How to Fix a Shaking Washing Machine
A simple guide to fix your unstable laundry room
Many of us have walked in our laundry room to this scene: your washing machine is on spin cycle rattling like crazy, squeaking loudly like an old mattress, and dancing far from its designated spot. "Not again," you say. Well if this paints a familiar picture, then you've definitely come to the right place.
If you're first thought is, "oh no, my washer is broken," then hopefully I can relieve you to know that nine times out of ten the problem is not with your washing machine. The problem is usually one of the following: 1. an unbalanced load of laundry 2. non-level washing machine feet OR 3. you're washing machine isn't gripping to the floor.
The good news is that almost every case of a loud, walking, and unstable washing machine can be remedied by the steps that I've outlined below. Some are more effective than others, but I would highly suggest taking the time to use the following techniques to alleviate your loud traveling washers. Live no more in a world of wobbly washers!
1. Balancing Your Washing Machine Load (Top-Loading Machines Only)
If your only issue is an unbalanced load of laundry, consider yourself among the lucky. Your issue will be BY FAR the easiest to fix. When you have an unbalanced load, the issue should be fairly obvious. Your washer will be jerking side-to-side or back-and-forth rapidly and primarily during the machine's spin cycle. To confirm, look into your machine's laundry drum. If you see a large portion of your laundry gathered just one side of the compartment, then VIOLA! we've found your problem.
The Solution: The problem lies in how the laundry is placed in the machine from the start. Instead on tossing or cramming your laundry in the machine randomly (I must admit that this used to be me), intentionally place each length of clothing in the washer against the sides of the drum evenly. Make a small effort to place the same amount of weight/laundry on each side of the compartment. Once you have filled the load without leaving any large obvious gaps, run your machine through a quick spin cycle to check your efforts. If this solves your issue, then congratulations! You can stop here.
If not, let’s move to the next step.
2. Leveling Your Washing Machine
In many cases, taking the time to properly level your washing machine will greatly reduce your machine's rattling and ability to "walk"/slide across your laundry room. Even a truly unbalance laundry load can be heavily mitigated by a very level washing machine. When a machine is properly level, all four "feet" are touching the floor and receive a similar amount of pressure from the downward force of the machine.
The Solution: This method works best with a level. First, to roughly check to see if your washer is steady, grip both side of the machine and attempt to rock the machine side-to-side and back-and-forth. This should help indicate if the machine has any obvious wobbles generating from where the machine's feet meet the floor. If you find that your machine wobbles due to its feet, then you will need to adjust the feet height on our machine. The feet on most washing machines operate by screwing in and out of the machine's frame to increase or decrease the height of the foot itself. After wobbling the machine with your body weight, you will have a good sense of which foot on the machine need to be raised or lowered to stop the machine from wobbling. Simply make the proper adjustments according to your judgement and then re-test the machine for wobbles. Once you have your machine solidly planted on the floor, here's where your level comes into play. Take you level and place it on the front lip of the machine to check for levelness. Do the same with the side as well. If you see that your machine is not level, you will without a doubt have issues with wobbling if you do not fix the issue. At this point, continue to adjust the feet until the machine is both level on each side and free from wobbling during your shaking of the machine. In most cases, this will work to free your machine from unwanted wobbling, "walking", and sometimes even squeaking.
3. Washing Machine Anti-Walking/Anti-Vibration Pads
Recently, there have been products designed specifically for homeowners with the issues above including squeaking, wobbling, and “walking” washing machines. They typically come in the form of rubber pucks that are fixed underneath each of the feet on the machine. These seem to provide an easy and more permanent solution to washing machine wobbling and walking issues because they both absorb/dampen the shock of the vibrating washing machine and also give the machine a better grip on the floor which disables the washer from being able to move from its intended position.
Steady-Pad is one of the best available options for anti vibration washing machine/dryer pads on the market. We have developed the perfect blend of rubber to provide your machine the most grip to the floor while absorbing shock and reducing noise from the machine itself. Moreover, the unique micro-grip traction surface on the bottom of the pads work to keep your machine in place even against the most vigorous vibration conditions. Backed with a 100% satisfaction guarantee, you can certainly buy this product with confidence!
Interested in fixing some other issues in your laundry room. Check out our guide to fixes to the most common laundry mistakes.