i bought a duplex (!)

Fixing a Jammed Coin-Operated Washer

Perhaps my decision to purchase a coin-operated washer is coming back to bite me. I was out of town all weekend, and came back to a note on my door, saying that the coin slot on the washing machine was jammed, and wouldn’t turn on the washing machine, or pull out. The tenants said that they put in the correct amount of money (they had just gotten a new roll of quarters from the bank, even), and weren’t trying to pull anything (i.e. putting the quarters in pantyhose to pull them back out, or a similar trick like that).

When the washing machine was brand new, the coin slot had been a little sticky, and was fixed by a simple dousing of WD-40. So, I figured that this would be a simple fix.

MORE THAN OIL
However, no amount of WD-40 and jiggling would get this coin slot to budge. One of my guy-friends came over to take a look at it with me and he too was stumped. It appeared at first as though one of the six coin slots was missing its coin — however, after further inspection with a flashlight, we discovered that there WAS a coin in that slot, but it had tipped to the side, and was preventing the coin slot from moving. A nickel?? Some sort of coin-like subway token??

ENTER THE X-ACTO BLADE
In order to fix the problem, we needed some way to push the tilted coin upright. A wire? A knife? There wasn’t a lot of room to work with, but an x-acto blade, slide into the slot next to the coin was able to move the coin upright. The coin slot went in, deposited its coins, and started the wash.

WHAT WAS THE CULPRIT?
I had emptied the coins from the washing machine while figuring out the problem, so that I could see exactly what had been sitting in the slot, jamming it up. When we pulled out the coin tray… it was a CANADIAN quarter! A Canadian quarter that was a slightly different size, a slightly different weight; just enough to cause the coin to tilt in the slot. What surprises me the most, though, isn’t the fact that my Whirlpool doesn’t accept Canadian quarters — the fact that the BANK is putting CANADIAN quarters in its rolls! Seriously! Aren’t those supposed to be sent back up north, across the border???

Related Articles:

• Coin-operated or not coin-operated? Repair or replace?

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Entry Filed under: Repairs and Maintenance
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