Brave Little Gerda Faces the Cutting Winds

[AndrewP]

Presuming that the other person doing laundry has no consideration for others or clue what they are doing it could be something as simple as a clogged drain. Or maybe a sock stuck in the pump or outflow.

That is presuming that it is a standard upright washing machine. I've never been a fan of the front-loading sort myself. Mine has no seal of the sort you may be referring to.

If you are feeling ambitious, first bail out as much water from the washer as you can then remove all the drain hoses from the back and see if they are clogged. There often is a wire mesh filter in there somewhere too that could be the culprit.

Getting beyond that requires removing the metal outside of the washer and that is always tricky to find the right screws to undo.

BTW - even though I'm rather handy I do have a very reliable appliance repair-man that I rely on. One of those people that it is always handy to have available and generally reasonably priced.

Youtube/google can be your friend here. If you plug in your make, model and problem and see what the interwebs suggest keeping in mind that the results can lead you down a wrong path.

I know money is tight but around here at any rate you can sometimes get reasonably priced used machines from the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store.