The agitator in our washing machine looks something like the one pictured above. It is part of a Roper brand washer, made by Whirlpool, and has given great service for over twenty years.
Just over a week ago, it quit working the way it should – when it’s working properly, the part on the bottom switches back and forth, and the upper part that looks like a big screw turns in only one direction, causing the clothes on top to circulate to the bottom of the tub. I noticed that the washer sounded different, and when I looked, I found that the upper part wasn’t turning.
A quick check of the mechanism showed that the directional cogs ( or dog ears as they are known to us washing machine experts ) were worn out. An on-line search led me to easyapplianceparts.com, where I was able to buy an agitator repair kit for $7.87 – a total of $15.36 including shipping.
I ordered the kit on Saturday, and on Tuesday about 5 p.m., the FedEx guy was dropping it on our doorstep. I had the washing machine up and running like new by 6 p.m.
It was a really easy job – the only hard part was getting a non-magnetic 7/16th bolt to stay in my socket wrench long enough to line it up about four inches down inside the top of the agitator.
It’s funny how good even a minor victory can make you feel. This was not a difficult job – an easy diagnosis of an obvious problem, with a quick and easy fix – but I felt the glow of a job well done for days.
That glow got a boost as I was writing this. I went to the website to download the pictures I posted here and found that the price of that repair kit has almost doubled. Today it is listed at $14.97.
No comments:
Post a Comment