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A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned in my travel tip newsletter that I was dealing with some washing machine drama and promised to write a detailed post once it was sorted out. Well, here it is.
About a month ago, I noticed the door latch on our 2018 Kenmore washing machine (bought from Sears) had broken. I’ll admit I’m not the handiest guy around, but I’m not completely inept either. After inspecting the damage, I figured I just needed to replace a small, one-inch door latch—the tip of the original had shattered, and I had to remove the scraps using every tool I could find (pliers, a bobby pin, tweezers and a vacuum).
I photographed the machine’s serial number, searched for the part on Google and chose Amazon because it was the cheapest option (around $12) with free shipping. The part arrived in two days. I spent about 30 minutes watching YouTube videos on how to install it and managed to replace the latch without taking the whole door off, unlike the guy in the video. Thanks to the handy electric screwdriver my wife gave me for my birthday (probably because I bought her an ice cream maker for hers), the swap only took about 20 minutes.
Of course, it wasn’t that simple, it never is! The door wouldn’t shut. I was so desperate to do a load of laundry that I even tried running the machine while holding the door closed with my knee. It just made ticking noises and gave an error message.
My wife asked what part I had ordered and convinced me I might have bought the wrong one because the product listing didn’t have the same model number as our machine. Since the original was destroyed beyond recognition and online photos can be deceiving, I reluctantly agreed. I found a company Kenmore recommended, Sears PartsDirect, and ordered what looked like the same part for three times the price. They had a live chat feature, and the agent was very helpful. I paid for priority shipping, but the order kept bouncing between “shipped” and “in progress” for nine days. After several frustrating 20-minute chats with different agents (one blamed it on my missing house number), I finally canceled the order.
I then tried Home Depot. Although they didn’t sell the part in-store, a helpful employee directed me to their appliance parts website (ApplianceRepair.Homedepot.com). I ordered the part for $51 including $20 for two-day shipping since my wife was understandably giving me “eye darts” every day the machine stayed broken.
She wanted to call a repairman or buy a new machine, but it seemed like such a simple fix and I had just spent weeks cleaning the machine with Mold Armor (highly recommend, by the way—it worked wonders on our washer and some stubborn shower mold). Home Depot’s service was great, but FedEx dropped the ball. I stayed home waiting for the delivery, only for it to get delayed (from 1pm to 8pm), and then the package was ultimately lost. FedEx’s customer service was awful.
With a trip to Hawaii coming up, our amazing neighbors let us do our laundry at their house. I reordered the part from Home Depot but chose standard shipping this time since we wouldn’t be home. When we got back late at night, I tried the new part which was exactly the same as the original one I bought on Amazon, but the door still wouldn’t shut.
The next day, with my tail and pride between my legs, I called a repair company recommended by another neighbor. They quoted $95 an hour, and after some discussion, $295 to fix it. Forget that. I ordered a Washer Door Lock Switch and Door Hook from Amazon for $21 and had it shipped overnight to Whole Foods.
After tracking the delivery all day, it finally arrived at 3:30pm. By 4pm, with my wife pushing on the drum and me squeezing my big hands into the machine, we successfully installed the new part. When the door clicked shut and the machine started, we were both overwhelmed with happiness—I had finally fixed it!
FYI: This YouTube video helped the most, especially around the 2:05 mark.
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Congrats on the latch repair. And FedEx is making other shippers look WAY better. It is a shame as they used to be the gold standard for shipping.
Congratulations for never giving up!
I seriously agree with the ineptness of Fed Ex. I order many things and hope that Fed Ex isn’t the shipper; I don’t remember the last time that my order was delivered on time or day without a severe delay.