It's not uncommon to hear about washers that shake heavily during the spin cycle. However, this Oakland resident said his machine goes beyond shaking and starts moving. Instead of a washing machine, he calls it his "walking" machine.
Jeff Palmer's washing machine hums along quietly as it starts to scrub his laundry. However he says, the machine is about to go berserk. It happens when the machine flips to the spin cycle. The drum spins faster and the washer starts shaking. The rattle gets louder, the shaking gets harder. And finally you see it moves.
"Look at it! It already moved four inches right there," said Palmer.
The machine lurches out from the wall. Palmer measured how far it went. He says this happens every time he does a load, and he has to keep pushing the machine back in place.
"And I'm thinking, that's not normal," said Palmer.
And he's right. He bought the machine back in 2008. He says the shake, rattle and roll started happening last year. Luckily, he'd purchased an extended service warranty from Home Depot and when the machine started moving, the company sent out a technician.
"Guy comes out and says, 'OK, it's a door gasket,'" said Palmer.
The repairman put in a new gasket, but the machine kept on shaking. Another technician put in a new latch. Still, it wouldn't stay put.
"The rattle is still there and the unit still moves across the floor," said Palmer.
Five months and five repairs later, he had enough. If no one could stop a walking machine, he wanted a new one.
"They say they want me to have a sixth service visit to make sure that's what the problem is. I said, 'No, I'm not interested in a sixth visit,'" said Palmer.
Instead, he contacted 7 On Your Side. We contacted Home Depot and right away the company came through with a full refund for that washer. Home Depot says: "We're terribly sorry Mr. Palmer wasn't pleased with the service he received under the warranty coverage, but we hope a new washer will help make up for the inconvenience."
"I called Channel 7 and bingo! So I was very pleased," said Palmer.
The service warranty says Home Depot will replace a machine if the same major repair can't be fixed after three tries in one year. We'd like to thank Home Depot for coming through with a full refund for that machine.
