You open the washer at the end of a cycle and the clothes are sitting in a tub of gray water. The first job isn't finding the fault. It's getting the water out without soaking the laundry room floor, the garage, or the ceiling of the room below. After that, most drain failures can be traced in a logical order, from the free fixes to the parts that need a technician.
Before anything else
Cancel the cycle and try a drain-and-spin or spin-only setting once. If the washer drains this time, the problem may be intermittent, and you should note what happened. If it doesn't, unplug the machine and turn off both water valves behind it. If the last cycle was hot, give the water time to cool before you open anything.
Getting the water out
Front-load washers
Most front-loaders have a small access panel low on the front, usually at the bottom left or right. Behind it is the drain pump filter, and on many models a short drain tube with a cap.
- Lay down old towels and set a baking pan or shallow tray in front of the panel. A bucket won't fit under the opening.
- If there is a drain tube, free it from its clip, aim it at the pan and pull the plug. When the pan is nearly full, plug the tube again, dump the pan, and keep going.
- Once the flow stops, turn the filter counterclockwise slowly. More water will come out than seems possible, so loosen it a little at a time.
- Pull out the filter and clear whatever is in it: coins, hair ties, lint, small socks.
Expect to empty the pan many times. Don't open the door until the water level is below the door opening.
Top-load washers
With the lid open, scoop the water into a bucket with a saucepan or pitcher. If the drain hose can be lifted out of the standpipe and lowered into a bucket on the floor, gravity will drain much of the tub. Keep a hand on the hose so it doesn't slip.
The cheap causes first
Once the tub is empty, look at the things that cost nothing:
- •A kinked or crushed drain hose. Pushing the washer back toward the wall is the usual culprit. In a tight laundry closet or a garage corner, the hose can fold behind the cabinet.
- •A hose pushed too far down the standpipe. If the end sits deep inside the pipe, it can seal the opening or siphon water out during the fill. Only a short length of hose belongs inside the standpipe; your installation guide gives the figure.
- •Too many suds. Regular detergent in a high-efficiency machine makes foam that the pump and pressure sensor can't handle. Some machines stop and post a suds or drain code. Use HE detergent in the amount the manual suggests.
- •The lid switch or door lock. Many washers won't drain or spin if the control doesn't believe the lid or door is closed and locked. A broken lid strike or a failed lock can look like a drain problem.
Washer or house drain?
This question saves people a lot of money. Pull the drain hose out of the standpipe and pour a bucket of water straight down the pipe. If the pipe fills or empties sluggishly, the blockage sits in the household plumbing rather than the machine, and a plumber is the right call.
Other signs of a house drain problem: the standpipe overflows during the drain cycle while the washer itself empties normally, or nearby drains gurgle when the washer pumps out. In slab homes, which is most of what you'll find around Tampa, the laundry drain runs under the floor to the main line, so a clog there is out of reach for a homeowner.
If the standpipe takes the bucket of water easily, the problem is inside the washer.
What the pump is telling you
Run a drain-and-spin cycle with the machine empty and listen near the bottom.
- •A steady hum, but no water moving. The pump is getting power, but the impeller is jammed or the pump has failed. On a front-loader, recheck the filter. On many top-loaders, a sock or a bra wire can be lodged in the pump inlet where you can't see it.
- •Silence. The pump may not be getting a signal. That points to the wiring, the lid lock or door lock circuit, or the control board, and needs a meter.
- •Grinding or rattling. Something hard is in the pump housing.
Pumps are replaceable on almost every washer, but the job ranges from easy to awkward depending on the model. Tell whoever you call what you heard.
Error codes
Most current washers will post a drain code rather than just stopping. LG uses OE, Samsung uses 5C (5E or nd on older models), and Whirlpool and Maytag front-loaders often show F9 E1. The code tells you the machine timed out waiting for the water to drop; it doesn't say why. Our LG washer guide covers that brand's codes in more detail.
Laundry upstairs or in a closet
Many newer two-story homes in New Tampa, Westchase and Riverview put the laundry room upstairs. A washer that stops with a full tub there is more urgent, because a leak at the door or filter goes straight into the ceiling below. Keep towels down while you work, and see whether the washer sits in an overflow pan, and if it does, whether that pan isn't already holding water. If the pan has a drain line, make sure it isn't blocked.
Hallway laundry closets have their own issue: there is very little room to pull the machine out. Shut off the water first, and don't force the hoses. A fitting that cracks behind the machine is a bigger problem than a stuck drain.
For washers in the garage, heat and lint have their own effects; our guide to garage laundry in Tampa homes goes through them.
When to call
Call if the filter is clear and the house drain takes water but the washer still won't drain, or if you hear the pump humming without moving water, or if the problem keeps returning. A technician tests the pump, the lock circuit and the control at your home, tells you which one failed, and prices the fix for you to approve first. More on the washer repair page, or book online.
Common questions
Can I keep using the washer if it drains after a second try?
Briefly, but watch it. Intermittent drain problems are usually a partial clog or a pump starting to fail, and they tend to get worse. Clear the filter and check the hose first.
How often should I clean the drain pump filter?
The manual for your model gives a recommendation. Checking it every month or two is reasonable if you wash pet bedding, towels or children's clothes, which tend to shed lint and small objects.