Washing Machines & Condo Fees

First of all, a reminder that December condo fees are coming up. For those of us who prefer to write checks rather than arrange electronic payment through the portal, there are no longer coupon books to use for check payments; the amount due can be seen by signing into your portal account, and the mailing address for checks is available on the contact page. If paying by check, please allow plenty of time for your payment to get there.

Also, a resident has questions about their washing machine set-up. Please offer any advice you have in the comments.

I recently purchased a new front loading washing machine and dryer. When the new washing machine runs its spin cycle it shakes the whole condo. You can even feel it on the bottom floor! I had two repair people come and look at it and they both said the machine itself is working well. The second one suggested that the problem is with the floor and not the machine. He told us that we should look into reinforcing the floor beneath the machine to stop the vibrating. The manual also suggests reinforcing the floor. I was wondering if anyone has gone through this or might have some advice on what to do, or who to hire.

5 thoughts on “Washing Machines & Condo Fees”

  1. First of all, a reminder that any work done to reinforce the floor should be okayed by management first.

    As for our own experience, the salesman who sold us our washer and dryer didn’t say anything about floor requirements, but the delivery people said it was really designed for concrete basement floors—it would have been nice if they’d told us that when they sold it to us. That said, ours isn’t all that bad and we’ve had it for several years now. Yes, you can hear the spin cycle, but it certainly doesn’t shake the whole condo. I wonder if the difference is in the brand/model or if there’s something different about the floor. Ours is an LG; I don’t know the model offhand but it has a “true balance, anti-vibration system.” None of which helps the resident in question with their own washer, but it might be useful info for someone else reading the post.

    1. Thank you for publishing my query! It’s relieving to hear that I’m not the only one who has this problem.

      Does anyone also know what our subfloor is? I have carpet, and lifted it up and saw a chalky white concrete like substance underneath.

      Thank you for your time,
      Rosemary

      1. I’m not sure what the subfloor is on the second level of each unit, but on the first floor it’s a layer of gypcrete (a white, concrete-like substance) applied over the old, oil-soaked, mill flooring to act as a fire retardant. Any time flooring is replaced in the downstairs of a unit, the gypcrete must be left in place or repaired/replaced as needed. Soundproofing is also required any time the downstairs carpeting is replaced with tile, hardwood or similar flooring.

  2. This is very common Rosemary. I’d suspect your floor’s fine, but you’re experiencing instability due to one of the following situations:

    Legs aren’t adjusted (easy to adjust with a wrench).
    Stacking kit’s not installed correctly (dryer shouldn’t slide).
    There’s just too many heavy clothes in the wash.

    Front load washers take far less clothes, but hey you gotta get energy efficiency somewhere and that’s basically from washing less clothes with less water.

    This site has more: https://homeguides.sfgate.com/fix-banging-stackable-washer-37790.html

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