A bra wire got into the washing machine

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In many families, the washing machine is a Bermuda triangle, where one sock from a pair disappears and various ribbon ties disappear, and buttons dissolve. But sometimes women’s underwear also disappears there, and one of its details is a bra wire. And if all women know perfectly well what it is, then men, as a rule, learn about its existence only at the moment when the bone from the bra gets into the washing machine. It is sometimes not easy to remove such a part, but if you know some secrets, it is quite possible to do it yourself at home. So don’t rush to immediately call a specialist and shell out a tidy sum for his services.

How can you tell if a bra wire is stuck in the washing machine?

Further actions to remove this item often depend on understanding what exactly is stuck in the machine.

Signs that a bra wire has gotten into the washing machine:

Strong metallic clanging or knocking noises during washing.
Lack of support plate in the bra.

Important! If you hear grinding or other extraneous sounds while the washing machine is operating, you should turn it off immediately. Otherwise, serious equipment breakdown is possible.

A bone from a bra got into the washing machine - what's the danger?

To assess the possible harm to a washing machine from a stuck bone, you first need to understand what material it was made of.

The further extraction method and possible location in the machine also depend on this:

The plastic parts of the bra cups are quite harmless. Such bones are flexible and cannot seriously damage the drum and tub of the washing machine. Often they break, and then their pieces can be found in the drain filter.
Iron “spare parts” of a bra can easily damage the mechanisms. However, you can remove the metal bra wire from the washing machine using a magnet.

Why is a stuck bone dangerous for the machine?

Having slipped under the drum, it can become across and pierce the wall of the tank. Naturally, this will cause a leak and you can’t do it without a technician.
It can also catch on one edge of the drum, and the other on the heating heating element. In this option, when the drum rotates at high speed, the heating element may be damaged. There are even cases when the heating element comes off completely.
It can pierce the rubber seal of the hatch. Accordingly, for further use of household appliances, the cuff will need to be replaced.
If a bra bone gets into the drum of the washing machine, it may simply jam. In this case, the equipment will display an error message.

Where is this bone?

To understand how to remove a bra wire from a washing machine, you first need to determine its specific location.

Most often it can be found:

at the bottom of the drum itself;
at the bottom of the tank;
between the tank and the drum.

To determine the specific location of the bone:

Take a close look at items that were washed at the same time as your bra. Maybe you'll be lucky and find her there.
Inspect, or better yet, feel the entire drum with your fingers. Sometimes it gets stuck in the hole so that you can remove it with your hands or tweezers.
Take a flashlight and, slowly turning the drum, try to find through the holes in the tank a bone from a bra that has fallen into the washing machine.
If the above methods did not help to identify the bra part, then it can only be found during disassembly of the machine.

How to remove a pit without disassembling the washing machine?

If you don't want to disassemble the washing machine, you can try to remove the bra wire with your fingers.

Important! Before starting any actions with the washing machine, be sure to disconnect it from the power supply.

Armed with a flashlight, thin wire and a lot of patience, get to work:

Open the hatch and place the turned on flashlight so that you can see the bottom of the tank through the holes in the drum.
Then carefully examine all the holes - you may be able to spot a bra bone that got into the washing machine.
Make a small hook at one end of the wire and insert it into the hole in the tank.
Now you need to pick up the desired part from the bra with a wire.
Slowly rotate the drum until the bone falls into one of the holes in the tank.
Almost all the work is done. All that remains is to remove the bra wire from the washing machine using tweezers or pliers.

Important! It is very difficult to rotate the drum and simultaneously manipulate the wire. Therefore, it is better to find yourself an assistant in advance.

Rules for washing busts

Follow the rules for washing underwear with underwires, and the risks of problems will be minimal.

Basic moments:

check the integrity of the seams on the product. If there are holes or abrasions, first remove them and then wash the bust.
Use a special mesh bag to wash your underwear. If you don’t have one, sew any thin textile fabric yourself or use a pillowcase with a zipper.
For delicate items, modes with a low number of revolutions (manual, delicate) are optimal.

Finding a bust bone in the drum is much easier than removing it. If the item is held in the perforation, pry it up and lift it out. When a bone gets into the heater or drain, only disassembly will help.

If you are one of the lucky ones

Some owners of household appliances are very lucky, since you can get a “spare part” for a bra from their models in a matter of minutes. These lucky people include owners of top-loading machines from the Bosch and Siemens brands. These models have a special hatch for removing small objects that accidentally got into the mechanism.

In this case, proceed as follows:

Close the drum doors.
Turn it half a turn.
Open the latch. As a rule, the hatch will be just opposite the drum flaps.
Return the drum to its original position with the flaps open.
Remove the bone from the special hatch.

Important! In future, to avoid such problems:
Use special bags for washing clothes in a machine.
Learn how to properly wash your underwear.

Advantages of contacting a service center

Minor repair work should be done independently only if you have the appropriate skills and tools. In other cases, you should seek help from professional craftsmen. Repair of household appliances Top Refit means minimum terms of work and guaranteed quality of service. Prices are transparent and are announced before the start of cooperation. You can count on prompt, high-level service. The specialist will remove the bone, give recommendations for prevention, and conduct a comprehensive diagnosis of the equipment.

We take out the bone through the hole for the heating element

Many service center technicians prefer this method, because it allows you to remove a bone from a bra that has gotten into the washing machine in 90% of cases.

Important! This method is suitable for those models in which access to the heating element is from the back wall of the machine.

Some washing machines from Bosh, LG and Samsung brands have the heating element located at the front. And removing the front panel is much more troublesome than the back.

The main stages of extracting a bone through the hole from the heating element:

Turn the washing machine around so that you have easy access to the back panel.
Unscrew the screws from the back cover and remove it. If there is a service hatch at the back, then you just need to open it.
You will see a large wheel - the drum pulley, behind which is the tank body itself. Immediately below the wheel are the power wires for the heating element.
Disconnect the heating element contacts.

Important! Before removing the power terminals from the heating element, sketch or photograph their location so that later when connecting there is no confusion with the wires.

Now you need to loosen the pin that holds the heating element itself as much as possible. To do this, unscrew the nut almost completely - there is no need to remove it completely.
Grab the heating element with both hands and, slightly rocking it from side to side, pull it towards you. Sometimes this is quite difficult to do with bare hands - in this case, use pliers.

Important! Under no circumstances try to remove the heating element by prying it with a screwdriver or other hard object. You may damage the seat of the heating element, which will subsequently cause a leak.

When removing the heating element, you can simultaneously remove the bra wire from the washing machine. If this does not happen, then through the resulting hole it is easy to get the “spare part” from the bra by prying it off with wire or pliers.
Reinstall the heating element and connect the wires.

Important! If grooves have formed on the rubber seal of the heating element that prevent the heating element from being put into place, you need to smooth them out a little with sandpaper or a file.

Screw the back cover.

We take it out through the heating element

If the bone passes through the drum, it often falls down and gets stuck in the heating element or under it. You will need to remove the heating element to get it out. You can do this yourself if the heating element is located at the bottom of the machine. The procedure looks like this:

Remove the rear surface of the housing.
Disconnect power. Electricity is supplied to the heating element through a three-wire cable. In this case, phase and neutral are usually secured with terminals, and the ground wire is often fixed with a clamp nut.
Having disconnected the grounding from the central stud, you can see the fastening nut. Loosen the nut without unscrewing completely. Press the pin all the way into it.
Move the heating element. Get it. This usually requires considerable effort, but it is prohibited to use a screwdriver or other tools for this to avoid causing damage. Also, do not pull the heating element by the wires.
More often, the bone gets stuck between the heater tubes, so it is removed along with it. If it is missing, you should look in the heating element installation socket. She can fall under it and lie at the bottom.
Inspect the heating element for damage. Sometimes a metal bone can not only scratch it, but also break it into pieces.
After fixing the problem, you need to pull out the pin by pressing on the fastening part from the inside. Insert the heating element into the socket and gently press the cuff.
Tighten the fastening nut. If it is overtightened, it can tear the seal, leading to a leak. The seal seals the tank well, so the nut may be slightly undertightened. After a test wash, you can always tighten it if a drop of water is found on it.
Connect power to the heater.
Run a quick wash to check the operation of the machine. Do not touch the parts until the machine stops washing.

Advice:
If scratches and damage are found during inspection of the heating element, it is better to replace the part. During operation, such a heater can cause a short circuit, lead to machine breakdown and other unpleasant consequences.

We take out the bone by removing the drain pipe

The above method is suitable for most cases, but there are 10% when it does not help. What should you do if a bra wire got into the washing machine, but you couldn’t find it in the hole from the heating element? “In that case, it might be stuck in the drain pipe.” To make sure of this, you will need to remove it and clean it.

How to remove the bone from the drain pipe:

Move the washer to the center of the bathroom or other room. For most models, access to the drain pipe is possible through the bottom, so you will need enough space to turn the washing machine over and continue working.
Pull out the powder receptacle.
Place the machine on its side.

Important! Before starting work, do not forget to drain the water.

Unscrew and remove the bottom of the washing unit. Please note that on some models the bottom is secured with special clamps.
You will see a thick drain pipe that connects the tank and the pump. You need to remove it.
First loosen the clamps and then remove the pipe.
Remove the bra bone that got into the washing machine, as well as other foreign objects from the outlet, and rinse it thoroughly.
Put the pipe in place, close the bottom, and if necessary, readjust the machine legs.

If after all the manipulations you have not managed to remove the bra wire from the washing machine, or if other breakdowns have occurred, such as a leak or a broken heating element, we advise you to contact specialists from the service center.

Important! The entry of foreign objects into the washing machine drum is not covered by warranty, so contacting a technician will cost a fee.

Why is this dangerous?

Always check the integrity of your underwear fittings. Particular attention is paid to the presence of all the bones in the grooves of the bra, hooks and iron inserts in their places.

Foreign objects in the cavity of the washing machine can damage it or tear clothes. It happens that a dropped bone lies inside the machine for a long time. Over time, it begins to emit an unpleasant odor, become covered with rust and spoil the water with each wash. During operation, the drum rotates with great force, the part is able to penetrate into its holes and catch things.

In addition to damage to clothing, there is a high probability of damage to the car. The metal plate easily pierces the drum and breaks through the inner tank. The solution in this case would be to purchase a new container and replace the loading compartment.

The bone can deform the heating device or permanently disable it if it cuts the heater tube.
There is a risk of tearing the elastic cuff around the hatch. To prevent water from leaking out during the washing process, the rubber is sealed or a new one is purchased.
If an element has penetrated into the drainage compartment and ruptured the rubber pipe, the washing machine will leak water during the process of drawing and discharging water. The part will have to be changed.
If a bone gets into the pump, it jams its blades. The mechanism will run idle and water will not flow into the tank. There is a risk of engine overheating. If it burns out, the owners will face expensive repairs to the pump pump and electric motor.

Precautionary measures

Now you know what to do if a bra wire gets into the washing machine. But let's look at how this can be avoided:

It is preferable to wash bras by hand. This way, you will not only avoid foreign objects getting into the drum, but also protect the bra cups from deformation.
Before washing, make sure that the bra is intact. Pay special attention to the “danger” area.
To prevent the foam cups from wrinkling, use a special container for bras.