The Missing 9 mm

A Search for a Missing Tool Turns Into a Life Lesson

While working on my car project, I noticed my 9 mm, 3/8-inch drive socket was missing from my tool drawer. I looked everywhere for it, even though my “tool habit” is to always clean and put a tool back to where it belongs when finished. I ended up going to the local hardware store to buy a new one. But the missing 9 mm socket made me lose some sleep over the next few days. And I continued to look for that socket all over the place.

Then, one day, while washing a load or clothes in my front load washer, I heard a really loud, abnormal racket in the spin cycle. Something heavy was whacking against the wash tub. I thought to myself, "Hmmm. Now I know where that 9 mm socket went!"

Fearing the heavy metal object would damage my washing machine, I hit the cancel button on the washer and took all the clothes out. But, oddly, the socket wasn’t inside the washer. I looked through all clothing with pockets, but found nothing.

So, maybe the noise wasn’t from my lost 9 mm socket. As I turned the wash tub, a clattering started. Something was trapped in-between the washer tub and the tub housing.

Great. That’s where the socket went - somewhere inside the insides of the machine!

This meant a lot of dis-assembly to gain access to the object inside the machine.

Now I thought, "Shoot. How much is this repair going to cost?"

I decided to figure out how to fix this noise problem – take apart my fairly new washer – and retrieve that 9 mm socket myself.

I grabbed my tool bag, un-plugged the power cord and turned the water off. I removed some panels and parts on the washing machine cabinet, but had to stop because I couldn’t figure out what to take apart next.

So, I did what Greg Johnson and I teach at every career workshop session we lead: Use Google to gather information and figure it out. So I set my tool kit aside, and went to my computer. I entered the washer manufacturer’s model number into the search box.

A Childhood Self Help Memory

As I started my Internet search, I had a strange memory flashback. When I was in the third grade, my teacher, Mr. Dempsey, taught all of his classes a lifetime skill: Whenever anyone asked him how to spell something, he would yell, “Look it up!” and slam a dictionary on their desk. I still remember some kids would say, “I looked it up, but it’s not in the dictionary.” That made Mr. Dempsey furious. He picked up a dictionary, looked up the word, showed everyone in the class, and then slammed the dictionary closed. Then he would yell, “Now you do it.”

Google Search - Finding the Correct Key Words

Google said there are “about 9,090 results for MHWE300VW12.” I already knew this Maytag unit was made by Whirlpool, so that helped a lot. After a few minutes looking at various parts lists and operation manuals, I began to understand how front load washing machines work as well as learning washer terminology.

Then I had to figure out what procedure would be needed to apply to my situation. This was not a case of something not working, but rather how to access something inside the washer tub, or between the outer tub and inner tub. I had to think about what search terms to use. My answer would be found by searching for a repair procedure that required removing the washer tub.

So I added a search term: “replacing the outer tub.” Bingo. I found a great how to do it video on the first try.

Gaining access to the inner wash tub took a scary amount of dis-assembly. Here are some pictures of my adventure . . . .

The Life Lesson About Learning New Things

So if you are not sure how to do something, or are looking for information, look it up first on your own, before taking the lazy way and asking for the answer from someone. It will help you learn more things and you will become a more valuable person.

In case you are wondering, yes, I took apart my washer, got the 9 mm socket out and put everything back together. No missing or extra parts. No leaks. And it is a little better than before, since I cleaned all the parts inside the machine.

But the mystery still remains: How did that 9 mm socket get in-between the outer and inner washer tubs?

So I learned something new and saved several hundred dollars at the same time. But the best part of this adventure is the life lesson of figuring out what to search for (choosing the correct key words to find specific information to help solve the question),  finding information, adapting the information to the specific task, learning new skills and gaining hands-on practice.

Additional tags: #Maytag, #Whirlpool, #LifeLessons, #SelfHelp, #SelfImprovement

About Wayne Yoshida

Wayne Yoshida is a technical writer and education advocate with sales management experience. Wayne currently works in the alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) industry and has worked for a wide variety of high technology companies, including aerospace and defense, photonics, lasers and opto-mechanics, two-way radio, telecommunications and a non-profit, educational organization. His personal passion for electronics and Amateur Radio opened many doors to some very interesting personal and professional experiences. Working as a ham radio consultant for the NASA Johnson Space Center during Space Shuttle mission STS-9 is his most memorable experience. Connect with him on LinkedIn, Twitter and beBee, and for a look into his personal passions, follow his blog.

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