Appreciation post: the guy who showed me how to bypass a whirlpool door switch with a paperclip

A landlord in Phoenix was about to toss a perfectly good washer because the door latch was stuck, so I tried the paperclip trick and it clicked open in 2 seconds, has anyone else found a quick fix that saved a unit from the dumpster?

3 comments

3 Comments

zaranelson8d ago

not gonna lie, that paperclip trick has saved me more times than I can count on old appliances. i had a dryer that would start fine but then just randomly stop mid cycle - turned out the door switch was just barely out of alignment. popped the panel off, wedged a bit of cardboard in there to keep the switch pressed down, and it ran for another two years before i finally replaced it. little stuff like that is why i never toss anything without poking around first. most people just give up way too fast on stuff that's actually fixable with some basic tinkering.

fionamurphy7d ago

saw a youtube vid a while back from a guy who rewires old electronics and he said the same thing about cardboard being sketchy for bypassing safety switches. he used a nylon zip tie instead since it won't burn or conduct electricity. but honestly, your paperclip trick is genius for testing stuff before you commit to fixing it. i read somewhere that most dryer issues are either the door switch or the thermal fuse, both of which are like $10 parts on amazon. it's wild how many people junk a perfectly good machine over something that basic.

the_laura8d ago

Oh I gotta push back a little on the "cardboard to keep the switch pressed down" thing. I mean yeah it works for a bit but that's a fire waiting to happen if you aren't SUPER careful. Those door switches are there to keep the dryer from running with the door open, and if you bypass it with something that can burn or shift around you're basically gambling. I totally agree with your overall point about not giving up on stuff though. Most people throw things away over a $5 part or a loose wire they could fix in ten minutes. I've saved a dishwasher and a washing machine just by cleaning out the drain pump filter - took me longer to find the manual than to actually do it. Just maybe use a zip tie or a proper screw instead of cardboard for that switch fix.