Washing machine for seasonal cottage

[mogulmamna]

We are looking to buy a washer for our sumner cottage. As we need to drain all water from the house each year when we close it up, I’m wondering if there are certain makes/models of washers that make this process easier. Thanks in advance.


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[Lakeboater]

As long as you antifreeze it with RV antifreeze you should be okay. A top loader is generally easier as water doesn't sit in the bottom of the machine like some HE front loaders.

[Bear Islander]

I agree you should use a top loader.

Remove the hot and cold hoses and drain them. Put about a half gallon of RV antifreeze in the tub and set the control to drain it out. This will protect the pump and the trap in the plumbing.

[Dad sold the C * C]

What Bear Islander said. I would look for an older type model with knobs, it is easier as you can turn It to the beginning of a pump cycle and stop It as soon as pink comes out the hose.

For my dishwasher i had to find the spec sheet a technician would use and figure out how to get into "TEST" mode by pushing a sequence of buttons. Then I can active the pump and the drain. When I see pink in the hose, I'm done.

[moose tracks]

I agree you should use a top loader.

Remove the hot and cold hoses and drain them. Put about a half gallon of RV antifreeze in the tub and set the control to drain it out. This will protect the pump and the trap in the plumbing.

I agree with the method used by Bear Islander. I set the cycle control on my machine to final spin to drain out the RV fluid. I have been doing this for over 10 years and never had a freezing problem with my machine.

[garysanfran]

for years. Now I pay a plumber $175 to do it all. After he has drained all the pipes, dishwasher, washer machine, he blows compressed air through everything.

In the past, when I did it, there would frequently (too frequently) be a few drops of water left over in some strategic place that, when it froze, broke something that would be discovered when opening in the spring. On opening day you'd discover you had no running water, no toilet, no dishwasher, etc. A repair expense that should be a factor in this decision.

One year, unrelated to water problems, the anti-freeze (not enough) in my heater pipes froze. In the spring, firing up the furnace was a disaster. Walls had to be opened to repair the seven breaks in the pipes. My furnace guy took responsibility and did the repairs for free, but repairing the walls was on me. That I could do myself.

Then, the reverse in the spring, the plumber turns everything back on BEFORE I arrive...Sweet!

"A good man always knows his limitations", Harry Callahan (aka Clint Eastwood, Magnum Force, 1973).

[Barney Bear]

For years, we opened and closed our place on East Bear Island by ourselves. Removing and installing shutters. Starting up and shutting down our water system. Winterizing washing machine, and putting in RV antifreeze where needed, etc. Happily, we now hire our contractor to open and close for us. 🐻