Rise of the (washing) Machine

A few weeks back, my second washing machine (the first is serving as a computer stand in the lounge) decided to get back at me for all the mindless cursing and kicking I had given it over the last few months.  I walked into the kitchen to witness water spraying out in all directions, and that I was standing in an inch of water! Fortunately, we got all the water mopped up within two hours...Unfortunately, my wifi router had drowned and my wooden floorboards had swollen and warped!

But anyway, today I decided that my plan of hand-washing my clothes wasn't working (I cant locate my washing basket anymore under the pile of clothing) and I had to fix the thing, or get a new one! Being Engineer-Chic and all, of course I was going to fix the damn thing! Yay! Fun!

So I start dissembling this ancient machine, doing the engineer thing, and finally find the source of the problem! The rubber seal for the inlet pipe to the drum was leaking! So I get another piece of rubber, and my sister and I whip out the craft sizzers and fashion an awesome solution! We rig up the hose and turn on the tap and....and...and get a face full of water.

So it wasn't the seal. It was the solenoid that activates the tap that shuts off the incoming water from the hose...and that, unfortunately, is a problem I cannot fix! A little secret: Mechanical engineers are TERRIFIED of electrical stuff! We're actually quite useless at it if you consider the multitude of courses we've done on Electrical Engineering!

Solenoid Definition: Its a special type of switch that works by using a special magnet, which relies on electricity to operate. When the right electrical signal is given, the magnet will be turned on or off, opening or closing the switch (tap in this case)

So I close up the washing machine, admitting defeat and head off to a dodgy shop in Mowbray that buys/ sells old appliances. Lucky me, I managed to swap my two broken machines for a brand-new (second-hand) working machine for the low low price of R500! Woo hoo! It was a small victory, and yes, I still wish I could have fixed it, but knowing that I'd found the problem was good enough for me...for now   ;)