Often when someone gets a new washer they have it delivered and professionally installed. They never see or know a thing about these things called ‘Shipping Bolts’. Sometimes the installers take them when they leave, other times they’re put in a bag and tossed in a pedestal drawer or on a shelf, never to be seen again.

But, if you installed the washer yourself or you moved to a new home, you may still have the shipping bolts installed in your washer.

Location of shipping bolts on rear of washer

If your shipping bolts are still in, you’re probably getting fun symptoms like your washer rocking and dancing around, making a bunch of noise during the spin cycle and generally trying to shake your house apart. Now, of course, your washer could simply be not leveled correctly. But if your washer is level but still jumping around, check the back of it and make sure all four shipping bolts are removed from the washer. If they are installed, remove the shipping bolts and store them in a safe place in case you ever need to move the washer to another house. Once your shipping bolts are removed and your washer leveled it should run a whole lot smoother!

Removing your shipping bolts is important and most manufacturers will explicitly state the bolt removal process it the installation instructions included with your washer. Severe damage to the unit can happen if the washer is ran for long periods with the shipping bolts installed and most manufacturers do not cover damage caused by this under warranty.