Corona del Mar Front-Loaders: Maintenance Routine for Premium Units

Corona del Mar homes tend to have the higher-end appliance pairs: Miele, Bosch, LG SteamFresh, Samsung Bespoke, the premium Maytag and Whirlpool front-loaders. These units have more sensors, more electronics, and a maintenance routine that pays off significantly over a 10 to 15 year life.

The most common Corona del Mar service call is a front-load washer that has developed a musty smell or is leaving residue on dark fabrics. The culprit is almost always biofilm in the door boot (the rubber gasket between the door and the drum) and buildup in the drain pump filter. On most premium front-loaders, the drain pump filter sits behind a small access panel at the lower front and should be cleaned every three months. We pull out a surprising amount of coins, hairpins, and lint clumps from filters that have not been touched in years. When the filter is fully clogged, the drain pump strains and eventually fails, and the drain pump is one of the more expensive parts on these machines.

For CDM homeowners with premium units, the routine is: leave the door cracked between loads to dry out the boot, wipe the boot weekly with a damp cloth, clean the drain pump filter every 90 days, and run a tub-clean cycle with a cleaner tablet monthly. Doing those four things will extend the life of the machine and head off most service calls.

When something does go wrong, the failure modes are usually the door latch assembly, the drain pump, the inlet valve, or the main control board. All replaceable. CDM is 10 minutes from Costa Mesa down PCH, and we have plenty of experience with the European brands many other shops decline. The homes off Ocean Boulevard and the flower streets are part of our regular route.

For more on Bosch heat-pump dryer maintenance (a common CDM pairing), see our Bosch heat-pump dryer post.

Want a written quote before any work? Call (949) 283-6111. Diagnostic runs $50 (dryer) or $65 (washer), waived with the repair.