A burning smell coming from the laundry room is never a good thing.I think I somehow destroyed our washing machine when I washed our (thin) king size quilt last week. (The "super capacity" is supposed to be able to handle large bedding.) I left the house after I put it in and when I returned home the washer had "walked" into the laundry room a bit. Since then, it has worked fine but I could hear a squeaking sound every now and then.
This morning at around 6:15 I put in a load of towels. (I washed our king size sheets last night no problem.) Well, I that was it. I heard a very loud squeal and walked into the laundry room to see a weird smoke and was overtaken by a horrid burnt smell. I couldn't feel anything hot and I couldn't really tell where the smoke was coming from, but one thing was for sure.....the washer wouldn't spin anymore.
I scheduled a repair appointment with Sears. The service fee is $129. I am pretty sure we got our washer the day after Thanksgiving a couple of years ago for about $400 total. They couldn't come until tomorrow. Even though I found a coupon for 10% off the service fee and repair, I still wasn't liking that the repair will almost definitely cost over 1/2 the cost of the machine itself.
Anyway, I found another repair company online that is local: Mr. Appliance. They only charge an $89 service fee if you choose NOT to repair the machine. They will provide a quote and if you do choose to repair, then the service fee is waived. They can come out today...between noon & 2:00. So, hopefully it isn't going to break the bank...or my heart. I hate doing laundry as it is, this type of thing just makes it even worse.
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The good news is that he was able to come...early. Also, it wasn't anything electrical.
Bad news: $220. It was the belt. That sounds like a lot of $ for a rubber hose. At least it isn't $129 + $200 in parts/labor. I could have bought several quilts for that amount of money. Lesson learned...don't wash bedding, just buy something new. ;)
I will say that Keith, our repair guy was very nice. He didn't have the part he needs on his truck so he said he would have to order it and would be back Monday to install. However, then I think he remembered that I offered him a yummy cinnamon muffin and he called his co-workers around town and was able to locate the part he needs 15 minutes away. He'll be back in about half an hour to do the repair. Another lesson: muffins matter. :)
