I have a hotpoint washing machine that suddenly has leaked a good amount of oil from underneath. The machine was not in use when the oil was leaked and it seems to still run okay just makes an odd noise when switching cycles. What is going on to cause so much oil and can I still use it (it's not going to blow up is it?) or should I stop?

Mandy, October 2008

The oil may be from an electrical component. Your machine may have an oil-filled capacitor which has sprung a leak.

I would call an engineer and to be on the safe (less expensive) side would resort to the bag-wash until the visit.

But all this is just guesswork.

Peccavi, October 2008