Problem solving is one of those skills that we use everyday.  Tonight I was faced with a very difficult problem – the washing machine was spinning out of control and wobbling everywhere when the spin cycle was engaged.

Here’s where I immediately started thinking:

• “Oh crap, we need to buy a new washing machine”
• “Wait a minute… It worked fine yesterday”
• Remove the heavy wet clothes into an empty basket
• Proceed to unplug it, move it away from the wall, and remove the access panel

45 minutes later after trying to find the owners manual, the model number, Googling, and looking for the model number again I finally managed to get the access panel off.  Note to self – those brass colored clips were there for a reason.

20 minutes of inspection and I couldn’t find a darn thing wrong with it.

25 minutes of trying to figure out how to put the access panel back on (sans the brass clips) I finally managed to get all the screws in.

15 minutes of hooking the hoses up with plumbers tape and troubleshooting as to why the cold-line water hammer didn’t want to seal correctly to only discover that the re-taping and reconnecting fixed it.

LIGHTBULB! Remember those heavy clothes?  Well, they were a little too heavy.  After reducing the load size and testing the spin cycle again I discovered that there was nothing wrong.

When faced with a problem don’t immediately jump in.  Take a moment, assess the situation, and start with the basics.  Sometimes the easiest solution is the correct solution.