Hi everyone,

I'm not very informed on the electrical workings of a house so please bear with me!

Last night my washing machine, located in the laundry room of the basement stopped working. It had been working perfectly up until then. I tested the dryer next to it and it worked and everything else in the basement was working (lights, TV, etc.) I then tried plugging the washing machine into another outlet in the basement hallway and it worked. However, after running for a while while plugged into the different outlet, it stopped again and I also lost power to my living room area, which is on the main floor of my home.

So, to recap:
The original outlet the washing machine was plugged into does not work
The outlet in the basement hallway does not work & no power in the living room area

I did a visual inspection of the fuses in my fuse box but could not find anything that looked blown. Tried replacing some fuses but it didn't change anything. Since it's only specific outlets and a specific area with no power, I'm thinking it's not a blown fuse. As I said, I'm new to this, so any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

The best help you could get is to call for a licensed electrician. Usually, the washing machine is on a dedicated circuit.

Exactly how did you test the fuses, switch them out or use an Ohm meter?

Troubleshooting circuits, is not very easy to do and if you are brand new at working electrical problems, you could end up as dead as your outlets.

This really sounds like a simple case of blown fuses or popped breaker. Are you in the US? If so, I would be surprised you still have fuses. Fuses or breakers, it still should be safe to recheck them. The box should have labels. Take a close look at anything labeled laundry or living room. If not look carefully at all the breakers or fuses. Breaker handles sometimes are only slightly out of position when they pop. If any are out of position at all, turn it all the way to off, and then back to on. With fuses, look for a gap in the little metal strip in the center, or andy darkness or cloudiness. If any look suspicious, unscrew it and replace it with one of the same rating.

I would unplug the washer not try to run it again without having a repair man look at it. Is the dryer electric? If so, it should have its own 240 volt feed and not be affected by the blown fuse or breaker. Any one fuse should only control a few things. The outlet for the washer might be the only thing on its fuse. The hall outlet could be on with the living room, leaving them both off.

Sounds like washer has a problem, maybe motor, loose wire/shorted, and blew 2 fuses, not yet found, Someone familiar with electric can remove panel cover , and test for voltage out of each fuse. Have lamp, radio, or a light with someone there and switch known good fuse around, with no meter, one that when removed, you see lamp or light go out. I would not use washer again, or buy more fuses. Good luck.

Thanks for your help everyone. I am located in Ontario, Canada. My dryer is electric and is on its own 240 volt feed. After some troubleshooting, I can confirm that the hall outlet was connected to the living room. Turns out it was blown fuses. It was hard to identify which ones were blown, but I've been able to find them and change them so all the power is up an running now. The problem is with the washing machine, which recently started to smoke now. I'll probably get a pro in as I don't want to mess with smoking appliances!

That being said, is it worth it to move from a fuse box to a breaker panel?

If it is Romex, It can be Very Fast, and Cheaper than if Solid conduits across top and bottom of panel. Fuses are Very Convient, and increases safety.