Week 11: DIY Fix: Bringing My Old Washing Machine Back to Life

Recently, our washing machine gave up on life, and my wife had been hinting for a while that it wasn’t cleaning clothes properly anyway. Her verdict? “It’s time for a new one.”

So, off we went to the stores, only to be told they’d give us ₹500 in exchange for our old machine. My wife wasn’t impressed. Instead of trading it in for peanuts, she suggested we keep it for washing mats and window screens—basically, the dirty stuff she didn’t want anywhere near the shiny new machine. Fair enough. We brought home our new machine and planned to call a mechanic to inspect the old one.

But then, my inner engineering student kicked in. I thought, Why not take a crack at it myself? So, I went full DIY mode—dismantled the entire top section, inspected each component, and finally found the culprit: the inlet valve’s solenoid wasn’t working. This meant the valve wasn’t opening when the machine needed water.

A quick Amazon search later, I found a replacement valve, used some of my Amazon Pay balance, and ordered it. As soon as it arrived, I swapped out the old one, installed the new part, and Bingo! It worked like a charm.

I won’t lie—I felt like an absolute genius. Fixing something I had zero experience with gave me a real sense of accomplishment.

Lesson Learned

Before calling in a mechanic, do a little groundwork yourself. I realized this is something I picked up from my dad—he used to fix everything at home, from fans and lights to mixers and stoves.

I’m not sure if today’s generation is losing this knack or if I’m just turning into a boomer uncle who thinks “Back in my day, we fixed everything ourselves!” But hey, at least now I know my washing machine inside out!