There is a foreign object in the washing machine - how to remove it?
Foreign objects often end up in the washing machine due to user carelessness. It's one thing for an object to get caught in the drum and spin along with the laundry, but quite another for it to get stuck in the tub. In both cases, you need to act immediately and remove any unwanted items. We'll explain how to do this in detail below.
How did the object get into the car?
First of all, it's important to understand why foreign objects appear in the washing machine. They end up in the machine along with clothes whose pockets you were too lazy to check. The most common object is money, or more precisely, coins, although paper ones sometimes end up in the drum too. Furthermore, some have managed to wash a credit card, passport, phone, gold chain, and rings. Service center technicians often remove sunflower seeds, pins, bolts, nuts, and hairpins from cars.
In addition to items falling out of clothing pockets, clothing parts themselves can get stuck in the washing machine. The most common are buttons, beads and rhinestones, as well as bra wires.
Foreign objects can get into the washing machine not only through clothing, but also through small children or pets. They can also get into the washing machine through the detergent drawer, not just the drum.
Please note: Some models of automatic washing machines may cause small items to become stuck in the drum because the opening between the drum and the tub is too large.
Any foreign object that gets into the washing machine either remains in the drum until the end of the wash, or:
falls to the bottom of the tank;
gets stuck in the tank;
is wound onto a shaft.
We remove the item from the drum
How to remove a random item from the drum of the washing machine if you noticed it in the At the start of the wash cycle? It's quite simple—you just need to cancel the program. In most cases, this is what you need to do:
press the start (pause) button of the program, as a result of which the machine will stop;
press the program start (pause) button again and hold for about 5 seconds;
Wait until the pump pumps out the water and the machine turns off.
Some washing machines don't drain, so after turning off the cycle, you need to drain the water manually. This can be done through the emergency drain (the small hose next to the drain filter) or through the filter located at the bottom of the machine. Draining the water is necessary to unlock the hatch door lock. After the work is done, you can open the drum and remove the foreign object.
Important! Resetting the washing machine program by unplugging it is not recommended. This can damage the control module, and modern machines remember the selected program mode and resume the program from where it stopped when power is restored.
What to do if it gets stuck in the tank
If a foreign object has fallen into the tank or is stuck between the tank and the drum, removing it won't be easy. You'll easily notice a strange sound when you spin the drum by hand, unless it's a handkerchief or sock. But even soft objects should not be left inside the washing machine; sooner or later they will show themselves, blocking the operation of the drain pump or the rotation of the drum.
You can remove an item from the washing machine:
through the drain filter;
hole for heating element.
Small objects like pins, nuts, coins, and other items can pass through the drain pipe and end up in the filter. Removing them from the filter is fairly easy. Simply unscrew it and pull it out, covering the floor with rags first.
If items are located at the bottom of the drum, they are removed through the heating element opening. Depending on the brand of washing machine, the heating element is located either at the front or at the back, underneath the drum. If the heating element is located at the back, simply remove the rear cover, then disconnect and remove the heating element. For a front-mounted heating element, see the detailed article. How to replace a heating element, it describes how to get there.
Once the heating element is removed from its housing, shine a flashlight into the tank and locate the element. Then, use a homemade wire hook to pull it out of the car.
If an object gets stuck so much that it jams the drum's rotation, then disassembling the drum is simply unavoidable. The process of removing the foreign object will resemble bearing replacement process, which we've described in other articles. Removing the tank is only half the battle; if it's non-detachable, then to remove the item, you'll have to saw the tank in half. This can take at least 3-4 hours. The work is not easy and requires skill, so it is most often entrusted to a master.
Recommendations
Unpleasant situations with foreign objects in your washing machine can be prevented by being a little more careful and following these recommendations:
Firstly, you need to check the pockets of your clothes before washing and the reliability of how small details are sewn on your clothes;
secondly, check the contents of the drum before washing and look into the powder compartments;
Thirdly, clothes with sewn-on details, zippers, buttons, underwire, etc. should be washed in a special bag. This will prevent anything from getting into the machine's drum and damaging it.
Violating such simple rules leads to unpleasant situations. In the best case, some unnecessary item will be damaged; in the worst case, a foreign object will puncture the tank, and then expensive repairs cannot be avoided.
Foreign objects often end up in the washing machine due to user carelessness. It's one thing for an object to get caught in the drum and spin along with the laundry, but quite another for it to get stuck in the tub. In both cases, you need to act immediately and remove any unwanted items. We'll explain how to do this in detail below.
At the start of the wash cycle? It's quite simple—you just need to cancel the program. In most cases, this is what you need to do:
If a foreign object has fallen into the tank or is stuck between the tank and the drum, removing it won't be easy. You'll easily notice a strange sound when you spin the drum by hand, unless it's a handkerchief or sock. But even soft objects should not be left inside the washing machine; sooner or later they will show themselves, blocking the operation of the drain pump or the rotation of the drum. 
Unpleasant situations with foreign objects in your washing machine can be prevented by being a little more careful and following these recommendations:
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