My washing machine drum locked up mid-cycle yesterday

I was doing my usual weekend laundry load around 3 PM when the whole thing just stopped spinning and started clicking loud. Turns out a sock somehow got wedged into the pump assembly and it took me over an hour with a screwdriver and a flashlight to fish it out. Has anyone else had something totally random break a machine like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

reese1241mo agoMost Upvoted

Man I gotta push back on blaming the sock like that. The machine SHOULD be able to handle a rogue sock without locking up completely. That filter idea is smart but it's more of a bandaid for bad design if you ask me. A properly built washing machine shouldn't just die over a piece of fabric getting sucked in. I've had socks get caught in my machine before and it just made a weird noise for a minute then kept going. Sounds like your machine was already having issues with the pump or drain system and the sock was just the final straw. Not saying you're wrong to check the filter but don't let the machine off the hook that easy.

the_claire1mo ago

A sock did this to my machine too last year. For the longest time I figured it was just bad luck or maybe a manufacturing defect. Actually finding out there's a whole filter thing you're supposed to check totally changed my thinking on that. Now I look at random laundry items differently, like there's a real force working against clean clothes sometimes. Basically anything small and loose can wreck your whole day in there.