beginning a claim in the first place.

[Hammy1962]

It’s accidental because it’s not deliberate. Even the most creative engineer would struggle to associate that hole with a manufacturing defect. 
 

H

[South Yorks]

Still struggling what has caused the hole though 

[dx100uk]

thats not the metal drum though is it?

the drum is the internal metal bit that goes around with your clothes in

thats it the plastic surround that the drum sits in and that hole is near the bottom at the drain port is it not?

[South Yorks]

Yes it is at the bottom 

[dx100uk]

Faulty plastic moulding, sometimes they have lack of heat or air trapped during the moulding process that creates a weal point that blows out

 

. Get a good lump of epoxy putty or 'sugar' putty and cover the hole by atleast 1cm all around. 1cm thick..Job done.

 

 

[BankFodder]

But if it isn't a drum, then how come the water leaked?

[Hammy1962]

The Drum is the Stainless Steel round bit which sits on bearings in a large plastic drum housing. The drum spins around with your pants in it. At the bottom of the plastic housing are the filters and heating elements which don't move. The water sits in the plastic housing and the drum washes through it.

 

H

[dx100uk]

thats the bottom of the drain housing near the outlet pipe to the water pump. gravity is simply at work here.

block the hole off ...job done. 

 

not as uncommon as one might think esp if the machine is not 100% level and all adjustable feet are supporting the machine in a fast spin cycle and the plastic is not shaken too bits exposing any weaknesses and preventing twisting of the whole drum support housing 'bucket' on its screws to the chassis. there is alot of weight involved with a full drum of washing and water at the start of the spin/drain cycle.