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Have you noticed that the washing machine began to buzz and jump a lot during the spin cycle? Perhaps the reason is the imbalance of the drum. If you have such a problem, you need to solve it, because excessive noise and vibration not only interfere with you, but also lead to wear on the parts of the washing machine.
In earlier models, imbalance leads to strong vibrations during the spin cycle. And modern models can stop if the system fails to rebalance.
Why does drum imbalance occur?
Drum imbalance occurs during spinning. The laundry is thrown into one lump, because of which an imbalance occurs, and the machine shakes violently. The following are the main reasons why imbalance occurs:
- When washing bed linen, smaller items could get stuck in the duvet cover. The result is a large lump of laundry.
- There is too much or too little laundry in the drum.
- Washing at a temperature of more than 60 degrees is accompanied by an additional intake of water during rinsing. This may lead to a slight imbalance. Pay attention to this when choosing the water temperature.
- Mechanical problems can also be the cause. Worn bearings or a rusty, bent shaft lead to increased vibration, and spinning may not occur at all.
Some models of washing machines give an error code on the display, which means an imbalance.
How to balance the drum with your own hands
Washing machine drum balancing is automatically built into modern Samsung, LG, Bosch, Ardo models. This additional feature is called Unbalance Control. In this case, the system will not allow the washer to go to the spin cycle until the problem is fixed. To do this, the drum rotates in different directions, then slowing down, then accelerating.
If you set the spin to maximum speed, but the imbalance is not corrected, then the machine will significantly reduce the spin speed so as not to harm its parts. Or the spin will be completely stopped. In any case, you will get almost wet laundry out of the drum.
How to balance yourself? Proceed in sequence:
- Unplug the washing machine.
- If the car stops full of water, you need to drain it.
- At the bottom of the front of the hull you will see a small hatch.
- Use a flathead screwdriver to release the latches and open the access door.
- Substitute the container, unscrew the filter from the housing.
- After draining the water, open the hatch door.
- Distribute the laundry evenly by hand or remove half of the items from the tub.
- Then resume washing.
In top-loading washers, it is easier to center the laundry, since water does not need to be drained to open the door. If, after distributing the clothes, the washer shakes again during the spin cycle, check the balancing stones. They are located behind the front and back panels of the CMA and are attached to the drum. Sometimes their fastenings are loosened, which leads to imbalance.
How to avoid imbalance
Make sure you load the drum in accordance with the norm for this washing machine. If the washing machine is designed for three kilograms of laundry, this does not mean that you need to fill the drum to failure. It should be 2/3 full. And:
- Do not fill the machine with too bulky things. When wet, they become heavy and can cause overload and imbalance.
- Try to load large and small items together for the right balance of SMA.
If you are just going to buy a washing machine, choose the load size according to the number of everyday items to wash. If, choosing a drum volume of 7-8 kg, you cannot collect enough for a daily load, washing once a week will not always be convenient.