I've got a washing machine upstairs that vibrates the whole house when it's on spin.

Normally I'd be cool with it, but the house is built on a truss system so the vibration is transmitted across the middle of the house and I keep getting a crack in the ceiling sheetrock below the laundry room.

Any ideas on how to dampen the vibration? I'm going to double up some 1" thick rubber padding beneath it, but am open to other ideas.

9/17/2010 8:44:46 PM

[Edited on September 17, 2010 at 9:11 PM. Reason : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U60YdcDXPn4

9/17/2010 9:09:04 PM

a large concrete pad underneath the washer would do the trick to reduce any motion, but unfortunately that is highly impractical in a residential application

9/17/2010 9:11:22 PM

Buy a new washer that works correctly when balanced?

9/17/2010 9:14:52 PM

concrete? I was thinking the other direction: pillows

9/17/2010 9:27:22 PM

springs on the feet and a restraint to keep it in place

9/17/2010 9:36:30 PM

smaller loads of laundry

9/17/2010 9:41:04 PM

is it a front-loader or top-loader?

9/17/2010 11:24:34 PM

Buy a new washer?

9/17/2010 11:52:14 PM

some thick padding should help, but if it's a side-loader then throw some weight on top of it. Some lifting weights, bag of concrete, etc. I've found that a giant jug/container of water or liquid detergent can help dampen the vibration immensely. The only problem with that method is that mine is a top-loader so I have to keep putting it on and taking it off but it's taken the shaking down to a solid noise/hum.

9/18/2010 2:12:15 AM

I have a similar issue. Townhouse has the laundry room upstairs. I always keep the spin cycle on low. Also if you got the washer/dryer pedestals with your machine I'd recommend removing them. These pedestals make it more off balanced. Also, buy a washer that has the "Vibration Reduction Technology" with it.

9/18/2010 3:34:23 AM

It's a GE front-load thats only about 4 years old. The vibration isn't that bad, it's just exacerbated by the loacation of the laundry room and the engineering of the house.

^ Good to know. I almost bought the pedestals in the hopes that they would dampen the vibration a bit.

9/18/2010 3:36:22 AM

tuned mass damper?

smaller loads of laundry, or isolate it from the floor.

9/18/2010 8:50:47 AM

Slower spin cycle?

9/18/2010 9:10:55 AM

When I bought my front-loader, I was told by several people that they aren't recommended for upstairs use. They said it shouldn't hurt anything...it'll just shake the house a little on the spin cycle. That doesn't really bother me, so I put it upstairs anyway. So far (after a little over a year), no ill effects.

9/18/2010 9:22:06 AM

There are all kinds of anti-vibration rubber feet sets that you can buy for washers for <$50.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=washer+vibration+isolation+pads&x=0&y=0

These seem to be the most popular:

http://www.amazon.com/Anti-walk-Silent-Feet-Anti-vibration-Machines/dp/B001LKUFEO/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&ie=UTF8&qid=1284819072&sr=8-1



[Edited on September 18, 2010 at 10:13 AM. Reason : ]

9/18/2010 10:12:13 AM

Level it

9/18/2010 9:51:10 PM

When I first read the title, I thought this was an evan thread.

9/18/2010 10:15:54 PM

^^ I think that will help.

Try drying smaller loads, too.

9/19/2010 3:18:17 PM

I grabbed some pads at Lowes and just put a load in.

We'll see.

9/19/2010 5:44:20 PM

^^^^ try that and make sure feet are on tightly

[Edited on September 19, 2010 at 5:44 PM. Reason : ']

9/19/2010 5:44:31 PM

I still got some vibration on the spin cycle, though it wasn't nearly as bad. I might try doubling up on the dampening pads (I bought two sets) and see how it goes.

9/19/2010 6:34:37 PM

Does the washing machine shake and rock during the spin cycle, or during other cycles? Then its not leveled. To be vibrating so much that its cracking your house then its either not leveled, horribly unbalanced (like you're washing 1 severely wet comforter) or its a really shitty washing machine.

9/19/2010 7:44:16 PM

why dampen vibration? Move into a bigger house and rent the house out as a whore house

9/19/2010 8:40:06 PM