[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RustyShackleford Poundkey's idea about a "lint filter mounted on the outside of the tub" sounds promising. But what do you mean by "lifting the top and looking down" ?

As Pounkey hinted, not all washers have these. We once had a washer with an easy-to-remove "filter" that slid out from a compartment above the tub. Check the location where the water pours into the tub when it fills (if you can see the water falling in from the top). In our case, the "filter" was nothing more than a little plastic tray with spikes on it that the water flowed over, lint would get hung up on the spikes until you banged the tray over a trash can to empty it. If you do have such a tray or filter and you've never known about it/emptied it, I'd be surprised water would still be entering your machine properly.

BTW, are you on (chlorinated) city water? The residual chlorine at your tap shouldn't be enough to "sanitize" your machine, but at least you'd know that the fresh stuff coming out of the hose isn't the problem.

Good luck.