OK - round two is over and I am officially at my wit's end. This is a bit long so if you are short on patience, skip this post. The same guy came out today. He called first to ask if i could have clothes in the machine so he could see what was happening with a load of clothes. So I put in a load of towels. Based on my discussion with the company owner last week, I thought this guy was coming with a new belt and idler pulley and was to check the timer. He did none of this. He took the front off and played with the idler pulley for a while. Then he supposedly checked the motor draw and concluded it wasn't the motor. During this time, the machine had finished its cycle which included an extra rinse. He refilled the machine at least twice and let it run through again. During the spin cycles, the machine again sounded like it wasn't getting up to speed until almost the very end of the spin cycle if it did it at all. His conclusion was that there is nothing wrong with the machine and that the reason the machine never reaches the full spin speed is that I am using too much detergent.
How did he arrive at this conclusion? The washer empties into a relatively deep slop sink and there is always a little water left in the bottom of the sink after the machine spins. So for example, when the rinse water comes flying out of the machine and with the force it does so, there is some foam on top of the water in the sink. He determined that means I am overdosing. Now it should be noted there are no visible suds in the washer or on the towels at this point. He went on to grill me about how much detergent (Tide with Bleach powder) I use, so i showed him the scoop and the fill line I use - less than a full scoop (not quite to line 2) with a full towel load. He actually went as far as to pick up the Tide box and read me the directions since I apparently don't know what I am doing. Of course, when he picked up the box, he tilted it back to better see the instructions and since it was almost full, dumped about 2 cups of detergent on my floor. No apologies, not even an acknowledgement that he did this, just kept insisting there was nothing wrong and it was all the detergent and I should probably use something else.
So to cut to the dismal end, the machine finishes spinning and I have had enough of his detergent lecture. I also got a look at the service report he prepared that literally said that the malfunction was caused by the fact that customer needed to be instructed to use less powdered soap and that after the three additional rinses, the machine is extracting normally. To prove his point he pulled a towel out of the machine and shows me that he can't wring a drop out of it. I couldn't take it anymore and told him that I disagreed with his finding, that I believed there really was something wrong with the machine that had nothing to do with detergent and that anyone could tell the machine was still not spinning fast and smooth . I took the same towel and proceeded to wring a good 1/4 cup of water from it. Then I went to a face cloth and did the same thing. Well, that sealed my fate - he grabbed his tools, and literally barked at me "Well, I guess I will just have to talk to Ted about this, sir" and took off slamming the front door in the process.
You know, I realize we all have our neuroses. etc... but I am trying to be reasonable. I am completely certain something is wrong and it mystifies me that no one is interested in diagnosing. I have lived with this machine for 5 years and know its sounds and rhythms. I know I had that issue when the machine stopped completely and wouldn't agitate, drain or spin. I realize I am not an engineer or technician but when does an appliance have to explode for someone to take an interest in it?
Who knows, maybe I really am imagining this whole thing - but that load of towels that was supposedly perfectly extracted took almost two hours to dry. I didn't imagine that!! I just don't know...
