This is how appliance repairmen make money

[MrSquished]

So I am not afraid to do a little handiwork at home. Light level stuff, I'm not going to go out of my comfort zone, but enough to do at least some troubleshooting. I did post earlier this year about replacing parts in my fridge.

I have a stacked set of front loading washer and a dryer, dryer on top of course. There were a few things in the dryer but I threw a load in to dry. Well the dryer seemed to try to spin but it hummed then stopped.

Did a lot of googling, watched some vids. Took off the top of the dryer and checked the belt. But since the dryer was stacked, not much more I could do.

Called repairmen. $125 to get them out here, if they could fix it, that money goes to the fix. Guy gets here, pulls out the dryer filter, sticks his hand down there, fiddles around, pulls out a little no-show sock. Dryer now works. Two minutes, $133 later, fixed dryer. Apparently when I cleaned the dryer filter I managed to drop a no-show sock in there and didn't notice.

Literally did not come up when I googled a variety of search strings of what to check when your dryer won't spin.

So passing that info along.

 

[herm0016]

sounds like you got off cheap. most of them would have told you it needs a new motor, took it apart and put it back together without the sock, and you would have been like "ok sure, no spinny, bad motor, write check"

 

[Scarpozzi]

Glad you were able to get it fixed without it being something major. Look at it this way...if that's a common problem and it happens again to your dryer, you won't have to pay $133 again.

 

[MrSquished]

Oh I'm glad he was honest. It's sad that this has to be praised vs just expected. Just such a stupid little issue. Can't believe there isn't more info on this troubleshooting step out there.

May someone benefit from this info

 

[waffleironhead]

Another instance of not paying for someone's time, but paying for their knowledge.

 

[Hans Gruber]

You have to pay for knowledge. Once you get rolled or have the problem fixed by a trained technician. You realize you can do stuff yourself. If you are one of those people who has American know how and a can do attitude. You may find yourself needing supplementary insurance far above and beyond what a normal policy has. It's best to tread lightly, unless you have a no show sock stuck in the dryer filter compartment.

I myself have graduated to my own personal torch. I also bend copper and do a bunch of soldering. I do drywall repair and have Milwaukee 12v fuel drills so people know I am a professional.

In all seriousness. There are times you want a licensed plumber, contractor for complex plumbing and home repair.

 

[ch33zw1z]

You got off easy. You paid for his knowledge and time. Doesn't sound like he charged for travel on top of it. At least now you know for next time.

 

[MrSquished]

I'm happy with the knowledge now. The guy was cool, I told him the stuff I'd done to fix my fridge and he shared with me some stories about his world that were interesting.

Just how the fuck wasn't this information about checking under your filter on the web? Everything said to check your belt, so I did.

 

[Torn Mind]

The common presumption is that clothes simply don't get in there.

For me, a shoestring of some sort somehow got tied up with the motor shaft yet did not damage the plastic blades. I don't know if someone put it there or something slipped past the drum seal. It was a full-size dryer.

 

[pete6032]

You have to pay for knowledge.

Also have to pay for the time the repair men spend driving out to the site, plus time spent by receptionist booking appointment an dispatcher scheduling, etc. This instance obviously not worth $125. If it took the company 1 hour in time (office admin + driving + work at site) then OP paid $125/hr for it, which is pretty high. But I'm sure there are other times where the repair company makes much less than $125/hr so it evens out.

 

[sdifox]

I still don't see how you managed to stick a sock there and impact dryer operation. Mine is a little space separated from rest of the dryer.

I replaced the belt of my dryer without unstacking it. Making it square again is the tough part.

 

[MrSquished]

I still don't see how you managed to stick a sock there and impact dryer operation. Mine is a little space separated from rest of the dryer.

I replaced the belt of my dryer without unstacking it. Making it square again is the tough part.

It was a little no show sock. The ones that don't show when you wear them. So easy to fall in there

 

[sdifox]

It was a little no show sock. The ones that don't show when you wear them. So easy to fall in there

No I mean the lint catch should be a separate space than rest of dryer operation. At least mine is.

 

[MrSquished]

No I mean the lint catch should be a separate space than rest of dryer operation. At least mine is.

Ahhhh. You'd think so. Well this is a 3 and a half year old full sized Samsung dryer. So that's how they build them now apparently

 

[sdifox]

Ahhhh. You'd think so. Well this is a 3 and a half year old full sized Samsung dryer. So that's how they build them now apparently

Mine is an old Maytag made by Samsung xd.

 

[Paperdoc]

Space for a sock depends on the dryer. My old one had the lint filter in the front door panel right at the bottom of the door opening. Once you removed it to clean, there was a hole a couple inches by a foot that could easily let something go down right into the fan intake. I could imagine that might stall the fan and its motor that also drives the drum, leading to overheating and shut-down. On my new dryer the lint system is quite different and narrow.

I had a similar incident once with our old washer. It quit pumping out and draining, although it appeared to be working. I disassembled it and found most parts turning smoothly, and motor able to work. Disconnecting more, I eventually found a normal sock jammed into the intake of the pump. Now, there is a perforated wash basket that spins, and an external complete tub to hold all the water, and the drain hose comes off that tub. So how did a sock get through the perforated wash basket? Probably snuck over the top, I guess.

As a long-time backyard mechanic and home repair person I've learned to do a lot. But I consider one VERY important lesson is to recognize when you are beyond your skills and knowledge - that's when you call in the pros and be honest with them. If you observe but keep out of the way, you learn from them, too.

 

[bigi]

It is called experience. You can't get that by watching videos.
They did you a favor for that cheap.

 

[MtnMan]

The last appliance repair was interesting. Daughter called, said dryer started, ran for about 10 seconds, made a noise and stopped.

So dad, to the rescue, figured the belt had broken. We got the top off, belt still there. Drum would not turn. Digging deeper, we found that the motor wouldn't turn, but it would turn backwards. Took the cover off the fan attached to the motor, and there was the problem. Daughter saw it first and did the backstroke across the room.

Once I could breathe again after laughing at her, I looked to see what had brought on that reaction. A 3' black snake had come in through the dryer vent and got himself in a bind in the fan. Snake didn't fare too well, but once extricated and the dryer put back together, it worked fine (the dryer, not the snake).

 

[paperfist]

How can a sock in the dryer screen prevent the dryer from spinning? Is there a sensor? Mine will run if it's caked up in lint.

 

[sdifox]

How can a sock in the dryer screen prevent the dryer from spinning? Is there a sensor? Mine will run if it's caked up in lint.

No he removed the screen and the sock went all the way down to blower.

 

[paperfist]

No he removed the screen and the sock went all the way down to blower.

That still seems bizarre and I wouldn't have thought lint traps are that big you can stick your hand all the way down there and retrieve a sock.

 

[sdifox]

That still seems bizarre and I wouldn't have thought lint traps are that big you can stick your hand all the way down there and retrieve a sock.

Yeah I don't see hwo he could have done it. I always make sure dryer is empty before I clean lint trap.

 

[MrSquished]

Yeah I don't see hwo he could have done it. I always make sure dryer is empty before I clean lint trap.

I'm single right now so there is nobody bitching at me if I leave some stuff in the dryer. Usually when I wash a new load there are still some clothes in the dryer. Nobody to bug me about it

Apparently I somehow dropped a little no show sock in there when taking the lint screen out to clean.

A $130 lesson in the possibilities of appliance ownership.