Washer shaking or banging during spin
What to check yourself
- Leveling. Push down on each top corner. The washer should not rock. Adjust the front feet and tighten their lock nuts.
- The load. Single heavy items and small mixed loads go off balance. Wash sheets with sheets and towels with towels.
- Shipping bolts. A new front-loader that jumps across the floor still has its shipping bolts in the back. They must be removed before use.
- The bounce test. On a top-loader, push the empty tub down and let go. It should come up and stop. If it bounces two or three times, the suspension rods are worn.
Top-load washers: suspension rods
The tub hangs from four rods, each with a spring and a damper. The dampers wear out and the tub starts to swing as the spin speed rises. It hits the cabinet, which is the banging you hear. The control detects the imbalance, slows down, tries again and often ends the cycle with wet clothes.
Front-load washers: shocks, springs and the spider
Shock absorbers under the drum control its movement. Worn shocks let the drum hit the cabinet at the start of the spin. A deeper problem is a broken spider arm, the metal bracket on the back of the inner drum. It corrodes over the years and cracks. The sign is a drum that wobbles by hand and a heavy knocking at any spin speed.
Upstairs laundry in wood-frame buildings
Many Sherman Oaks apartments and townhomes are wood-frame, with the laundry on the second or third floor. A wood floor flexes and amplifies vibration that a concrete slab would absorb. A washer in good condition can still shake a springy floor. Careful leveling, anti-vibration pads and a lower spin speed setting help. A worn suspension on an upstairs washer is felt through the whole unit and by the neighbors below.
How we repair it
We check the leveling and the floor, test the suspension and inspect the drum support. Rods and shocks are replaced as a set. After the repair we run a full-speed spin with a test load.