Annoying dryer buzzer on the whirlpool thin twin

So it's been a while but im surprised that there is still consistent traffic to this blog.  You'd be surprised how many people want free breast pumps and hate that ionizer on the fellowes (winix) air purifier.

So if you live in a small place, chances are you may have one of the LTG variants of the Whirlpool Thin Twin Heavy duty washer/dryer stacked combo unit.  It's ideal for small areas such as between cabinets or most likely, in your closet somewhere. You also are probably reading this because it has an annoying buzzer at the end of any dryer cycle that ensures people in Africa is made aware that you need to reset your dryer (because it never dries the first time around). 

The following is how to disconnect the dryer buzzer on a LTG5243DQB Whirlpool "thin twin" washer dryer but it applies most of its cousins as well.

All you need is a needle nose plier.

So if you look at the front of the machine it looks something like this.  Washer in the  bottom, dryer up top with the front console in between, seated on the bottom of the dryer, and the transition panel in between in case, like i said before, you are inside a small closet and need to clean out your exhaust duct.

At any rate, you dont need to open that up, but it's there incase you didnt know. Its just held by those two screws on the top part of the panel.

So the front console control panel is held by tension clips.  There's nothing to unscrew to get to it.  If you crouch down to the washer level and look up, you see a bunch of screws.  Unplug your machine from the electrical outlet and let's go.

On the top right corner, you see the round screw that looks like you needs a hex bit to unscrew it?  There's two of them, one on each side, and it hold the console from flapping open (the bottom part is the hinge, and the console swings open from the top).

Thats actually your tension clip and you take your needle nose pliers, get a good grip in there and pull down all the way (you can use a lot of strength, you wont break it).  Then with your other hand, while you are still gripping the pliers and pulling down, pull open the top of the console.  Do this on each side.

It slides down like so.  On the other side, here's a picture of what you are pulling down (the black piece that im touching with the plier on the left side of the picture)  you are pulling that down against that spring so that the black bar retracts in and the whole console swing open.

It's open like so.

There's probably dust and hair in there from all your gunk, so take a vacuum and give it a quick cleaning while you're here.

On the right side, those little black boxes, is the bane of your existence.  The center module is the dryer buzzer.

 Just to be sure, you should see the part number.

 Mine was part 694419, and on amazon, it's listed as the annoying dryer buzzer.

At this point you can mark which is the left and right wire (i have this blog and these pictures so i can clearly see the left wire has more words faced up). Go ahead and yank the power wires out.

I wrapped the ends of my two black wires with electrical tape (so some freak dust hair doesnt go in, short it out and start a fire) and then taped the thing to the big clear tube so it doesnt flap about and then proceeded to close up the console. 

Just reverse your steps.  On each side, pull the clip down and push the console in.  The left side is much easier than the right, so start with the left and keep it aligned.

Voila!  no more waking the dead at the end of the dryer cycle.

Fellowes Quiet Air Purifier with True HEPA Filter (AP-300PH) - PlasmaTRUE Ionizer Noise

Fellowes Quiet Air Purifier with True HEPA Filter ( model AP-300PH) is a rebranded Winix 9500 made by a Korean manufacturer and is generally highly rated.  Some features (remote) was removed when this product was ported over to the American market and priced around an average of $190.  If you have the patience and wait for a "hot deal", then you can strive to get it at around $130 before tax and probably need to use an online coupon.

Here is the historical data of the price on CamelCamelCamel

I highly recommend this purifier. It works noticeably well in both performance and sound.  The filters are reasonably priced (not cheap for how long they last but i deem it acceptable especially if you periodically clean it before replacing it).  If someone farts in the same room, the auto sensor will detect it and ramp up the speed to clean out the impurity. Seriously.

Fellowes customer service and warranty is pretty solid.

There is only one fault with this product and it's the PlasmaTRUE ionizer that's built in without a way to disable it.  The topic of whether an ionizer is dangerous to your health is debatable, but the reason that it is such a fault in this product is that it emits a high pitch rapid chirping sound that is highly irritating and makes this product least desirable.

The good news is that while this model doesn't provide the option to turn off the ionizer like the Winix model, with a 5 inch Philips head driver, you can simply unplug it like this:


1) Remove the peripherals

2) Unscrew the top 2 screws to open the console

3) Be mindful of the wire thats still attached and just rest it like this:

3) That black wire in the right side of the below picture is what you will unplug.  Unscrew the 2 screws on the side of the black casing to loosen it

4) Maneuver the wires and gently undo the tape so you can open it

5) Squeeze out the red/black power wire

6) Voila.  Quiet purifier without the optional ionizer.  Just secure it and put the tape over the wire when you reverse your steps to secure and close the unit up.

Free Electric Double Breast Pump kit via Health Insurance

Thanks to the new healthcare law starting this year, many people with health insurance are eligible for free breast pumps.  It varies among insurance companies, and also within the same company due to the policy that you are in and those that are grandfathered in from a previous policy with specific clauses will not qualify.  However, it's easy to find out and you dont need to call your insurance company. All you need is:

• Your health insurance info
• Your doctor (OB) info

Most people use the wildly popular medela electric double pump kit that comes in some fancy tote or bag.  Some use other brands.  Everyone wants to avoid using manual pumps unless you are on a real budget crunch.

The pump you get really boils down to where you apply for your pump.  You want a place that has a limited and desirable inventory so that you get what you want or close to it.

Now, you can uselessly search through medela's out of date website to try to find a store that participates (willing to do the actual footwork and jump through hoops to squeeze money from the insurance company) or you can just keep reading.  Byram Health is pretty much the best possible store to buy from:

website: www.byramhealthcare.com
Breast Pump Customer Service Team
Phone  1-877-773-1972
Fax       1-800-521-6291
Email: breast-pumps@byramhealthcare.com

They only sell Medela (MY57038) which is a model that is only offered through DMEs working with insurance companies that has the Pump In Style motor but not the one touch let down button that you find on some of their other models as well as the Ameda Purely Yours (No Tote) incase for some reason you dont like Medela.   

This MY57038 is almost exactly the same as the Pump in Style portable tote but without the fancy tote and extras.  Go to your nearest Target if you want to see it in person but this (and the backpack version) is a very popular model.

Reach out to the company, get the form, fill it out and submit it.  They will contact your doctor on your behalf from no earlier than 30 days prior to your baby’s due date and not after 365 days from the actual date.

If your insurance provider quotes less than 100% coverage they would contact you via email to let you know.  Also provide time for shipping, processing and restocking.   They say it takes weeks or months, but they are fast.  Especially for a company that acts after the insurance company pays out.

Whirlpool LTG5243DQB washer/dryer on the second floor

So, I live on the second floor of a old building where I am actually fortunate to have a washer and dryer.

It's whirlpool combo "Thin Twin" washer/gas dryer model LTG5243DQB.  Which is part of the LTG5243DQ line of whirlpool combo units. I'm not sure what the "B" at the end of the model is for.

Whirlpool LTG5243DQ

You may come across a problem with having a washer on the second floor. Going with the theme of this blog, you are probably searching for ways to solve some issues that arise from having a washer in the second floor of your crappy home with wood floors.  Having neighbors below you probably makes it a problem you can't ignore.

The problem I had was that because I have a neighbor downstairs, he has complained about

•     Loud noise no matter how much you level it (the heavier the clothing, the louder)
•     Vibrations that reverberate throughout the home and especially to your neighbors

Normally when it's general noise from just living in the unit, i can tell the neighbor "tough luck" because he chose to buy a 1st floor unit. It's never going to be as good as living in your own detached house and until we are rich enough one day to do so, this is the sacrifices we make that impacts our quality of life (i hate my home, i should have stayed as a renter in some modern apartment building).

There is an unspoken acceptable/unacceptable amount of noise between our units.   In this particular case, i believe the complaint was valid.  So what to do besides using the washer during normal daytime hours when they tend not to be home?

Researching into this, I have discovered that aside from the exceptions (everything has an exception) of a few unique models, the choice of having a top loading washer was correct (instead of front loading).  Has to do with the amount of force that flows out of the machine during the spin cycle and that it's better to direct it sideways (as long as the machine is not against the wall) rather than downwards into the floor.

Now if you are like me, you are not going to rip up the wooden floors and install concrete slabs and basically redo your floors.  Get the hell out of here.  I also have shelves above the washer that I would have to redo so really get the hell outta here.  What a pain in the ass. After some research, i stumbled across vibration pads.  It was some article that mentioned the manufacturers are starting to silently recommend them or integrate them because they reached the limit of how quiet they can make their machines but they dont want to state it's any kind of "problem".

Naturally my first indication was to go to Home Depot/Lowes.  Unless I'm buying something with high probability that I will keep, i generally buy from brick and mortar stores so that it's easy to make returns when needed. At Home Depot, they had the GE Anti-Vibration Pads (4-Piece).  These were basically very hard pieces of tire-like rubber that you put under the legs of the washer to prevent it from walking (moving on it's own during spin cycles on generally smooth tile floors) as well as absorb vibrations/reduce sounds.

It's the same claim that every brand of the 20 different variations out there made. I was wary of them.  I felt like, i could just get 4 pieces of "soft" blocks of wood and put those under the washer at this point.  After much deliberation and google searches at home depot itself, i decided to walk away. There just wasnt enough positive reviews to go on that made it definitive one way or the other. I think there's no doubt that it works because anything that creates a disconnect between the level washer and the floor has to buffer a limited amount of the energy, but i wanted a product that works well. 

Eventually i bought the Anti-walk Silent Feet - Anti-vibration Pads for Washing Machines and Dryers from Amazon. Made by The Vibration Solution company.  It had good enough reviews both on amazon and other blogs.

I bought the red package one.  You can research what the difference is with the green and red or you can just Quickly Get the bottom  line here.  Basically in the green package, 2 of the pads "slide" so that you can pull out and push in your washer.  I had enough to space to tilt the washer one way or the other so i opted for the red one.

The difference between this and the GE set from Home Depot was that this one, instead of being all hard rubber, was half hard and half soft rubber.  The bottom part that goes on the floor was soft rubber, that vibrated with the vibrations of the washer so that it appears to buffer the floor from the washer.  The top part of the pads was hard rubber and this is where the washer legs stand on.

I recommend it. That's the bottom line.  It works enough as intended. The washer still makes loud banging noises especially with heavy loads like towels, but that's a separate issue.  In terms of finding something to buffer the vibrations from the washer to the floor, mission accomplished.

Link:
Anti-walk Silent Feet - Anti-vibration Pads for Washing Machines and Dryers