clothes-washerdryerelectricalwashing-machine
Recently I noticed a washing machine manual which says "Wall outlet must not be located behind dryer." A quick Google search reveals this is pretty common, but what's the reason for it?
I understand that the washer needs "regular" 120V AC and not 220V like you sometimes find behind a dryer, but why would a regular outlet box that happens to be behind an adjacent dryer (i.e. not too far away for cord length to be an issue), be unacceptable?
To do this right, you'll likely have to install a whole drain system for the washer. You'll install a new vent (according to local codes), and a new drain line that attaches to the existing drainage system (in a code compliant way). Then you'll install a standpipe with a trap, that the washer can discharge to.
The shaking probably shook a wire loose besides causing a leak, or the leak flooded over a set of wires and shorted the wire to the casing. The GFCI did its job by detecting the current to ground and shutting down the power. Reconnecting with the fault in place will cause the GFCI to trip again.
The dryer is protected by the same GFCI so when it trips the GFCI will shut down all power.
Get someone qualified to inspect it and be prepared to shell out for a new washing machine should it be irreparable.
Best Answer
Some of those are up/down washer/dryer combos, and the dryer is actually mounted to the wall in a semi-permanent fashion. As such, you can't have the washer plugged in behind the dryer because it is no longer in a freely accessible receptacle, electrically the washer is sort of permanently installed itself (which is a bad idea in general.) The ones that aren't, I suspect, are guilty of a lazy GE washer manual writer. It is not a code requirement of any sort.
*edited with more detail