How do you drain off a flooded WMA?

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  • #17259
    Martin
    Participant

    I’m sure some bright spark has an easy answer to this problem, so here’s hoping 🙄

    All too common a scenario:-

    Hotpoint WMA sump blocked (in the case in question today with several Colour Catchers * as it happens!) and machine overfilled up to dispenser level before overflowing. 😯

    Problem 1) Lowering drain hose, not a drip as sump totally blocked 🙁

    Problem 2) Too full to tip forwards to access sump hose for danger of further flooding the floor and a good possibility of water getting into control panel? 😕

    Problem 3) Unable to drag outside and let the sumphose go due to being on the 3rd floor flat 🙁

    Problem 4) Unable to ‘swing a cat in the flat’ let alone find enough space to tip machine on its side to enable water to drain into a bucket 🙁

    Problem 5) No bucket!

    In the end I had to loosen the pressure tube fixing and let the water slowly drain into a convoy of saucepans. It took more than 30 minutes to drain it to a level safe enough to drop the sumphose off and clear the blockage. Ruddy lousy job, soaked to the skin, totally pee’d off and reluctant to ever get involved with a flooded WMA again 👿

    * Click here for more info on these darn things.

    #173502
    Phidom
    Participant

    Re: How do you drain off a flooded WMA?

    Syphon tube through the soap drawer housing into the drum perhaps? Once the water was low enough you might get the hose off and poke the tube direct into the drum.

    #173503
    Martin
    Participant

    Re: How do you drain off a flooded WMA?

    Phidom wrote:Syphon tube through the soap drawer housing into the drum perhaps?

    Because of the ‘L’ shaped angle of the dispenser hose you can’t get a tube into the drum from the dispenser. I tried a length of pressure tubing type hose and it wouldn’t feed down into the darned drum. A larger diameter hose (like a garden hose) would be impossible also…. 🙁

    #173504
    iadom
    Moderator

    Re: How do you drain off a flooded WMA?

    I would tilt back as far as possible, almost flat then using a small pan, ladle the water out through the door, or syphon out, with the machine laid back. When you have removed most of the water this way then tilt the machine forward far enough to allow the sump to be removed without the water pouring out.

    #173505
    wilf
    Participant

    Re: How do you drain off a flooded WMA?

    Ive got an old vax 2000 with a numatic squeegy floor tool he 😉 ld in just under door and SLOWLY EASE THE DOOR OPEN A BIT AT A TIME . a few rags to catch the spills and a suck up on the floor between bucket empties and bobs your uncle. even on carpet floor it hardly spills enough to worry about. I find this the best method as over full machines are too heavy to pull out, customers usually impressed as most of them expected floods.

    wilf 😉

    #173506

    Re: How do you drain off a flooded WMA?

    Can’t carry a Vax round with me.
    Theoretically (although I’ve had 30 mins to think about it so you’d have been on your way to next job by now):
    If there was room to get behind m/c I’d take the drain hose off (risky, but you could be ready to quickly push it back on if it suddenly started to flow),
    and poke something in through there to partly clear the blockage. Then quickly put drain hose back and switch to pump out. Maybe unplug motor 1st. Would that work?
    Mike.
    PS Are these c/c things tissues?

    #173507
    bobokines
    Participant

    Re: How do you drain off a flooded WMA?

    Can’t do it without a bucket, but here’s the method I use…
    :lesson:
    Acquire a strong piece of polythene sheeting , a strong bin bag will do.

    Using packing tape, stick the polythene to the front of the machine around and below the door opening. Funnel the loose end of the polythene into the bucket… (If you’ve got one 😉 ) and then open the door… slowly. The polythene will act as a funnel and all the water goes into the bucket.

    Not sure of the answer on a machine with a pneumatic door lock though.

    Bob

    #173508
    Bryan
    Participant

    Re: How do you drain off a flooded WMA?

    Nice one Bob , fantastic idea and so simple 😀

    Bryan

    #173509
    Martin
    Participant

    Re: How do you drain off a flooded WMA?

    I must admit the most obvious method was not not at all obvious to me until Jim (iadom) pointed it out 🙂

    Of course! why didn’t I think of that? Laying it on it’s back, easy! Not a drop of water spilled in the process…!

    Thanks Jim, take the rest of the day off if you like? 😀

    #173510
    iadom
    Moderator

    Re: How do you drain off a flooded WMA?

    As they say round these parts, ” two heads are better than one, even if its a sheeps head” 😆

    #173511

    Re: How do you drain off a flooded WMA?

    Martin,
    This may be nit picking but I thought you said there wasn’t room to tip m/c onto its side. If so, where would you have found room to tip it on its back?
    I think Iadom should go to work today and stop gloating. 😆
    Mike.

    #173512
    Bryan
    Participant

    Re: How do you drain off a flooded WMA?

    Yeah , I liked Bob`s idea to save my back and fingers 😉 and the customers vinyl flooring when dragging the thing out full of water :?.

    Bryan

    #173513
    Martin
    Participant

    Re: How do you drain off a flooded WMA?

    leavemetogetonwithit wrote:Martin,
    This may be nit picking but I thought you said there wasn’t room to tip m/c onto its side.

    Indeed I did Mike and there wasn’t at that job, but next time I get a waterlogged WMA I will flop it on it’s back, thats for sure 😀

    #173514

    Re: How do you drain off a flooded WMA?

    bobokines wrote:
    Not sure of the answer on a machine with a pneumatic door lock though.

    Bob
    At least you’ve got the front filter opening on Z’s.

    BTW, How many times have Hotpoint owners asked “Is there some sort of filter I can get to on this thing, my old Z,C,I etc used to have….blah blah…”?
    I tell them that Hotpoint have survived for decades without front fitting filters and many Z owners never need to open theirs either. Wonder if I’m giving out the right spiel?
    Mike.

    #173515
    johnnyj
    Participant

    Re: How do you drain off a flooded WMA?

    Have always tipped it back until water is below the door scoop out with large pot or bowl then progress to smaller one, then into back with a basin to clear, incidently the latest machines coming out of wales have a filter at the front.

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