A washer that walks across the floor is not a washer with a bad motor. It is a washer that is out of level, and it is one of the few appliance problems you can fix in 15 minutes with your hands.

Check it first

Push down on each of the four top corners, one at a time. If the machine rocks, that corner is where the problem is.

Then check the floor itself. A level machine on a sloped floor still walks. Put a level on the floor beside the machine and look at the bubble.

Level the feet

1. Pull the washer out far enough to reach behind it.
2. Loosen the lock nut on each foot by turning it up toward the machine.
3. Turn the foot itself to raise or lower that corner.
4. Re tighten the lock nut against the machine base.
5. Rock the machine again. Repeat until it does not move.

Most machines have self adjusting rear feet that level themselves when you tilt the machine forward and set it back down. Do that first, then adjust only the front two.

Shipping bolts

If you just moved or just bought the machine, check the shipping bolts at the back. Four long bolts hold the drum during transport, and leaving them in causes violent shaking on every spin.

If your machine sounds like a helicopter and you have never touched those bolts, that is almost certainly the answer.

Damp the vibration

Anti vibration pads under the feet cost less than a lunch and help a lot on a wood floor or an upper floor. They also stop the machine from grinding the finish off the floor.

Do not put a rug under it. Rugs compress unevenly and make the problem worse.

If it still walks

Check the drum for balance by running it empty on a spin cycle. A machine that shakes badly when empty has a real mechanical problem, and at that point you call someone.

But level first. Nine times out of ten, that is all it was.