My clothes washer, a rebuilt, has done us fairly well, but has picked up an issue I'd like resolved. If I wash things in cold water, barely any water flows in and it has taken over 4 hours to do a load of wash today. It's taken longer and longer over the past couple weeks.
We are on an automated well system and there's been air in the pipes the last few days, but this problem with the washer has been going on for several weeks and probably isn't connected to the air in the pipes. Will it clear up if I do a warm/cold wash with vinegar, or is this a larger problem?
By Cornelia from OR
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The water for my washer also comes from a well. I found the cold water strainer in the hose that runs from the the inlet valve as well as the strainer in the hose that attaches to the washer gets clogged with slit. I would clean the stainer every month or so. I finally put a filter in the cellar to filter out the slit as the water comes into the house. Made a big difference.
Thanks for the information. where do I find the strainer? my washroom is an add-on to a pre-electric washer era house, and has a strange set up. the pipes are in a half wall boarded off section of the room, up against one outside wall. not anywhere near the outside spigot. the hoses come off of the tops of the pipes. I have no plumbing knowledge other than turning the water main off before working on plumbing in the bathroom or kitchen. well, ok, I've worked on the kitchen, but it's now pvc, the washroom is metal. very different type of work.
There's no cellar, just a crawl space on the other end of the house. if the strainer is at the bottom of the pipe, down by the floor, we're talking remolding here, the board is thick and permanent. If it's at the top. I'll have to fiddle around with it, I've never seen such a get-up. not attached to spigots, though there may be water main style spigot half way down, I forget. of late I've brought the outdoor hose in and filled the washer that way.
Some great tips there but you can also check the cold water spicket in the back of the washer. It will be like an outside spicket. Turn it to make sure it is opened all the way.
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My Sears Kenmore washing machine is having a water flow problem. The water inlet flow is restricted. Could it be due to a block in the inlet pipe?
Bob from Agoura, CA
My washer also had restricted water flow. So I did two things: first, I would disconnect the cold water hose going into the washer and clean out the strainer located in the hose and make sure there were no restrictions in the washer inlet. The second thing I did was to have a plumber install a water filter in my cellar to filter out any material that was getting into the cold water pipes. (07/21/2008)
By Harry
Where the water hoses hook in the washer there are screens that collect all the sediment from the water. Just turn the water off and unscrew the hoses clean the screen. (07/21/2008)
By Sandy
