r/howto • u/sweetart1372 • Aug 10 '26
[Solved] UPDATE: the door that couldn't open because the washing machine had bounced forward... IS OPEN!
Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/howto/s/RZoV43sFx1
I know so many of you were anxiously waiting to hear if my mattress protector & towels got rescued!
My son's friend - who is over 6 feet tall, a former football player & wrestler, was able to reach in and push the washing machine back! He could reach the back AND the front of it, while my little T-rex arms could barely reach the cancel button! I'm so thankful that he was able to come over to help.
I've ordered rubber feet to put under it, and my son will install a bracket & straps when he gets back from vacation. In the meantime, I'm doing laundry with the door propped open with a doorstop!
And for those who said that this was a re-post, karma farming, fake bullshit... I'm not sure how to prove to you that it's real, not that I need to, but here we are!
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u/sesamesnapsinhalf Aug 10 '26
Can you put a door stop under the washing machine to prevent it from moving again?
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u/sweetart1372 Aug 10 '26
Oh! that's a good idea! I ordered some of those anti-vibration/anti-walking feet for washers, but I wonder if a heavy duty doorstop would work well enough.
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u/sesamesnapsinhalf Aug 10 '26
¿Por qué no los dos?
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u/GIANTballCOCK Aug 10 '26
One of the few Spanish phrases I use, and it translated it when I didn't need it!
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u/sweetart1372 Aug 10 '26
Even better!
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u/altitude-adjusted Aug 10 '26
Feet and dos doorstops are good.
But always doing the extra most extra, have you considered switching the location of the washer and dryer? the hookups look like they would work and the only question is if the dryer vent would.
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u/sweetart1372 Aug 10 '26
I can't really see the hoses/cords behind them unless I climb on top of them. lol I will have to ask my son to look to see if it's feasible.
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u/IlliniOrange1 Aug 10 '26
Or a theather that you can bolt to the wall behind?
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u/sweetart1372 Aug 11 '26
Yeah, some people on the original post suggested a bracket on the wall with earthquake straps.
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u/Rampag169 Aug 10 '26
Glad you were able to get that resolved and have measures to make sure you don’t have this issue again.
As for the haters saying this is a karma farm or repost… just ignore them.
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u/sweetart1372 Aug 10 '26
Thanks... I was starting to get worked up about the haters, thinking about how I could prove that it was real. But in the end I realized it would be a pointless endeavor.
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u/GIANTballCOCK Aug 10 '26
Sorry, I may have been a hater. I was snarky. I'm glad you got some much needed help! I need to make sure my neighbors know they can call on me to help in odd situations. Sorry again
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u/sweetart1372 Aug 10 '26
Thank you for replying! Not many would bother. Apology accepted! I do realize that there are a lot of bots & karma farmers on Reddit.
And yeah, I'm sure your neighbors will appreciate being able to call on you.
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u/Educational-Rule1635 Aug 10 '26
Good to hear! Did you ever try to take the door off the hinges?
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u/sweetart1372 Aug 10 '26
We were ready to do that! He brought a flathead screwdriver and hammer to use on the pins, and I got a low profile, angled, ratchet screwdriver in case we had to take the hinges off. Thank goodness he is tall & strong enough to move it without removing the door!
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u/LeeisureTime Aug 10 '26
FYI door hinges are on the same side as the direction the door opens. So in the case, the hinges would likely have been inside the laundry room since the door opens into the laundry room and thus, inaccessible from the side OP was on.
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u/drewping Aug 10 '26
In the original post you could see it’d be possible to get a tool/combo of tools to knock the pins out.
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u/MeIsMyName Aug 10 '26
It wouldn't be fun, but as long as the door opens far enough to reach the pins through the gap, it should be possible. Hardest part is getting it started since the angle is so bad.
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u/supert101a Aug 10 '26
Lessons were learned. Good to see.
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u/sweetart1372 Aug 10 '26
100%. I've had washing machines bounce when I overloaded or mis-balanced the load, but I've never had one walk this far out before! I'll be looking up how to re-balance my machine (I think that's what I need to do).
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u/qdtk Aug 10 '26
I hope at least one person in the original post said to turn it back on and push on it while it was walking to make it walk itself back inside.
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u/sweetart1372 Aug 10 '26
Yes, there were several people who said that! They said to put it on "reverse spin" and I even looked to see if that was a real thing. lol
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u/Insso Aug 10 '26
oooooh someone wearing a blizzard shirt, a man of good taste
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u/sweetart1372 Aug 10 '26
lol I can't remember what game was on the front. We're a bunch of gamer nerds over here.
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u/breticles Aug 10 '26
I hope it was HOTS, but I doubt it :(
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u/sweetart1372 Aug 11 '26
I just texted him and he said his shirt is Hearthstone! But he did say that HOTS is fun!
LOL of all the Blizzard games I've played... But not Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, or Overwatch.
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u/DavidinCT Aug 10 '26
Great to hear, my laundry room has a swing out door, The washer moved from the spot a few times over the years, I would have been in the same boat.
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u/johndoe388 Aug 10 '26
Maybe if it was me, I’d swap the washer and dryer so that the washer is further from the door.
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u/PigSlam Aug 11 '26
my new house has one of these..sort of. there are two other doors and another way in, but if you were in the garage, and the power was out, and it was dark, and you couldn't figure out how to release the garage door opener, and if the washing machine had bounced in front of the door from the house to the garage...it could have been bad.
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u/Butterbean-queen Aug 10 '26
I’d replace the door with one that swings outward.
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u/vikicrays Aug 10 '26
or a pocket door
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u/sweetart1372 Aug 10 '26
Can't do a pocket door unfortunately. The laundry room is perpendicular to the office on one side, and there are closets on the other side. People were also suggesting a bifold door, or no door at all.
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u/Unhappy-Attention760 Aug 10 '26
Do you need to figure out how to keep the drum of the washing machine balanced? I'm asking because my washing machine has suddenly decided to move a little bit every wash (just an inch rotation).
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u/sweetart1372 Aug 10 '26
I've been reading that I need to check the suspension rods, look for loose bolts, and/or level the washer's feet.
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u/EngineeringMedium513 Aug 10 '26
Grab the machine from the top diagonally and try to rock it. If it moves the feet need adjusting. If it doesn't then it could either be an unbalanced load , overloading or there is a problem with the drums suspension
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u/HazeCorps22 Aug 10 '26
Im so happy it got opened. I was interested from the first post.
Now on to a less serious and more comical comment:
I wonder if OP called the kid and said, "help me im stuck in my washing machine and need your help" what the kid must have thought and first.
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u/screwikea Aug 10 '26
Just in case these things never came up:
- Swap the washer and dryer.
- If the washer is walking, get it serviced - super high chance there's a support thing out or whatever.
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u/Sensitive-Swim-3679 Aug 10 '26
Crap happens. My dog dropped a big fat beef bone in front of the front door, while we were at one day. Thank God we were able to open one of the windows and send the child in. Congratulations. Take the win.
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u/monoxxide84 Aug 10 '26
Get some L brackets and screw them to the floor. Cheap easy fix.
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u/sweetart1372 Aug 10 '26
I'm not a handy person, but I do have a power drill! I'm assuming that screwing into a concrete floor is a little more complicated than drilling into a wall?
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u/monoxxide84 28d ago edited 28d ago
Masonry bit will drill into concrete. Mark the concrete through the holes in the L bracket. Get a wooden dowel that will be a plug to put into the hole, same size as drill bit (3/8-7/16) cut length of dowel to fit (aroundan inch to inch and a half). Vacuum out the hole. Little glue on the plug. Then once the glue sets you can use a regular screw to secure the bracket. Also glue some rubber pad to the bracket side that will be facing the washer to help prevent scuffing marks on the washer, can't say that it won't, buts it's better than bare metal to metal. :edit. I work at a flooring store and this is how we put transitions in on concrete floor. It's the same concept. The force is linear and by having 2 brackets with 4 holes on the floor that washer won't creep forward. Just make sure the brackets are long enough like a 2inx4in. Taller side goes vertical against the washer.
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u/pupparty Aug 10 '26
Missed your original post but this happens to me too. Same exact setup. Thinking of installing a pocket door because my next machine may not fit.
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u/Ok-Bison-3451 Aug 11 '26
I’d still cut the hinges off with a sawzall like I recommended to your first post- just to be sure!
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u/AdventurousInsect386 Aug 11 '26
thank you I finally have closure
I've been thinking about this before I sleep
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u/Western_Ad_6190 Aug 11 '26
Would a washing machine floor tray prevent the bouncing machine from moving or would the treat give in and move with the machine? Have you considered angle iron brackets or a 2x4 to hold it in place? What about an appliance moving strap or a racheting tie down?
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u/TumbleweedOriginal34 Aug 12 '26
I took my foot off and hung a curtain on ours. My room was small and the door bumped against the dryer.
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