Can't just talk about the other site all day, so... against the advice of ChatGPT and others... I am going to attempt to replace the door boot seal on my 15 year old washing machine and document at least some of it here (Mastodon is running a bit slow with latest influx, so we'll see)
Most people seem to expect a glorious failure, but my wife believes I can do it. #SpinImIn #DIYfollies
The door boot seal has holes in it, so any time we run the laundry a ton of water leaks onto the garage floor.... and we just sweep it out onto the driveway (you can see a leftover puddle below).
I have watched a dozen YouTube videos... and have made a (really, not kidding) 37 point checklist to follow.
Welp. This was working out way too easy. Removed the old boot seal with just a few scrapes and curses... only to realize that my washing machine had one without a drainage hose connected to the boot seal... But my replacement boot seal has a drainage hole. This presents a problem.
Sorry for the slow followup. The next problem, I came to... It turns out that the new boot seal I got, besides having an unwanted drain tube that was open... shipped with all the other inputs... sealed shut. So I needed to carefully x-acto knife the holes in the proper spot to as exact a specification as possible... Easier said than done... but eventually... done.
And then... it was just nearly an hour and a freaking half of me trying to get the stupid boot seal back on the washer.
A little aside. Nearly every YouTube video I watched said that you needed to take the front of the washer off to do this job. And getting it off and putting it back were about 20 of the 37 steps.
However... there was ONE video that showed you how to do it WITHOUT taking off the front. Even though that guy says most people take off the front.
Guess which approach I tried?
Turns out, getting the stupid seal back on the machine is WAY freaking easier if you aren't shoving your fingers in between the front of the machine and the inner tub.
Yet... that's what I did. Eventually.
THEN I had to get the spring loaded boot clamp back on, and EVEN THOUGH I BOUGHT THE SPECIAL TOOL to do JUST THAT ONE THING, it proved... difficult.
Eventually, my wonderful wife and I, together, using four hands, somehow figured out how to get the clamp back on. Don't ask me how.
Then, the final seal and clamp, which was annoying... but doable... and... the whole thing appears to be back together. Somehow. Not testing it tonight because I want to wait for the marine sealant to cure (24 hours). But... IN THEORY, I have replaced the boot seal gasket on my washing machine.
The backs of my hands are all scraped up and I somehow squeezed the tip of a finger in some pliers in an extremely painful manner, but mostly... all good.
Stay tuned until we test it out sometime tomorrow... and see if it leaks.
And... for waiting through all that... you get a song. This was the song that inspired the tag I used for some of this thread, because... I like the song and I couldn't think of any washing machine themed song.
Mike Masnick ✅
Mismie