Washing Machine - how not to spoil it beyond repair

Just before our trip, I heard loud banging noises coming from the washing machine. My mum said it has been like that for a while. But since we were travelling last week, we didn't get a chance to get someone to take a look. 

After we returned from our trip with a big load of clothes, Mum wanted to try the washing machine again, with a small load just to test. 

In the meanwhile, I just went to call up the official service hotline to enquire on the potential reasons for the noise. The diagnosis didn't sound fatal and probably require a change of part , so I made another call to another service company to compare prices.

Before the service person could arrive, I realised that my laptop was not charging. In fact,  the electricity had short circuited and tripped. Not a good sign. 

When the service man came , he took a quick look and gave his judgment. No point repairing , would cost too much relatively. Why? 

He replied that because the constant pressure had caused something inside to break and hence while the original problem was very small , the continued use of the machine instead of patching the problem realtime had caused a rupture and water had also sipped through since the shock absorber was spoilt . Hence, it tripped the system too. So he advised that while it could have a quick fix, it had become a big problem (小毛病，大问题) as it's not promptly fixed. Was a pity as my machine was an usually durable one. 

Anyway, learned a few things from him before he left:

- Washing machine repair is a vanishing profession as young Singaporeans don't take to do this repair job. So it will be a use and throw culture like in the West. As such, he suggest to just buy inexpensive washing machines . So sad because I think it's so wasteful and not environmentally friendly. 

- Unlike machines in the West  when heavy duty machines can withstand heavy duty contents, the ones in Singapore mainly cater to small loads, no matter what they call it. He named a particular S brand .. haha. 

- If you see leaking water or strange noises from your washing machine in future , stop using immediately. Quick and cheap fixes might well expand the lifespan of the machine by a few more years.

- Our oven tripped a few times before too so we asked if he could help repair. He was super practical. He asked if we would use it often . I said no - we used it once in a blue moon. Then he said don't waste the money because frequent use is the only way to keep it in good working condition. If there's infrequent use, just buy from outside and eat. Haha, I love how pragmatic and to the point he is. With that, we left our oven as-is, as a storage space.