Fixing the Splendide Washer Door Handle

We were doing some routine laundry the other day when Orinda tried to open the door and the handle came off in her hand. Unfortunately, this was the second time this had occurred with Rick fixing the handle with super glue the first time (it held for 6 months). As can be seen above, when the handle breaks off, it is almost impossible to open the door (careful application of a screwdriver will pry it open). While a new handle is available (about $40 plus shipping), Rick wondered if he could come up with a fix.

Rick decided to try another approach this time and tried his handy-dandy epoxy putty. This two part epoxy comes in a roll and you just cut off a small amount and mix it by hand, then apply it. It sets up in about 20 minutes.

Rick filled in the broken area as can be seen above with the epoxy and let it harden. Once the epoxy hardened, I drilled a hole for the metal pin which provides the pivot for the door handle and spring.

The next step was to break out the trusty Dremel Tool and machine out the excess epoxy so that the metal catch could be positioned inside the handle. This actually went very well and while I had to do soem trial fittings, only took about 15 minutes.

Here is the repaired door handle with the metal catch in place. There is a spring that fits around the catch that will make it "snap" into place when the door is closed.

Another view of the repaired handle. It seems to be much stronger now and Rick is hopeful this will take care of the issue permanently.

Success! The handle is now re-assembled and the washer works great! I did have to make one final touch up grinding on the handle to make sure the washer door sensor engaged and the washer started correctly. Now, things are working great!