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We've got a high-efficiency side-loading washer, on a wood floor. The machine is vibrating, but we don't know if it's a normal level or it's too much and will cause damage over time.

Most of the time, there is a small amount of vibration that seems normal. See video here (note, unmute the video for audio)

Occasionally though, the shaking is stronger (see here, again unmute for audio). In rare instances, it can be shaking more than this as well.

There's various advice about what to do if your washer is shaking, but I've not been able to find any details about how much vibration is actually a problem? Do we need to fix this?

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  • @r13 it's a front load machine ... load cannot be spread like in a top load machine
    – jsotola
    Commented Oct 10, 2021 at 23:24
  • Yeah, I missed the "side-load", my comment delected.
    – r13
    Commented Oct 10, 2021 at 23:39

2 Answers 2

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It doesn't appear from the video to be vibrating more than normal. The vibration will be more when the washer first starts to spin and will smooth out as the load sheds water. There will be times when there's more vibration that can be solved by redistributing and balancing the clothes in the washer.

You should also tweak the leveling adjusters on the legs to make sure they're correctly adjusted. Do this while the machine's running and adjust the screws back and forth to fine tune the vibration level.

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    Adjust the feet to ensure it's level!
    – FreeMan
    Commented Oct 11, 2021 at 17:56
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The vibration in the second video is not good but to be expected with a poorly balanced load. To give an extreme example just to make it obvious, one large cotton towel and a lot of little nylon bits of clothing will cause this. Read and follow the instructions in the manual about how to sort and load laundry. You will be among the 1% who do. The answer is there.

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  • We have two smallish thick throw rugs that sit just inside a dog door. When I wash one, the load is unbalanced and the washer shakes severely. When I wash both at once, the weight is distributed inside the washer drum and the washer spins smoothly.
    – DavidRecallsMonica
    Commented Oct 10, 2021 at 23:56
  • This is a front-load (or side load - guess it depends on how you're looking at the machine) washer. The drum spins on a horizontal axis, with the majority of the load on the bottom half, not a vertical axis, where the load can be unbalanced.
    – FreeMan
    Commented Oct 11, 2021 at 17:56
  • Front loaders with a suitable mix of laundry will distribute the laundry evenly around the drum as they begin their spin. This is a neat trick that top loaders cannot perform, and it allows them to spin faster, one of their benefits. But if there is one piece that is heavier than all the rest put together, the trick can't work.
    – jay613
    Commented Oct 11, 2021 at 19:36

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