Replacing washing machine door seal – tricky?

The door seal is ripped on our washing machine.

It has a 10 year warranty but apparently it’s not covered.

Had a look at youtube and there seems to be a few springs involved, I’ve had horrible fights trying to get springy stuff back together!

How difficult is it to DIY?

depends on the machine.  I’ve done it before on a Bosch and it was just fine.

It’s a Miele.

I have done it on a few and found it to be no real hassle.

The only thing is to make sure you have a lever / something to help get the spring(s) back on as needed. I found that having a screw driver and either a cloth to pad or some lubricant (I used softener!) means they pop back on without ripping. I also bought a new spring each time as it was a couple of quid and saved a rusty or old one breaking as you do the replacement…

At the end of the day it is a big floppy rubber ‘washer’ held on by a couple of wire springs, so not difficult, just a faff.

You can buy a tool to hold the springs which I think will make it 900% easier. Without that I think it is a “5 minute job”.

Oh, and if it looks like this, you have gone too far:

@reeksy – Is this the thing?

Looks like it will work

Weird, our trusty Miele broke at the seal yesterday. It’s had a good stint and suspect user  but £170 for the part and £170 fitting is eye watering!

Miele insist on the phone it isn’t user replaceable, I’ve looked at a few videos online and it looks pretty tricky with the Miele and needs the whole front off. Reckon I could do it but chances of issues are high and I need a call out anyway and more time without a machine so reckon I’ll go for it with a 3rd party repairer for a fraction of the Miele cost.

£340 is crazy for a door seal.

Yup, bonkers.

There’s 2 parts to the seal, one of those parts is available on its own, the other isn’t so you have to buy both, at twice the price of an individual part!

Hoping independent installer can source more cheaply, they’re already £100 less for labour.

We had a small tear in ours, repaired with a puncture repair batch, seems to have worked, but may not work for your rip.

Good shout Rich! I’ll try that today, I don’t think it will sort it long term as it’s quite badly torn but might get us through the next week or so till we can get the part.

I also did what richmars suggests above. The patches in the puncture kit were not the right size for me so I popped to Halfords and got a packet of 3 rubber patch strips that I cut to size instead. Plan was for it to hold until I could replace the seal but it’s lasted me about a year so far, but typing this means it’s sure to fail when I put the next load on!

I’m ~15 years out of job involving reconditioned washers, but back then, Meile were well worth repairing. We had quite a number come through our workshop for a minor spruce up before rehoming, that were 20+ years old.

IIRC, Meile were often the heaviest washers, one of the reasons for how my lower back end up in a right mess for ~10 years and still gives me relatively minor grief now.

I also did what richmars suggests above

I’ve done the puncture repair patch fix too, years ago as a quick fix in a rental property. Much quicker than getting the landlord to do anything about it, and it was still fine when I moved out about a year later. So, worth a go I reckon, personally I’d hold back completely on a proper fix unless the patch fails but then I’m a cheapskate.

How old is it?

It’s about 5 years old.

I looked at the Miele videos on youtube.

It’s a big job.

Also, I’m thinking if I get non Miele engineer to fit a 3rd party part, then it may invalidate the rest of my 10 year warranty?

It’s about 5 years old.

So one could perhaps argue that under the Consumer Rights Act it would be reasonable to expect a machine with a 10-year warranty not to fail after five years, and that’s a claim you can make up to six years from taking ownership.  Though I think if I were you I’d be going back to Miele and trying again for a ‘gesture of goodwill’ repair with a different call handler first.

Also, I’m thinking if I get non Miele engineer to fit a 3rd party part, then it may invalidate the rest of my 10 year warranty?

That would depend entirely on the wording of the warranty.  I would expect that anything directly affected by the repair would be invalidated,  but changing the seal and then having (say) the pump failing a year later should still be covered.  But any “manufacturer’s warranty” is in addition to your statutory rights, so they can make up whatever clauses and exemptions they see fit.

I haven’t asked Miele the question yet.

However, door seals are referenced as possible exemptions from the warranty, so I fully expecting them to wiggle out of it.

The seal would be changed befo e you even found the right person to have your hypothetical arguement with

@trail_rat – What makes you say that?

YouTube video shows the process to be the same as a Bosch

I had a new seal sent on 24 hour courier  and I had it fitted in an hour.

It looks daunting but if your methodical it’s very easy.

With a young family I don’t have time to be waiting for someone to respond to an email and then an engineer to be scheduled sometime within the next couple weeks.

Certainly with the Bosch one it isn’t that hard as removing the front panel is easy (all fixings accessible from the front). I did struggle getting the new seal on until I realised I was fitting it back to front!

Our Miele vacuum cleaner ‘wand’ broke. We mailed them and they said it was excluded from the warranty but they’d put one in the post as a gesture of good will.

So definitely worth an ask!

As above, lots of YouTube, and lay an old towel down to put the screws down in the order of your choosing.

It’s always top off, sometimes sides sometimes front off. Looks dramatic but really isn’t. I’ve not had a problem requiring spring pliers (yet).

Good luck, and check the drum dampers whilst you are in there – if it leaps about violently when starting the spin that can rip the seal.

Meile is a good brand, but the spares and servicing costs are eye watering sometimes!