Parts Galore!

I just retured from a cruise to find out my washing machine is backing up.  Water seemed to be regurgitating all over my laundry area.  Thank goodness the floor is tiled!

So I did some research online on my old washer and found that sometimes a fill valve gets stuck, causing the water to keep coming out.  Then it hit me: could this be an underserved niche? Parts for washer gets about 300,000 searches a month on Google.  And during these uncertain economic times, people are thrifty, maximizing the lifespan of their belongings, including appliances. Problem is, it’s a very competitive market, but an interesting one, nonetheless. There are couple of appliance parts associations within the industry, so this may require additional study.

In any case, back to my washer problem: I ran some more loads and noticed that the water was backing up from the drain, not the washer itself.  Turns out I had a bad drain hose. It was a flimsy one I bought when I moved into the house a few months ago. A quick search for laundry machine parts provided a couple of e-tailers with the right hose on the cheap.  But as usual, when buying online, make sure you get a better deal than you would at a local store when you take into consideration shipping charges. Problem solved, for now…