So, the washing machine started making this awful racket the other day. Not the usual gentle sloshing, nope. This was a real, "uh-oh, this sounds expensive" kind of noise. And wouldn't you know it, right when I had a mountain of laundry. Always the way, isn't it? My mind immediately went to calling out some repair guy, waiting around for ages, and then staring at a big bill. Ugh.

Then I had this vague memory. Someone, somewhere, ages ago, mentioned a filter. A thing you're supposed to clean out on these machines. Who knew, right? They don't exactly shout about these things when you buy them. It's almost like they want them to clog up and break. Anyway, I figured, "What's the harm in looking?" Worst thing that happens, I mess it up more, then I definitely have to call the repair guy. Best thing, I save some cash and a load of hassle.

First up, actually finding this mystery filter. My machine's got this little plastic panel down at the bottom on the front. Had to kind of pry it open. Typical. Nothing's ever simple. Behind that, there it was: a round cap thing. Looked like the prime suspect.

Now, I’d heard stories. Stories about water. Lots of it, gushing out. So, I got smart, or at least I tried. Grabbed a shallow baking dish and a stack of old towels. And thank goodness I did. As soon as I started to twist that cap, water began to trickle. Then it was more than a trickle. Had to quickly screw it back on, empty the dish, mop up, and try again. Took a few goes, that did. Patience, I kept telling myself, patience. Not exactly my strongest point when the house is upside down and the laundry basket is practically laughing at me.

• Got that shallow pan, like I said. A baking tray worked.
• Towels. Lots of old towels. Don't skimp on the towels.
• Unscrewed that cap real, real slow.

Finally, with most of the trapped water out of the way, I got the cap completely off. And oh. My. Word. The stuff that was jammed in there! It was like a forgotten museum of pocket lint and lost items. I pulled out:

• A couple of coins. Cha-ching, I guess.
• A bobby pin I thought the carpet monster had eaten months ago.
• An amazing amount of grey, clumpy lint. Way more than the dryer ever catches.
• And just some… well, gunk. Unidentifiable, slimy gunk. Best not to think too hard about it.

Seriously, it was pretty nasty. I used a wad of paper towels to wipe out the filter itself – it just pulled straight out – and then inside the little compartment where it sits. Got it all looking a lot less horrifying. No wonder the poor machine was making such a fuss. It was probably choking on all that junk.

Putting it all back together was just doing everything in reverse. Screwed the cap back on, good and tight. Made sure it wasn't going anywhere. Popped that little plastic panel back on the front. Then, the moment of truth. I chucked in a small test load, nothing too important, just in case I'd somehow made things worse.

And you know what? It worked! Like a charm. The horrible grinding noise was gone. The machine just purred away, doing its thing. I felt like a proper DIY hero. A slightly damp hero, maybe, but a hero nonetheless. Saved myself a repair bill and actually learned something useful. So now, it's on my mental to-do list to check that thing every few months. Maybe. If I remember. But hey, for now, disaster averted. Laundry: 0, Me: 1. For today, at least.