Due to the design of most frontloaders, it's virtually impossible to engineer 100% against small items escaping. I don't suppose it happens often, but it *can* happen. Understanding that is a sort-of fundamental concept about frontloaders, and from a consumer point-of-view, I don't see a reason why such events should be covered by manufacturer warranty.

Some toploaders in years past had the same problem. Machines with a solid (non-perforated) wash basket that did a spin-drain sometimes kicked the clothes up high enough to fling an item into the outer tub. Typically a wire guard around the upper circumference of the basket served as a barrier, but items could still go overboard in cases of overloading or excessively-high water level.

I had the same machine and took it back,nothing but problems after a couple of weeks,clothes came out in knots and found a sock stuck behind the tub ,was almost lost,I said to myself what kind of junk is this, I cant even wash small socks,brought machine back and bought Samsung VRT washer and dryer,this machine is built much tighter, have had no problems at all,to me this is not normal,sorry to hear about your issues.Can you take the machine back?Bosch is a highly over rated,$1000 piece of junk.Good luck.

Where exactly did he find the sock? Most front loaders have a so-called "coin trap" that is accessible from the front of the machine. The specific purpose of this trap is to catch small items that may have slipped between wash drum and the outer tank, before they get into the actual pumps.

Your owners manual tells how to access the trap, and in fact, usually recommends peridically checking it for small items like paper clips, buttons, etc. If your sock was stuck there (as it should have been), then the machine was funtioning as it should, ergo; a service call wasn't really in order.

Per my comments in the preceeding posting, out of curiosity, I went online to the Bosch website to look at the owner's manual for the Nexxt washer. There is no mention of a coin trap, and in fact, the manual says that the panel on the lower right front (where one would expect to find the coin trap) is for "Service Only", indicating that the consumer should not open it.

That being the case, I think I'd contact Bosch Customer Service and complain like heck. If a small sock got through and only a service technician would be able to get to it, I'd expect that to be covered by warranty.

Having an older Bosch machine, I had downloaded the Bosch Nexxt 500 manual and noticed this restriction. Did not catch the small sock thing, however. In 7 years only had coins, but had to open the drain trap door several times. IMO, a drain trap is necessary and should be an

The owner's manuals clearly states don't open the service door or you might "die" with sharp edges, exposed wiring, etc. And you are to use a mesh bag for small things.

So technically you violated the warranty, if you had just opened the "service only" door and removed the small item. You "abused" the machine by not using a mesh bag for small things. A non- win situation for the consumer. They have all the bases covered. About the only point to push, is how small is too small- Mr. Bosch. A 7 inches does not seem to small to me.

On a humorous note note, look at the Bosch Nexxt 500 manual (rev a 5/06) front cover picture. They clearly don't expect you to wash small socks. LOL. The girl with her father has no foot. It looks like is was amputated. Just a pant leg hanging in air. In perspective of your post, it is really a strange picture.

Perhaps a subliminal/hidden message about small socks not working?

To all of your questions:

First, I'd be surprised if Lowe's would take the machine back after more than three months' use.

As to the coin trap, we're aware of it, since my husband is German and we lived in Berlin with a Siemens front-loader for a number of years. My husband was rather appalled that the consumer is barred from opening the coin trap. That's considered part of the owner's responsibility in Germany and IMO there's no reason for this to require a service call.

Not being able to open the trap really does create a double bind.

But we read the manual and made darn sure we didn't violate the warranty.

The sock's actual location was *beyond* the coin trap. I'm not sure how this could happen, but it did. In this case, the service call was unavoidable.

As for the mesh bag, the original one delivered with the machine was moldy. I ordered a new one, which arrived after the trouble started. The sock got stuck at a time when we had no mesh bag.

But even so, I would not have imagined a sock this size would need to go in the bag. The central question is what consitutes "small," as you pointed out, crooks101. I don't think more than two pairs of these socks would fit into the mesh bag provided by Bosch.

We never heard of problems like this while in Germany. I suspect the only reason this could occur is the larger drum size for the American market, which requires a larger rubber gasket that fits less snugly than in the European version. Does this make sense?

Since it's summer, none of us is wearing socks - this has kept the washer running happily without the fuss and blood of amputation. ;-)

Thanks to all for your feedback. I'm still hoping to hear from Bosch Chris...

PattyCat

patty cat,
Just to let you know I returned my dishwasher to lowes after 3 months of use with no trouble,just told the manager I was unhappy and wanted to buy a better product.Also they gave me no trouble on returning the Bosch 500 washer.Good luck.

As a service tech I can tell you that I have seen just about every single brand, top load and front load get a sock or some other small article of clothing stuck in the pump.
It is not a common occurence but it is not exactly uncommon either.
I have been telling customers to use a mesh bag for small items for the more than 30 years I've been working on appliances. Most of the techs I know tell their customers the same thing. Small kids socks, ladies short stockings, some small un-mentionables that look like slingshots, can sometimes get past the guards that do work 99.9%of the time.
A small mesh bag also helps keep these items together so that they're not lost and will keep delicate things from snagging.

Now I will tell you to contact Bosch about the service call because I know they will pay for customer education and that's how I would have billed the call. As a matter of fact they are the only company that I do warranty work for that will pay for customer education calls. All the rest of them say bill the customer.

Here's what I did to open the door on my Bosch Nexxt washer and remove the small nylon stocking that was stuck inside. As mentioned above, this activity is probably not sanctioned by Bosch and may void your warranty.

- locate the round door on the bottom right of the front of the washer, and note the small hole at 4 or 5 o'clock

- gently push the blunt end of a 5/64" drill bit into the hole and push back the plastic tab behing the hole.

- turn the cover clockwise so that the small hole is at the 6 o'clock position

- Get your wet-dry vac, prepare it for wet, and turn it on.

- Unscrew the cover bit by bit, sucking up the water that's comes out with the vac. Don't be too impatient, or you might get a minor flood if you unscrew the cap all the way too soon.

- When no more water comes out, fully unscrew, and pull out the assembly.

- clean out whatever is in there

- slide the assembly back in (there's a groove at about 2 o'clock and screw it in.

- test to make sure there are no leaks

- Replace the cover (small hole at 6 o'clock) and turn counter-clockwise until it locks (use the drill bit to turn)

When I had a service call for another reason on my washer (bosch 500) the repair guy showed me exactly how to open that little door and open the trap behind to clean it out.... he said it was perfectly fine to do this IF it seemed like it may be blocked... but to be prepared for some water to come out...

I HATE BOSCH 500 WASHERS.

We had one for three months. It didn't wash well, it didn't rinse well, it tied the clothes in knots. And my wife and I have had front loaders for 13 years, so we know how they work.

We insisted Lowes take it back. We bought a Duet. Cannot be happier.

Nate

I've never had so much as a baby sock lost in my Nexxt 500, and I never use a mesh bag. I can't imagine this would be a frequent issue.

crooks - The little girl's leg is there in the pic, just close to the same color as the background.

Thanks gaserre,

I just followed the directions you gave. I didn't find much, but it seems to be working. At least I was able to open the door.

Now if anyone has any suggestions about my Bosch dryer's lint filter notice going off every 10 minutes, I'd appreciate it. (and yes, the lint filter is clean!)

Thanks

Are you talking about the light, or the error code? If it's the error code, there is likely something clogging your dryer vent.

It's the error code. It's been doing that since soon after we bought it. It does ok for most of the first load, but then with subsequent loads it starts to go off every 10 minutes.

It should be a warranty issue, but I've had trouble getting someone out to fix it. They just don't show up or call. I was just wondering if anyone had had the same issue and if there is a way to fix it myself.

We have the Nexxt washer and dryer. Never had a problem and have had 2 babies since purchasing them. We didn't even get a mesh bag with ours. This is the first I have heard of such a thing. There is no telling how many baby and toddler socks, clothes, etc that have been washed, and we have never lost a thing. I occasionally leave my pocket knife or a coin or two in my pants, but they end up in the bottom of the drum. I just pick them up at the end of the cycle.

My Nexxt 700 will not drain, I had a repairman out worked for about two loads. Then followed gassere's excellent instructions from this thread. I can get the machine to work OK for a load or two, then will not drain again. There are no objects that I can find. The machine hums, and sometimes will start draining if I cycle the control a few times, almost as if the pump is a bit stuck. Is there a way to disassemble further without factory expert knowledge?
Thanks for any info,
Rich

I followed the directions of "gaserre", and although I did not have a wet vac, we successfully opened the trap and removed the offending objects. Two comments to add: one, the edges are sharp, so be careful or wear a thin glove. And secondly, you can easily do this without a vac if you go slowly and have a number of towels handy. Yea!! thanks so much to this forum.

I have the same problem. checked drain plug, no debris. it seems something is stuck further up the hose toward the drain reservoir.

My Bosch Nexxt 500 laundry comes out wet after a light load but dry with a regular-heavy load. Nothing in pump filter. Any ideas?