The short answer
Check the transit bolts and the levelling first, then look for anywhere the cabinet touches a unit, a worktop or a pipe. On a timber floor, decoupling the machine matters more than anything inside it. A grinding that rises with the spin is still the bearings.
What is reported
- Neighbours complaining about the spin — Structure-borne vibration.
- Rattling against a unit or worktop — Direct contact.
- The machine walking in a cupboard — Levelling or transit bolts.
- A drumming that carries through the building — A flexing timber floor.
- Grinding that rises with spin speed — Drum bearings.
- Not this fault: the pump noise at the end of a cycle — Ordinary operation.
Ranked for apartment installations
- Machine touching units, worktop or pipework — First in a fitted kitchen.
- Transit bolts still fitted after a move — Second, and common when people relocate.
- Machine not level on all four feet — Third.
- Timber floor flexing and amplifying — Fourth, and a building characteristic.
- Unbalanced loads at high spin speeds — Fifth.
- Bearings or dampers worn — Last.
Work through it in this order
- Run a hand around the cabinet for contact points — Every contact is a transmission path.
- Check for transit bolts, especially after a move — People refit them and forget.
- Level all four feet on the actual floor — Not on a mat or a board.
- Try a lower spin speed as a comparison — It tells you how much is speed-related.
Owner checks
- Pull the machine forward and confirm nothing touches the cabinet — Worktops and pipes are the usual offenders.
Tools: torchAbout 20 min
- Check the rear for transit bolts and remove them — Always check after a house move.
Tools: spannerAbout 25 min
- Level the machine on all four feet and lock them — A single unloaded foot causes the whole problem.
Tools: spirit level, spannerAbout 30 min
- Run a load at a lower spin speed — It reduces transmission immediately.
About 60 min
- Avoid running spins late at night in a shared building — Practical rather than technical, and effective.
About 5 min
- Stop before opening the cabinet for bearings or dampers — Water and mains wiring share that space.
Machines that move in confined spaces
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. A machine that walks in a cupboard can pull its hoses tight and cause a leak into the flat below - stop the cycle rather than letting it continue. Never restrain a spinning machine by hand, and never run it with a panel removed.
When to call
Call when the bolts are out, the cabinet is free-standing and level, and a grinding noise still rises with the spin. In a rented flat report it instead, because the repair is the landlord’s. Where the problem is structural - a flexing floor in an upper apartment - no appliance repair will resolve it, and a lower spin speed is the practical answer.
Other pages for this washer
Scope of this page
Generalized across washer families under this badge, written for apartment, upper-floor and fitted-kitchen installations; where a family-specific or model-specific page exists it is the narrower answer. Not here: spin speeds, bearing part numbers and floor loadings.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
