For those of you who have had Goldens (or other dogs with lots of hair) for many years, have you ever had an issue with the dog hair clogging up your washing machine filter? My husband mentioned he is scared about what is happening to the washer when we put the dog blankets and beds in. We have a Whirlpool Duet front loader and it says in the instructions that the filter is "self cleaning". When we put the blankets and stuff in the dryer we get a huge amount of dog hair in the lint trap so I can imagine what is in the washer and going down through the drain holes and into the filter and drain. Our washer is only 2 years old and we've had the Golden for just over a year so I'm just hoping the hair and the washing machine aren't going to be an expensive problem.

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I have a front loader...
Three dogs...sometimes four...
Coins left in pockets, yes (service call to remove the coins).... dog fur, no problem....

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Mary and the Goldens from Maine

"Trace" - Can. CH Bramley's Light Up The Night, CD, RA - (CGC, CCA, TDI-Therapy Dog and Novice DockDock)
"Rumor" - Jackson's Leap of Faith

Waiting at the Bridge
"Lexi" - Wise Teacher and Best-est Puppy Raiser
"Liberty" - Bramley's Golden Moments Libby CD, RE - ASCA-CD, Can. CD - (CGC and TDI-Therapy Dog)

I have had inside long haired dogs most of my life and have never had a problem. My filter is self cleaning, also.. but not a front loader.

Hmmmmmm I've never thought about the washing machine...

I do know Lucky's hair is ruining my vacuum. Already I had to throw away a bagless after only 6 months of use because the hair jammed everything up. And on this other one, I have to pull thick cords of hair off the rollers and out of the crevices.

Its a little demoralizing...

At the doggy daycare where I work we do TONS of washing and the amount of dog hair is staggering! LOL! But we've never had an issue that I'm aware of.

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Never had a problem with the washer.

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GOOD TO KNOW!!!! This would be the best "test facility" for that too.

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Nope - never. Never with the tumble dryer or hoover either!

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Honey - my dizzy blonde!

With that washer you DO need to be sure to take off the front cover enar the bottom of the washer and open the blue(I think it's blue colored) knob that has an extra trap inside that prevents the disharge pipe from being clogged and clean it every 6 months or so. They do not tell you this until you need a service tech and pay $85 for them to show you of course lol. Anyway, it's worth putting a bucket in front of that knob before opening as there's about 1/2 gallon of water still sitting in that discharge pipe when you open it. Best of luck.

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Phil & Amber, CGC
You'd smile too if you were a Golden!

I will be buying a new front loader in the next week or two. Thanks for the warning.

I currently have a 15 year old front loader that just died. In that span, I had 2 german shepherds, 2 great pyreneeses, 1 golden, 2 himilayans, 1 maine coon and a short haired cat. Yes, a lot of fur.

The problem I have had over the years is the washer empties into a utility sink which often gets blocked with fur from the washer, then my kitchen is flooded. I just need to keep an eye on that drain.

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