Washing Machine Won’t Drain Water

One of the most important parts of a washing machine cycle is draining the dirty water; without this, it cannot clean your clothes properly!

If your washing machine won’t drain water it can result in:
– error code displayed
– washing machine stops mid cycle
– you can’t finish the cycle or start a new one
– the washing machine door won’t open
– alarm sounding

Here’s what you need to do to resolve the problem:

1. Turn the power off

This is the first and most important thing to do!

Turn the power off at the socket and take the plug out, or turn it off at the wall if you have a switch there instead. Also, please only do this if you are a competent person and do not attempt this if you are not confident as it can be dangerous.

2. Clear the filter

Get some towels and lay it on the floor in front of your washing machine. Then, locate the filter which can be found on the bottom of the front of the machine (either on the left or right). If your appliance is freestanding then there may be a cover which you can open by pulling/pushing on it. If the machine is integrated you will need to remove the plinth to get to it.

Once you’ve got to the filter cover, slowly turn this anti-clockwise. Do this slowly as any water inside of the machine will start to come out. Tighten the filter if you need to stop the flow of water at any point. If you find it tough to turn the filter then this is usually a sign that it is blocked by something – so just persevere and take your time and be careful not to break the filter.

3. Clean the filter

Once you have removed the filter, run it under some soapy hot water to clean it. Whilst you have the filter out, look inside the housing to make sure that it is clear. You should be able to see the drain pump blade at the back. Inside, usually to the left, you will see an opening (this is the channel for the water to travel through to the drain pump), make sure this is clear (wear some protective gloves when doing this).

4. Reassemble and test

Put everything back together in reverse order, and test.

You don’t need to run a full cycle. Just run a rinse cycle (set it to no spin to shorten the length of the cycle). Once the drum has filled up with water to the usual level, stop the cycle. Then, set it to the “drain” cycle and click start – this should then drain all of the water out (this cycle usually takes less than 5 minutes).

If the water drains fine, then you’ve fixed your washing machine!

5. Book your washing machine repair

If your washing machine is still not draining water then there could be a blockage further inside of the machine, and/or a different fault. It’s time to book a washing machine engineer.