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How to clean out the water inlet of my washer....

catherinet (5IN)

2 years ago

I have a 43 year old Maytag washer and I love it! I've noticed that when the cold water comes on for the rinse, it really slows down. I stuck my finger in the water inlet place inside it and it came out with some gunk on it. I was thinking maybe I could put a long, small wire brush down there to clean it out. Does that make sense? We live with a well and have a fair amount of "gunk" buildup here and there in the house. We have a good water filter right where the water comes from the pressure tank.

Does the water slowing down with the cold water mean something in particular? Thanks.

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Comments (2)

dadoes
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
The hose you poked may have some residue but it's probably not the source of the flow obstruction. You can clean it with a suitable brush but be careful not to puncture it or dislodge it, otherwise you'll need to disassemble the machine for access to fix that problem.

More likely the screens in the machine's inlet valve are clogged from debris in your water supply.

Turn off both supply faucets (hot and cold). Disconnect the hoses from back of the machine ... can do one at a time. Look into the connection ports to see if the debris screens (that should be in there) are clogged. Clean the screens as best you can. A machine of that age probably has wire/mesh screens (pic 1 below) which can be difficult to remove without damaging or deforming them ... so clean them carefully in-place. A toothbrush or other small brush dipped in a cup of water. I have a basting/marinade injector syringe (pic 2) that works nicely for squirting water repeatedly at the screens to flush them clear. Don't puncture or deform the screens, or debris in the future can pass through and jam the valve from closing which leads to flooding.

There may also be screens in the hoses at the faucet end. Usually not but sometimes there are. It's a good idea to add them if there are none for extra protection. Screens at the faucets are easier to clean and help avoid the need to clean the screens in the valves. You can disconnect the hoses from the faucets to check and clean them if necessary. And add screens there if you wish, you can get them at plumbing or home supply stores (pic 3), they take the place of the rubber washers without screens. (Don't add screens into the supply hoses at the machine end.)
catherinet (5IN)
Original Author
2 years ago
Thanks Dadoes! You reminded me of a problem I had when I first bought this 40+ years ago. I was renting a little house that had a water supply from the well that was crumbling and I had to do exactly what you described every few days to keep the water running through. Guess my brain is too full of more recent stuff to remember that. Thanks for your great detail on how to deal with it! I really appreciate it!
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