Floods & Perishable whitegoods

[Anonymous]

TV reports showed flood victims ditching their fridge's and washing machines.
Will these items get destroyed in a flood?

I would have thought a hose down and drying it off for a few days would have recovered them back to a useful state.

(Unless , of course if the machine was running at the time & the water came in and zapped any electronics?)

They would have to do the same for house electricity meters too (dry them out) and remove all the power points & dry them out as well.

Looks like a lot of work for sparkies.

 

[atec77]

On 16/01/2011 1:21 PM, Anonymous wrote:

TV reports showed flood victims ditching their fridge's and washing machines.
Will these items get destroyed in a flood?

I would have thought a hose down and drying it off for a few days would have recovered them back to a useful state.

(Unless , of course if the machine was running at the time& the water came in and zapped any electronics?)

They would have to do the same for house electricity meters too (dry them out) and remove all the power points& dry them out as well.

Looks like a lot of work for sparkies.
It might be possible it's most likely with the chemical cocktail that's

been running over and through the control boards they will be damaged
beyond reasonable recovery
On your average $450.00 washer the control board will run $150.00
minimum fitted then cleaning motor etc..

--
X-No-Archive: Yes

 

[Sylvia Else]

On 16/01/2011 2:21 PM, Anonymous wrote:

TV reports showed flood victims ditching their fridge's and washing machines.
Will these items get destroyed in a flood?

I would have thought a hose down and drying it off for a few days would have recovered them back to a useful state.

I'm inclined to agree. Anyone in the area in need of some free
white-goods should see what's available. I'd have thought that even
things like LCD and plasma TVs would be salvageable. It's not as if
flood water is sea water.

Of course, a flood is a useful way of getting insurance companies to
replace non-functioning appliances with new ones, so one has to
recognise that one may be cleaning and drying an appliance that didn't
work anyway.

(Unless , of course if the machine was running at the time& the water came in and zapped any electronics?)

In most cases, the mains had been turned off before the flooding, so
this shouldn't be an issue.

They would have to do the same for house electricity meters too (dry them out) and remove all the power points& dry them out as well.

Looks like a lot of work for sparkies.

I'm sure their pricing will reflect that.

Sylvia.

 

[kreed]

On Jan 16, 1:21 pm, "Anonymous" <cri...@ecn.org> wrote:

TV reports showed flood victims ditching their fridge's and washing machines.
Will these items get destroyed in a flood?

 I would have thought a hose down and drying it off for a few days would have recovered them back to a useful state.

(Unless , of course if the machine was running at the time & the water came in and zapped any electronics?)

They would have to do the same for house electricity meters too (dry them out) and remove all the power points & dry them out as well.

Looks like a lot of work for sparkies.

They have done that with power points in the Gympie floods in the
past. Was up that way in 1999 a few weeks after a flood and noticed
that the power points where
1960s vintage and had been below the flood water line.

Asked about it at the time, apparently "the electricians pulled them
out sprayed some stuff in them (CRC?) and put them back"


I also remember in the 1990s talking to a guy out west who had been in
the 1974 floods, he said that his fridges, washer just needed to be
hosed out, left to dry out, sprayed motors, contacts and connectors
with CRC and they were fine - nothing wrong with them.

Many threw them out despite this probably in a belief by the average
non-technical person that once water gets in they are ruined.
Mind you in 1974, I dont think any whitegoods would have had
electronics inside them. Its also likely that they were a lot more
heavy construction, built to last.

he suggested that they "possibly wanted to be rid of every reminder
connected to the horrible event and start again."


I don't know how TV's in wooden cabinets would have fared.
The other thing mentioned was that many carpets back then when
saturated emitted poisonous fumes - and had to be disposed of.


It depends too how long they had been underwater - if it was a short
time, maybe not much harm was done.
Anything that had been in wet conditions for some time - especially if
the water is full of corrosive substances, there might be severe rust
or corrosion.

 

[Sylvia Else]

Are loudspeaker cones still made from paper, or some other material that
would be damaged by water?

Sylvia.

 

[terryc]

Anonymous wrote:

TV reports showed flood victims ditching their fridge's and washing machines.
Will these items get destroyed in a flood?

I would have thought a hose down and drying it off for a few days would have recovered them back to a useful state.

and to get completelt OT, I was wondering that about a lawnmover some
one had ditched.

 

[Sylvia Else]

On 17/01/2011 1:48 AM, terryc wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
TV reports showed flood victims ditching their fridge's and washing
machines.
Will these items get destroyed in a flood?

I would have thought a hose down and drying it off for a few days
would have recovered them back to a useful state.

and to get completelt OT, I was wondering that about a lawnmover some
one had ditched.

That surely has to be an insurance scam.

Sylvia.

 

[Trevor Wilson]

"Sylvia Else" <sylvia@not.here.invalid> wrote in message
news:8pgentFbalU1@mid.individual.net...

Are loudspeaker cones still made from paper, or some other material that
would be damaged by water?

**Some are, some aren't. However, that is not the biggest problem. Few
speakers are fully sealed (waterproof). As a consequence, the muddy crap
will find it's way into the voice coil gap. The drivers would need to be
dismantled to allow proper cleaning. By comparison, getting a fridge working
would be child's play. Then of course, there's the problem that most modern
speakers are made from MDF. MDF survives about 3 milliseconds in water.


--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au

 

[Colin Horsley]

"Sylvia Else" <sylvia@not.here.invalid> wrote in message
news:8pfen6FtvoU1@mid.individual.net...
: On 16/01/2011 2:21 PM, Anonymous wrote:
: > TV reports showed flood victims ditching their fridge's and washing
machines.
: > Will these items get destroyed in a flood?
: >
: > I would have thought a hose down and drying it off for a few days would
have recovered them back to a useful state.
:
: I'm inclined to agree. Anyone in the area in need of some free
: white-goods should see what's available. I'd have thought that even
: things like LCD and plasma TVs would be salvageable. It's not as if
: flood water is sea water.
:
: Of course, a flood is a useful way of getting insurance companies to
: replace non-functioning appliances with new ones, so one has to
: recognise that one may be cleaning and drying an appliance that didn't
: work anyway.
:

Lots of people are NOT covered by flood damage.

Colin

 

[Sylvia Else]

On 17/01/2011 8:17 AM, Colin Horsley wrote:

"Sylvia Else"<sylvia@not.here.invalid> wrote in message
news:8pfen6FtvoU1@mid.individual.net...
: On 16/01/2011 2:21 PM, Anonymous wrote:
:> TV reports showed flood victims ditching their fridge's and washing
machines.
:> Will these items get destroyed in a flood?
:
:> I would have thought a hose down and drying it off for a few days would
have recovered them back to a useful state.
:
: I'm inclined to agree. Anyone in the area in need of some free
: white-goods should see what's available. I'd have thought that even
: things like LCD and plasma TVs would be salvageable. It's not as if
: flood water is sea water.
:
: Of course, a flood is a useful way of getting insurance companies to
: replace non-functioning appliances with new ones, so one has to
: recognise that one may be cleaning and drying an appliance that didn't
: work anyway.
:

Lots of people are NOT covered by flood damage.

More fool them, but does that contradict what I said?

Sylvia.

 

[Sylvia Else]

On 17/01/2011 7:54 AM, Trevor Wilson wrote:

"Sylvia Else"<sylvia@not.here.invalid> wrote in message
news:8pgentFbalU1@mid.individual.net...
Are loudspeaker cones still made from paper, or some other material that
would be damaged by water?

**Some are, some aren't. However, that is not the biggest problem. Few
speakers are fully sealed (waterproof). As a consequence, the muddy crap
will find it's way into the voice coil gap. The drivers would need to be
dismantled to allow proper cleaning. By comparison, getting a fridge working
would be child's play. Then of course, there's the problem that most modern
speakers are made from MDF. MDF survives about 3 milliseconds in water.


OK, so there goes my plan to get a free wide-screen plasma (leaving

aside the cost of getting to QLD, or, now, Victoria).

Could ditch the speakers and fit external ones I suppose.

Sylvia.

 

[Trevor Wilson]

"Sylvia Else" <sylvia@not.here.invalid> wrote in message
news:8phftgFkroU3@mid.individual.net...

On 17/01/2011 7:54 AM, Trevor Wilson wrote:
"Sylvia Else"<sylvia@not.here.invalid> wrote in message
news:8pgentFbalU1@mid.individual.net...
Are loudspeaker cones still made from paper, or some other material that
would be damaged by water?

**Some are, some aren't. However, that is not the biggest problem. Few
speakers are fully sealed (waterproof). As a consequence, the muddy crap
will find it's way into the voice coil gap. The drivers would need to be
dismantled to allow proper cleaning. By comparison, getting a fridge
working
would be child's play. Then of course, there's the problem that most
modern
speakers are made from MDF. MDF survives about 3 milliseconds in water.


OK, so there goes my plan to get a free wide-screen plasma (leaving aside
the cost of getting to QLD, or, now, Victoria).

Could ditch the speakers and fit external ones I suppose.

**Easily. Your plans, however, are not going to go easy for you. The time it
takes to flush a plasma (or LCD) so it can be rendered usable, would amount
to many tens of hours. One overlooked section could result in severe damage.
Trouble is, flat screen TVs are now so inexpensive (that I even purchased
one for the bedroom in December) that repair is now barely viable. The
massive amount of effort required to undo flood damage would be crazy.
Unless you don't value your time of course. 5 years ago, it would have been
a different matter.

That said, I believe that there would certainly be some interesting bargains
for the astute. Watching the clean-up the other night (on our new flat
screen TV), my partner remarked that there seemed to be an incredible waste
going on. I concurred, but then I've never been through a flood and suffered
the consequent metal shock of the process. I spied an industrial 'mixmaster'
thing that was being chucked out. I assume the value of the appliance would
be in excess of several thousand Dollars. It would not be difficult to strip
the thing down, clean the motor and mechanism. I'd say less than 4-5 hours
work. I did the same job on our Kenwood Chef. Including the food grade
grease, a complete strip-down and re-build, it took less than two hours and
cost $30.00 for the fancy grease. Fridges, washing machines, etc. All those
appliances are a doddle to service.

I also saw a story about valuable computer files. I don't see a major
problem, IF the hard drive is not switched on and is handed to a tech, data
can be saved.


--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au

 

[Sylvia Else]

On 17/01/2011 11:32 AM, Trevor Wilson wrote:

"Sylvia Else"<sylvia@not.here.invalid> wrote in message
news:8phftgFkroU3@mid.individual.net...
On 17/01/2011 7:54 AM, Trevor Wilson wrote:
"Sylvia Else"<sylvia@not.here.invalid> wrote in message
news:8pgentFbalU1@mid.individual.net...
Are loudspeaker cones still made from paper, or some other material that
would be damaged by water?

**Some are, some aren't. However, that is not the biggest problem. Few
speakers are fully sealed (waterproof). As a consequence, the muddy crap
will find it's way into the voice coil gap. The drivers would need to be
dismantled to allow proper cleaning. By comparison, getting a fridge
working
would be child's play. Then of course, there's the problem that most
modern
speakers are made from MDF. MDF survives about 3 milliseconds in water.


OK, so there goes my plan to get a free wide-screen plasma (leaving aside
the cost of getting to QLD, or, now, Victoria).

Could ditch the speakers and fit external ones I suppose.

**Easily. Your plans, however, are not going to go easy for you. The time it
takes to flush a plasma (or LCD) so it can be rendered usable, would amount
to many tens of hours.

I find that a bit difficult to believe. Some hours perhaps, but not many
tens. I wasn't going to behave like an archeologist, just open it up and
get the hose pipe out, and perhaps end up by soaking it for a while in
the bathtub (after all, it's been soaked already in something much less
benign than tapwater).

After that it will take a while to dry out, but that's not time spent.

Of course, another issue is that the person throwing it out probably
didn't treat it carefully. What may have been salvageable from a flooded
house may well not be once it's been hurled onto a tip.

One overlooked section could result in severe damage.

Trouble is, flat screen TVs are now so inexpensive (that I even purchased
one for the bedroom in December) that repair is now barely viable. The
massive amount of effort required to undo flood damage would be crazy.
Unless you don't value your time of course. 5 years ago, it would have been
a different matter.

Time has value, but I get a certain satisfaction out of repairing stuff
that other people would just throw away, even if I've spent more than a
strictly economic amount of time on it.

That said, I believe that there would certainly be some interesting bargains
for the astute. Watching the clean-up the other night (on our new flat
screen TV), my partner remarked that there seemed to be an incredible waste
going on. I concurred, but then I've never been through a flood and suffered
the consequent metal shock of the process. I spied an industrial 'mixmaster'
thing that was being chucked out. I assume the value of the appliance would
be in excess of several thousand Dollars. It would not be difficult to strip
the thing down, clean the motor and mechanism. I'd say less than 4-5 hours
work. I did the same job on our Kenwood Chef. Including the food grade
grease, a complete strip-down and re-build, it took less than two hours and
cost $30.00 for the fancy grease. Fridges, washing machines, etc. All those
appliances are a doddle to service.

I also saw a story about valuable computer files.

Ah yes, the problem with people not doing backups. That message never
seems to get across.

Sylvia.

 

[keithr]

On 16/01/2011 7:41 PM, kreed wrote:

On Jan 16, 1:21 pm, "Anonymous"<cri...@ecn.org> wrote:
TV reports showed flood victims ditching their fridge's and washing machines.
Will these items get destroyed in a flood?

I would have thought a hose down and drying it off for a few days would have recovered them back to a useful state.

(Unless , of course if the machine was running at the time& the water came in and zapped any electronics?)

They would have to do the same for house electricity meters too (dry them out) and remove all the power points& dry them out as well.

Looks like a lot of work for sparkies.


They have done that with power points in the Gympie floods in the
past. Was up that way in 1999 a few weeks after a flood and noticed
that the power points where
1960s vintage and had been below the flood water line.

Asked about it at the time, apparently "the electricians pulled them
out sprayed some stuff in them (CRC?) and put them back"

Sparkies need to be a bit more careful this time around, I just got an
e-mail through the VRA about flood rescues in houses with solar power.
There being no guarentee that there isn't live power around even when
the mains has been shut down.

 

[kreed]

On Jan 17, 10:32 am, "Trevor Wilson" <tre...@rageaudio.com.au> wrote:

"Sylvia Else" <syl...@not.here.invalid> wrote in message

news:8phftgFkroU3@mid.individual.net...



On 17/01/2011 7:54 AM, Trevor Wilson wrote:
"Sylvia Else"<syl...@not.here.invalid>  wrote in message
news:8pgentFbalU1@mid.individual.net...
Are loudspeaker cones still made from paper, or some other material that
would be damaged by water?

**Some are, some aren't. However, that is not the biggest problem. Few
speakers are fully sealed (waterproof). As a consequence, the muddy crap
will find it's way into the voice coil gap. The drivers would need to be
dismantled to allow proper cleaning. By comparison, getting a fridge
working
would be child's play. Then of course, there's the problem that most
modern
speakers are made from MDF. MDF survives about 3 milliseconds in water..

OK, so there goes my plan to get a free wide-screen plasma (leaving aside
the cost of getting to QLD, or, now, Victoria).

Could ditch the speakers and fit external ones I suppose.

**Easily. Your plans, however, are not going to go easy for you. The time it
takes to flush a plasma (or LCD) so it can be rendered usable, would amount
to many tens of hours. One overlooked section could result in severe damage.
Trouble is, flat screen TVs are now so inexpensive (that I even purchased
one for the bedroom in December) that repair is now barely viable. The
massive amount of effort required to undo flood damage would be crazy.
Unless you don't value your time of course. 5 years ago, it would have been
a different matter.

That said, I believe that there would certainly be some interesting bargains
for the astute. Watching the clean-up the other night (on our new flat
screen TV), my partner remarked that there seemed to be an incredible waste
going on. I concurred, but then I've never been through a flood and suffered
the consequent metal shock of the process. I spied an industrial 'mixmaster'
thing that was being chucked out. I assume the value of the appliance would
be in excess of several thousand Dollars. It would not be difficult to strip
the thing down, clean the motor and mechanism. I'd say less than 4-5 hours
work. I did the same job on our Kenwood Chef. Including the food grade
grease, a complete strip-down and re-build, it took less than two hours and
cost $30.00 for the fancy grease. Fridges, washing machines, etc. All those
appliances are a doddle to service.

I also saw a story about valuable computer files. I don't see a major
problem, IF the hard drive is not switched on and is handed to a tech, data
can be saved.

--
Trevor Wilsonwww.rageaudio.com.au

Can test that if you want. Have a 6 year old WD drive that is getting
to the end of its useful life

Chuck it in dirty water for a few hours, dry it out, crc the board and
see if it still works

 

[kreed]

On Jan 16, 1:21 pm, "Anonymous" <cri...@ecn.org> wrote:

TV reports showed flood victims ditching their fridge's and washing machines.
Will these items get destroyed in a flood?

 I would have thought a hose down and drying it off for a few days would have recovered them back to a useful state.

(Unless , of course if the machine was running at the time & the water came in and zapped any electronics?)

They would have to do the same for house electricity meters too (dry them out) and remove all the power points & dry them out as well.

Looks like a lot of work for sparkies.

Saw a chest freezer today that had been in a flooded area, the plastic
inner cover of the lid had broken away at 2 sides, and in where the
insulation was, was caked with mud which stank like shit. I would have
my doubts as to whether you could ever get this muck and smell out of
the walls of the fridge if this watery mud / shit got into the
insulation.

The heat from the compressor would probably do a great job of raising
this stink again well into the future.
Ever tried to get the stink of dead mouse off a compressor if it died
on it ?

Most furniture was a write off - anything of MDF or similar would have
been shovelled out.


IN one place, where the entire lower floor had filled with water, the
2 roller doors had been split down the middle, like they were tinfoil,
presumably from the water pressure, probably rose very quickly.



When we got home the shit smell was even through our clothes, just
from the air. Didn't touch anything

 

[terryc]

Trevor Wilson wrote:

I did the same job on our Kenwood Chef. Including the food grade
grease, a complete strip-down and re-build, it took less than two hours and
cost $30.00 for the fancy grease.

Did you require any parts? Looking for an Australian source.

Need a new motor in mine. When it finally died, I worked out why it ran
pathetic all its life; weak, stop start, etc. the fan on te motor shaft
had not been fastened and it was overheatin, with the final inevitable
result.

 

[Trevor Wilson]

terryc wrote:

Trevor Wilson wrote:
I did the same job on our Kenwood Chef. Including the food grade
grease, a complete strip-down and re-build, it took less than two
hours and cost $30.00 for the fancy grease.

Did you require any parts? Looking for an Australian source.

**Nope. I was lucky. I didn't require any. I did find an instruction manual
for $0.75 though.

Need a new motor in mine. When it finally died, I worked out why it
ran pathetic all its life; weak, stop start, etc. the fan on te motor
shaft had not been fastened and it was overheatin, with the final
inevitable result.

**Funny you mention that. Mine leaked grease when I first used it (I
acquired it second hand). I stripped it down, cleaned all the grease out and
noted that the thing had been assembled incorrectly (probably since new),
thus allowing grease to leak into food. Hardly surprising the original owner
gave it to me.


--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au