Disassembling A Washing Machine To Take It Down Narrow Stairs

[George7941]

A customer of mine has stairs to the basement that are 24 in wide and it narrows down to 22 1/2 in at one point where there is a 2 x 12 running horizontally. I just disassembled their old full size top loader Maytag and separated the tub + drum from the rest of the machine and it barely made it up the stairs.
With the front loaders, the entire front panel, which is quite thick, can be taken off and will make the machine shallow front to back, so I am considering gettting them a new front loader.
Any one with experience disassebling washing machines?

 

[Leo99]

Funny you should mention this. My in-law's dryer broke. They insist that they can't get a new one because it won't fit down their narrow stairs. I've asked but have yet to receive an adequate answer how the broken full size dryer that is in their basement got down there. There are some youtube videos were they take the washers apart to fix them. They don't need to come apart but they do it so the camera can show what they're doing. What model washer is it?

 

[George7941]

Funny you should mention this. My in-law's dryer broke. They insist that they can't get a new one because it won't fit down their narrow stairs. I've asked but have yet to receive an adequate answer how the broken full size dryer that is in their basement got down there. There are some youtube videos were they take the washers apart to fix them. They don't need to come apart but they do it so the camera can show what they're doing. What model washer is it?

Have not bought the new washer yet, want to ensure it will go down 22 1/2 in wide stairs after disassembly.

 

[Wrenchturner44]

George, I am not sure what front loader brand you are considering, but some models / brands have a large dead weight hunk of concrete in them to act as a counter balance to keep the maching from vibrating. Needless to say these machines weigh quite a bit more than a top loader per se.

 

[George7941]

George, I am not sure what front loader brand you are considering, but some models / brands have a large dead weight hunk of concrete in them to act as a counter balance to keep the maching from vibrating. Needless to say these machines weigh quite a bit more than a top loader per se.

I have seen many top loaders with the concrete balancing weights in them, may be they are not quite as large as the ones on the front loaders.
The top loader Maytag I took apart to bring it up the stairs and dispose of had a laminated steel counterweight, around twenty pounds.

 

[Soft Cars]

Any one with experience disassebling washing machines?

Yes, a direct drive Whirpool. I can almost take it apart blindfolded.

 

[paulo57509]

I've only dealt with R&R the agitator and the upper agitator dogs on a Whirlpool top-load.

A lot of apliance parts websites had good instructions on disassembly.

 

[Jetronic]

I have seen many top loaders with the concrete balancing weights in them, may be they are not quite as large as the ones on the front loaders.
The top loader Maytag I took apart to bring it up the stairs and dispose of had a laminated steel counterweight, around twenty pounds.

The front loaders tend to weigh just shy of 200 pounds....

 

[barryh]

George, I am not sure what front loader brand you are considering, but some models / brands have a large dead weight hunk of concrete in them to act as a counter balance to keep the maching from vibrating. Needless to say these machines weigh quite a bit more than a top loader per se.

I've removed the concrete balance weights to get a front loader up several flights of stairs. The concrete bits must have been half the weight of the machine. I've also removed the front panel from a front loader. Obviously there are wires to detach but the only tricky bit was detaching and reattaching the big rubber drum seal which has a hidden wire retaining ring.

 

[benjy]

good, interesting info as i have a 10 plus YO BELT driven whirlpool front loader i love as it fits big stuff + saves 2/3 of the water, especially important when its heated $$$$

 

[PWMDMD]

We have two laundry rooms - one on the first floor and one in our walk-in closet. I signed the papers for the house and came back to the house to get settled and noticed the closet-side wall around the door going into the closet wasn't painted. I then walked over to the washer/drier to look at them and noticed there is absolutely no way those appliances went through that door (it's a powder room door). Here's the best part, there is PLENTY of space for a full-size 36" door and clearly they had someone remove the existing powder room door and the surrounding wall to get the washer/dryer in there and instead of replacing it with a new larger ($50) door they replaced the small door and sheetrock. A couple of years later the washer and drier kicked the bucket...groovy.

Have I mentioned the jackass who lived here before me was a dentist?

 

[Snagglefoot]

I grew up in a house built in the 50’s. I had an uncle who helped build the L shaped narrow staircase. In the 70’s natural gas came to town so my parents brought gas in and and the oil tank in the basement became redundant. Not sure why they put tanks in the basement ( probably to avoid gelling because -40 was common in those days). My dad passed away and we just let it be with the tank sitting in the corner.

One day that same uncle came to visit and saw the tank in the corner. He had a brain flash and recalled the lower steps to the upstairs were build as a “module” and could be removed, revealing a large open section to the basement. Him and a couple of friends removed the stair section, emptied the last of the heating oil that had been in the tank and hoisted that old tank out of the basement. He then replaced the stair “ module”. That was really nice he went through all that effort. No more odd looking tank taking up space in the basement.