washing machine problems

[klmno]

I'm renting a place to live that came with a front loading washer & dryer in a laundry/utility room. They had it put in the lease that the washer & dryer would remain but was "as is" so they wouldn't repair it if it tore up. I noticed water leaking in the room a week or so ago and reported it to the owner's rep thinking it was either due to all the snow melting just outside the room or a leak from the bottom of the water heater, which was covered by insulation.

The owner came by with a man who checked all over the room and determined the leak was coming from the washing machine, from the bottom. The owner said I had to clean the water up and either stop using the washer or pay to have it repaired. She also insinuated that if I continued to use the washer and water from leakage damaged anything, like the furnace out there, she would come back on me. Now, I guess I can see that to a certain extent however the leak was not a result of any negligence or abuse on my part. I am wondering if there is any possible way that there's a simple fix to the leak???

I doubt there is but can't find anything online about this model except that they frequently fail after only being a few years old. The owner said this machine is about 5 years old. There's no way I'm going to spend a hundred dollars or more to have someone else's appliance fixed. I'm also wondering if I can request and push for her to move it out so I can put one of my own in, which of course, I'll take with me when I move out. I'm thinking about sending an email telling the rep that I need to either move it out myself or they can move it out but don't want to be too pushy about it if I have no right to expect it. The problem is that I can't get another washing maching in the room, much less hjooked up, with this one there.

 

[Mamaof5]

Has the hoses been checked and the run off into the drain been checked? Are they tight enough, are you sure it's from the bottom of the washer and not the run off hose not being placed properly. Most common leakage issues are the input hoses (the hot and cold water hoses) the source of water from the taps or the run off hose or output hose. Sometimes there is a split in one of the hoses that leaks slowly over time making it look like a bottom of washer leak. It's about 70 bucks to have a tech walk, research the companies that do repairs first and find one that will tell you if it is worth fixing, what needs to be fixed or if it's just better to buy a new one (aka, for me second hand is new know what I mean). If you have the VA set up yet maybe they can help you with a washer, a dryer is not considered necessity but a washer may be considered necessity.

I just found out my self employment program through our version of welfare will pay for a washer for us because of the kids and it being considered necessity. We just have to get a quote and estimate from a store that sells appliances and they will pay them direct and have the washer brought to us. Go figure, at least I can wash clothes and then hang dry them. Too bad it wasn't the dryer, it's easy to hang and dry even in the winter time with a few clothing racks. Hope this helped and I pray it works out for you.

 

[donna723]

I had the same arrangement when I moved in to this house. There was an older model washer and dryer already here that I was told I could use if I wanted to but it wasn't really part of the deal, meaning that he wouldn't repair or replace either one if they messed up. After a few years the washer started leaking badly. I called my landlord to ask if he wanted it back but he said he had bought it used and that it was so old, it really wasn't worth the price of fixing it. We're lucky here in that we have a very good appliance repairman in town who also sells used appliances. I bought a newer model used washer from him (less than $100) and when he delivered it, he also removed the old one to either repair and resell or dispose of. It's been over seven years and I'm still using the dryer that came with the house! Not much goes wrong with them, but if it ever does, I'll get another used one.

 

[klmno]

We could tell it wasn't the hoses spplying water or the external drain. I have been checking online and it suggests checking to see if drain pipe is clogged so I'll do that. Then, I guess I'll push for them to either move it out or give me permission to.

 

[susiestar]

If they won't repair or replace it, why would they care what you do with it? I would let them know that you want it gone, and if they don't come get it then you will have it disposed of because it is no longer working. in my opinion that is courtesy and they might be willing to haul it off. Otherwise sometimes there are ads in the paper for people who want broken appliances to repair and they will come and get them from you. If you can get that done, go for it. Otherwise you iwll have to move it out of the way and then move your own in. If you don't have one, check out Habitat for Humanity's Restore. They are all over the country now and often have good working appliances donates. MANY of our landlords will have them pick up appliances the college kids leave and often they were bought brand new 1 or 2 years before. I have NO clue why college kids here think everything is disposable, but they do. It used to be only the foreign students for whom the cost of taking anything home involves overseas shipping but now MANY of our students think that when they get a job after college they can just leave EVERYTHING behind - and they do, buying new when they get wherever they are going. I actually have 3 tv's that are small but fine for game playing that we got from the curb or for $5 from a student who was moving. Dec and May are the times when everyone here spends a few hours driving around because you see stuff piled on curbs with "free to a good home" and often stuff is in boxes or never opened and clothes are designer with tags on them (one friend has a genuine Prada purse that had a price tag and the company verified as genuine that she found on a pile of stuff on a curb!). More often it is Old Navy or similar, but you get the drift.

If tehre is a college around, esp a 4 yr one, often the bulletin boards have offers for cheap things like appliances and mini fridges also. Our mini fridge was $20 from such an ad. It is great for leftovers or drinks - we refill water bottles and use 2L bottles to repackage into smaller soda bottles. Saves a TON and keeps bottles out of the landfill.

 

[klmno]

My thoughts exactly, Susie. They could sell it for $10 to someone who'd come and get it if they want but if that's not even worth their trouble then why would they care what I do with it- but I'd want that in writing before I got rid of it. She seems like she's being awful careful to try to point out whatever she could come back on me on for me to accept a verbal "ok" alone.

Ok, I just did a load of laundry and picked up the drain hose whenever it was draining. I had noticed the drain hose was a little too long and kind of wrapped back under the washing machine. No water came out from beneath the washer at all so now I'm trying a second load.

 

[KTMom91]

Is there a sink in the laundry room that you can just put the hose into to drain?

 

[klmno]

Nope, unfortunately. I just checked this second load though - it's already drained from the wash cycle and no water has shown up yet. That tells me that either the lag in the hose had just enough in it to get blocked or they were wrong about the source of the water to begin with. I also noticed that right behind the dryer, which is besside the washer, is a panel to the crawl space under the house. (This room is on grade, a few steps down from the main house floor.) With all that snow melting last weekend I'm still not convinced it dfidn't have something to do with that.

 

[susiestar]

I hope you have figured it out as it would save you a lot of hassle. I can see why you would not accept a verbal answer from the woman. Often people who don't own a lot of rental properties do not understand their liabilities and the renter's, hence they act the way this person has, in a way that seems almost threatening. In a lot of things, if they do not have it spelled out in the rental agreement/lease then they cannot come at you. deliberate damage is of course different, but if they provide a faulty appliance "as is" then they cannot come at you if it causes damage unless you are able to reasonable expect the damage to happen and to reasonable prevent it. If the place falls into disrepair on things landlords are expected to take care of (like the furnace goes out, etc...) if it is not fixed in a reasonable amt of time you can withhold your rent and put that money into escrow (have it set aside in a separate account or set the cash aside) and send them notice that until the repair is made they will not be getting rent. In many areas they CANNOT evict you or impose penalites if this is done. You may need to check with an atty or legal aid to do this right. A friend of mine ended up doing this for the eight months it took to get her landlord to agree that fixing the plumbing and furnace were HIS job and not hers. He even tried to dispute his own lease to make her pay. He didn't know her Gpa is a judge and her dad is a lawyer, lol. She wound up with a good size settlement because she did have the rent $$ in an account and could prove tot he court that it was there to be paid as soon as the repairs were paid for.

 

[klmno]

I was going to wait until tomorrow to do my third and final load of laundry for this weekend. What makes it a little more difficult is that there is sheet vinyl flooring in that room that extends under the washer and dryer but not completely wall to wall so it is possible that water is running under it, making it even more difficult to determine exactly where it started. Still, I don't see water showing up out there today. I'm going to run the wife shortly and see if any does, which would point back to the water heater (because it will use more hot water than the washer on a warm cycle) or the possibility that it is coming from the crawl space.

I think you're right on about this lady not being an experienced landlord. She apparently had been trying to sell this house thru this realtor but it didn't sell so the realtor is now a rep for her while I lease it.

I just don't want to pay utility bills for a leak. I do understand that if I deliberately did something to cause water leakage to get worse or coninue, then I would be responsible for consequences to other systems' damage. But it seemed a bit of a stretch when she insinuated that the amount of water seen could cause this furnace to go out and I'd be responsible for it. This furnace is over 50 years old and there wasn't enought water around it to even get half way up the legs.

It's just been one of those weeks. I was sick, very sick, all week. (My jinx I guess from posting on another thread that I hadn't been sick in a long time.) Then, I've had this nagging feeling all week that this is going to cause a problem at work, which by the way, I hate working for my boss. So I have to deal with looking for a new job- it's just nagging at me too much. Then, there's difficult child. Our state, as it turns out, actually requires that a kid who has been turned over to Department of Juvenile Justice be turned over to either CSU (courts' people who will over see the entire family) or dss. That's a little different than my original understanding that these were options. There is no option. I either stick it out for another round with difficult child or he goes to dss/ my bro and there is no other option available. I can't begin to tell you the stress this causes me. Neither one is in difficult child's best interest. Or mine.

 

[DDD]

If you're afraid water is under the machine why not slide a few stacked paper towels under and then check to see if they are damp or wet later?

Sorry you are/were sick. I still have the cold virus so I sympathize. DDD

 

[susiestar]

If you want to see if it is coming from the washer or hot water heater or seeping in from the crawlspace, get some of those plastic backed puppy pads. Put them under the appliances in the areas you think are leaking. If water comes from the appliance then the pad will be wet on the absorbent part. If it is coming from the crawlspace then it will be wet on the bottom. A flannel backed table cloth will also work (I get them for $1 or $2 after holidays) if you cut it to fit the area and there isn't enough water to leak off of the cloth.

It is a fairly easy way to find out which is the source.

As for water damaging the furnace, I wouldn't worry about it. At MOST you would be responsible for the depreciated life of the appliance, NOT paying for a new one. The cost of liability for a 20+ year old furnace is about nothing as they are usually completely depreciated by then. As this is even older, well, she really doesn't have a leg to stand on. As long as you have not sent anything down the drain to purposely clog it (most likely cause of clogs in older homes is crumblinb pipes or tree roots or accumulated gunk that took decades to get there per my great uncle the plumber), she CANNOT hold you liable. Also the water is NOT likely to damage the furnace. She is just likely clueless.