I think we're all used to removing the aerators from our faucets to clean "sand" out of the little screens. But what about the washer/dryers? They have a little filter basket right after the hot water line connection. The manual recommends yearly inspection and cleaning. I had FT check this filter last week for the first time after the new W/D was installed last year. Yes, it was full and needed to be cleaned. Cost? Two and a half hours of labor-$250! This is unacceptable. I've tried installing a filter that Roger Berke sold which looks like the filter used at the water pump inlet. It didn't do anything. The FT techs installed a regular hose gasket with a screen at the inlet to the washer hose, but I think it also is too coarse. Yes, I can keep doing this task myself, but it is a pain removing the cabinet doors, removing the wood strip that holds the W/D in place and maneuvering the W/D out of its space, disconnecting the hose, moping up the water, cleaning the filter basket, then doing everything in reverse plus managing to get the dyer vent back in place. There has to be a better way. Isn't there a sediment filter that can stand the temp of hot water directly from the A/H that I could install just before the W/D hot water hose?
Cuno Makes a Stainless steel filter housing but it takes the standard 10" cart. and it is probably larger than you want. Is the sediment from built up dissolved solids or from particulit matter or both. If it is from the hot water only it is likely dissolved solids. If it is from dissolved solids a simple filter won't help. you could soften the water or use an R.O. If you use an RO you should re mineralize to stabilize the water so it is not agresive and won't damage things like your Aqua-hot. Simple right!
My solution is a Laundromat. Extra storage where the washer/dryer would take up room!
got rid of the w/d and put in drawers for storage. An hour and a half at a local Laundromat soaking in the local color and scuttlebutt every other week keeps us from being frustrated by the onboard w/d problems
Took out the w/d and put in a commercial size electric oven, as my wife loves to have a real oven and was not happy to bake in the microwave. She is of the old school about baking.
I do not think we have cleaned that screen yet. Never thought of it either. Oh well, another project to have done or do.
BTW we love the W/D and would not be without. I think we would rather go out for dinner too so nobody has to work.
Dave,
No. All my incoming water goes through a sediment filter. Sand is only in the hot water lines. It's created in the A-H or other hot water tank.
Yes. What I'm calling sand is actually a precipitate.
Precipitate would be coming from hard water, so how about what we do (no issues with aerator clogs since we've owned the coach):
1) Do a vinegar "hot soak" and flush of the fresh water system
2) Use a portable water softener in areas with hard water to prevent future/repeated scale build up
Particulate matter in Aqua-Hot System (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=8009.msg35146#msg35146)
Couldn't we add a screen where the washer lines come off of the manifold block? That would be easy to service.
Michelle,
Note that that is my earlier thread you cited. I did a vinegar soak a month ago. I wonder if this loosened "sand" in the system but didn't dissolve it.
Rick,
Such a screen would work if we could find one. The filter basket the W/D uses won't fit in a normal hose connection.