Korean Job Discussion Forums

afsjesse · Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Location: Kickin' it in 'Kato town.

OK so advice is needed.

My balcony water pipes for my washer are frozen. So I have to move my washer into the bathroom for winter obviously. Those washer pipes still work. The tub that connects the pipes to the washer was frozen, but now I cant get it on the pipes because it wont fit. It has one of those caps with 4 screws to tighten it. I did that and i turned on the water and it start spraying everywhere.. how do I get those back on?

And... the inside of my washer where the water goes in and runs into is frozen. How do I thaw that out? I really need to do laundry and if I have to wash by hand than I guess I will.

Any thoughts?

afsjesse · Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Location: Kickin' it in 'Kato town.

For the washer itself, i already tried pouring hot water into where the hose connects. It melted the ice that was covering it, but I guess there's more on the inside?

lebowski · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Location: Seoul

You can get new hoses that connect your washer to the taps at Lotte mart or a hardware store. I went through this. There is a clamp style, so you don't need to worry about getting the 4 screws on just so. Make sure the washer (the plastic ring, not the machine) is between the connection. If it wasn't the water pipes that frozen, but rather the connection hoses, I would suggest, don't more the machine, but rather make sure you drain it completely after use. Put it on a spin cycle. Disconnect the hoses from the machine, and let the water come out. If you want, tie some towel around the water faucets has insulation.

Hope that helps.

bassexpander · Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Location: Someplace you'd rather be.

You can do what I did and pour hot water on your hoses. You should poor cool water on the connects to your machine, though. Hot water will crack them (mine did inside the machine). After you've poured a few small pans of cold water on them, try warm water.

If the machine starts trickling out water, it will soon correct itself and being working as normal after a minute or so. The incoming water melts the ice in the hoses. You just need to establish some small flow through the pipes -- even a trickle will be enough to thaw out the hoses and machine. You will be washing like normal.

When you finish washing, make sure to unhook the hoses from the wall and let them drain. You only need to unhook the hose side which hooks onto the wall spout. You don't need to unhook the hoses from the machine... just make sure the hoses can drain.

Dazed and Confused · Joined: 10 Jan 2003

I think your best bet is hot water. Using a hair dryer helps too. If the balcony is enclosed you might try a space heater. I'm currently in the same boat and my husband's on the balcony trying to get it all defrosted.