Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2013 July 3

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July 3

Washing machine

Will my washing machine topple over and explode if I load it only with one piece of clothing like a judo gi? Especially the jacket is very heavy and I would imagine it getting really really heavy when wet and the whole machine being unbalanced because there is nothing to balance the weight.

(restoring my answer from when this was originally posted here.) No, it won't. But make sure you set it to the lightest setting so you won't waste water/energy. --Yellow1996 (talk) 18:09, 3 July 2013 (UTC)

I would it is extremely unlikely - I have never hear of this kind of thing ever happening - but don't take the word of a random guy on the internet if you are really worried about it. I would suggest contacting the manufacturer, or the shop you bought it from. KägeTorä - (影虎) (TALK) 18:59, 3 July 2013 (UTC)

Not toppling over and exploding. However, one heavy item could make the machine very noisy, particularly suring the spin cycle. In my experience, modern machines reduce their speed if the vibration gets to be too much. You could try balancing it out by adding another heavy item like a towel. Astronaut (talk) 19:03, 3 July 2013 (UTC)

Many washing machines have a "half load" function for this contingency. "Do I Need a Half load button on my washing machine?" suggests that newer machines have a sensor instead, in case pushing a button is too much effort. Alansplodge (talk) 21:16, 3 July 2013 (UTC)

Thanks very much for that information - I now know what that button is for! Perhaps I might use it one day. :) Tevildo (talk) 22:02, 3 July 2013 (UTC)

You're very welcome. My specialist subject: "The statement of the bleedin' obvious". Alansplodge (talk) 16:55, 4 July 2013 (UTC)

Well, it wasn't obvious to me. :) "Half load" should mean "half the normal load size", not "unbalanced load". Tevildo (talk) 22:22, 4 July 2013 (UTC)

Since I am frequently unbalanced myself, I feel I can contribute: Many washing machines will detect an imbalance and stop, with a loud buzzer sounding to warn you. StuRat (talk) 23:43, 3 July 2013 (UTC)

The owner's manual for my washing machine notes that it has a vibration sensor that will keep the spin cycle from reaching full speed if the load is too unbalanced (eg. if there are only one or two items in it). If you're worried, you could follow the other part of the note and toss in a few towels to balance things out. --Carnildo (talk) 23:49, 3 July 2013 (UTC)

The really sophisticated machines will make the heavier side spin more slowly. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 01:20, 4 July 2013 (UTC)

More seriously, my machine, if the load is unbalanced (and I've not pressed the button), will pause the spin for a few seconds and rotate slowly in an attempt to rebalance itself. And my grandmother had an ancient evil vertical spin-drier that _did_ fall over quite often, but it never exploded. Tevildo (talk) 23:41, 4 July 2013 (UTC)

Editor is biased. Need help .

One editor is so biased about an article and he does not allows any one to update the article in positive manner .He is not even allowing the facts from the reliable source. How can I seek help from an neutral editor to resolve this issue . --Suryavarman01 (talk) 23:16, 3 July 2013 (UTC)

This isn't the right place for a question like that one. Try posting at the administrator's noticeboard instead. Make sure to give more detail there, like specifying the user who you have a problem with. Howicus (talk) 23:20, 3 July 2013 (UTC)

Actually, that's the WRONG location... by far. There are about 4-5 steps before "running to get mommy". The user should:

• First, start a discussion on the article talk page, inviting the other user to participate directly with a message on their use talk page. It is most important to not take an accusatory tone, assume good faith on the part of the other editor, and discuss with an aim to reach a consensus, rather than to look at it as a competition to "win". If the OP instead takes the tone they do above, it is sure to go badly.
• Second, if the discussion reaches an impasse, they can try to ask for a third opinion and see if outside editors can weigh the difference between the two versions of the article and make helpful suggestions as to how to break the impasse.
• Third, the user can try a request for comment and advertise it at relevant Wikiprojects, with a goal of bringing in even more outside opinions to break the impasse.
• Fourth, the user can ask for help at the dispute resolution noticeboard to get some more help at resolving the dispute.

None of these options involve getting anyone sanctioned or blocked, as it should be. The goal of Wikipedia is not to win battles, but to make the best encyclopedia possible, and we should not look at other editors that disagree with us as opponents, but rather as good-faithed editors with different viewpoints. --Jayron32 00:30, 4 July 2013 (UTC)

Looking at the edit history for the Vanniyar article, I'm seeing one biased editor repeatedly trying to insert poorly worded and based on an original misinterpretation of a source, with very little discussion with other; while a number of other different editors follow the site's guidelines and policies and remove the material. Ian.thomson (talk) 00:36, 4 July 2013 (UTC)

That is all solved using the procedure I outlined above. No one has to get mommy still. --Jayron32 00:57, 4 July 2013 (UTC)

I know, a lot of biased editors usually either give up before going through all those steps (and just leave the article alone or edit war and get a short-term block), or jump the gun and do something short-term-blockworthy. The short-term block is then often interpreted as a perma-ban for some reason, though occasionally they actually bloody learn. Ian.thomson (talk) 01:01, 4 July 2013 (UTC)

Yet another instance where it becomes clear how much I still have to learn about how Wikipedia works...oh well. Howicus (talk) 00:23, 5 July 2013 (UTC)