Solved

Grinding scraping noise after heating element to remove a bra wire

TATamsin
Asked over 8 years ago 3,768 views
0

Hi I’m hoping someone can help. I had a bra wire stuck in my machine for months scrapping constantly. Finally today I googled how to remove it. I went in through the heating element at the back of my machine and used washing liquid to place it back easily at the seal as I was struggling to get it back in. Now the drum is making an awful grinding scraping noise constantly?? What have I done wrong? Please I would be greatful if any help?

Solution Summary

AI-generated from this discussion

This thread was marked as solved. Here's a summary of the problem and the fix, generated from the discussion below.

Grinding/scraping noise after refitting heating element to remove bra wire

The problem
A washing machine had been scraping for months due to a bra wire. The owner removed the heating element from the rear to extract the wire, then found the drum made a severe grinding/scraping noise. After posting, they found the heating element was out of place and corrected it, but a catching noise remained at one point in the drum rotation, mainly as the machine starts to spin and slows down, not at high speed.
Likely cause
The strongest supported cause is that the heating element was initially not seated correctly in its bracket after refitting, allowing the drum to catch it. As some noise remained after repositioning the element, a further possible cause mentioned was another trapped bra wire or the drum catching the door seal at one point in its rotation. Spin start/slow-down noises could also relate to suspension, feet or chassis movement, but this was not confirmed.
What fixed it
Refit the heating element correctly in place and then check for any remaining point-contact noise by inspecting whether the drum catches the door seal anywhere around its full circumference. Also check whether the noise can be recreated by moving or bouncing the tub with the lid removed and the machine isolated from the mains. Avoid stripping the drum down unless properly diagnosed first. The exact repair beyond repositioning the element was not confirmed.
Checks to try
  • Owner confirmed the heating element was out of place and then repositioned it
  • Turn the drum by hand to see if it catches at one point in the rotation
  • Check the full circumference of the door seal for drum contact
  • With the machine disconnected from the mains, remove the lid and move/bounce the outer drum side to side to see if the noise is recreated
  • Move the washing machine from side to side to check for suspension, feet or chassis-related noise
Parts or tools mentioned
  • heating element
  • door seal
  • sump hose

Safety: Disconnect the washing machine from the mains before removing the lid or carrying out checks. Further diagnosis should be carried out by a suitably qualified appliance engineer.

Cause identifiedGenerated 10 Aug 2026 · AI summaries can make mistakes — read the full thread below.
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3 Answers

Accepted Answer
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WH
WhitegoodshelpVerified Engineer
Answered over 8 years ago

The heating element is the last place I would use to get to an obstruction. If it I needs to be located in a bracket and it isn’t then the drum will hit the element when it spins with a heavy load inside. However if the noise is there all the time it’s likely to be something else.

Alternatively there could be another bra wire in the machine if the scraping noise happens when you turn the drum by hand. Sometimes they can get stuck behind the inner drum and be impossible to remove without taking the drum out.

how to remove something stuck in a washing machine

Whitegoods Help — appliance repair expert and forum host.
0
TA
Tamsin
Answered over 8 years ago

Hi thank you for your response I went through the heating element as i could see the bra wire on the heating element but couldn’t get to it any easier way as far as I found on google and YouTube. After I posted I did check and could see the element was out of place so fixed that but it’s still catching on something but it’s not a constant noise now. Mainly when it starts to spin and slows down. but not at high speed. When I turn the drum it hits just in one point of the turn. It wasn’t doing it before I moved the element. Im not sure what to try next. I watched something about checking the sump hose? Or should I just attempt to try to open it up and look inbetween the drums maybe? I’m a complete learner lol

0
WH
WhitegoodshelpVerified Engineer
Answered over 8 years ago

Hello Tasmin. You can often retrieve something stuck on the heating element by removing the sump hose but if it's too far away then removing the heating element may be the only real alternative. As my article points out there can be problems in getting it back in place, and if you over lubricate it it could even pop back out and flood the kitchen. That has happened to me. Fortunately if it's going to do that it will usually do it fairly soon after being refitted so if yours has not come back out then it should be okay.

Noises that occur when the washing machine starts to spin and then slows down are usually noises related to the suspension, or possibly even the feet or chassis of the washing machine. At these points the tub tends to sway back-and-forth quite a lot, especially if the load is not well balanced. To check if your noises are caused by something like this try moving the washing machine from side to side to see if it recreates the noise. Disconnect the washing machine from the mains, take off the lid, and try moving and bouncing the main outer drum from side to side to see if you can recreate the noise. If you can then it's just a matter of using ears and common sense to locate where it is coming from.

However if the noise is only related to when the drum itself turns then check that it isn't catching on the front of the door seal somewhere. Sometimes the drums are slightly elliptical and at a certain point in rotation it can catch on the door seal. That could happen anywhere around the door seal including out of sight so check the full circumference. I would avoid trying to strip the drum down for sure. Unfortunately without being able to hear the noise I can't advise whether it is something that needs immediate attention or something that can be ignored.

Whitegoods Help — appliance repair expert and forum host.

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