According to another forum discussion regarding speaker spikes: trebble, high sound, travels through air best, and does so pretty much all of the time. sub bass / bass travels best through solids and is what it does most of the time. now, the bass (as it is goign through solids) travels fractionaly faster than the trebble...however, as they are 2 waves, and they are *almost* together...the ear does not notice it. MIDBASS however is where our problem begins...midbass travels partialy through the air, and partialy through the floor...because we have 2 waves and a slight delay (the wave in the floor goes faster) we are stretching the midbass (altogether a bit of a nasty sort of bass if heared on its own) and hence we end up with a "muddy" sound...very noticable in some cases with the spikes, waves require a certain amout or low frequency to utilise the "coupling" and the midbass is *almost*all stoped from getting to the floor. this creates 2 plus points, the sound is now less muddy, and as the sub bass/bass has its own "highway" all to itself, it also comes across clearer. Anyways, you are proposing an interesting experiment to see if spikes will help your washing machine from vibrating floor. I think it is interesting since in this case there is no speaker cones to move the air and the vibration frequency is probably in the bass to mid-bass frequency range. Here is a link that might be useful: Digital trends

Neatfreaknot, I could not agree with you more about the owners manuals of most FL'ers out there on the market. Most of them just give basic directions for machine use and pay little if any attention to maintenance or even proper machine use. While the ideal material for the outer drum would be stainless steel, it would add a significant amount to the cost, probably upwards of several hundred dollars. Plastic drums are fine if they are maintained properly, but like you just said the manual needs to communicate this to the user. I see more damaged machines from improper installation than anything else, removing the shipping bolts and laying the machine down to transport and attach pedestals often times destroy the suspension system of the machine. Dealers and installers need to do far better in this department. Manufacturers need to do a much better job of temperature control on these machines, Bosch is the only one I know of in the U.S. that uses the heating element in all cycles to reach the target temp and then maintain it throughout the washing cycle. Other makers may do this, but they don't communicate this well if at all in the owner's manual. People have hooked up a Killawatt device to there machines to see if they do in fact use the heater in different cycles, this should not be necessary as this info should be in plain english right in the manual. Another manual pet peave of mine is using fancy technical terms to describe a feature, but then not explaining how it works. A good example is the manual states something like this, Our adaptive sensor technology uses multiple sensors to assure your clothes are clean and free of detergent residues. Ok, so what sensors are used and how does it work? Who knows, it's never explained in the manual. For all I know it's just some fancy words that are used as a marketing gimmick.

I'll have to check at the library for the latest Consumer Reports reviews on washers. I am limited as to what Lowes carries because that is where the gift card will originate. We have looked at the new Bosch Vision 500 and they look cheap not as nice as the original Nexxt series. We looked at the Samsung, and the Electrolux. We both like the Electrolux, reversible washer door (which works well for our setup), it has prewash, larger capacity which helps in washing pants and shirts weekly. At this point, I do not know what's wrong with it. They tech is putting a new motherboard and motor controller board and I'm going to ask him if this does not work that we both speak to Lowes and get it replaced. We paid 999 for the washer and I bet there will be that much in repairs after this time. I will always get extended warranties on anything electronic these days when they come with a lot of moving parts. Dishwasher, washers and dryers are key to these warranties. Also, does anyone know what they do with the set? Do they take them or do I need to discard them myself. If they let me keep them, I might give them to a friend who is in need of a washer/dryer. Maybe she will get it repaired and working correctly who knows. Matt Spfd IL.

IMHO....spend the twenty even though it's a rip. You didn't say how old or what model but generally.....those aftermarket "vibration absorbers" have a different purpose from the machine's original feet. The machine's feet are designed to provide a solid base so that the machine's suspension components can handle vibration and imbalance when they occur. For that, they need equal or almost-equal bearing on those supporting feet in order to work properly. I would not introduce a material of unknown/dissimilar compressibility on a single foot for that reason.