XT Appliances · Warren
Washer won't drain, water left in the tub
Usually something jammed in the drain pump or packed into the front-load pump filter, and less often a kinked hose or a failed pump motor.
Near the end of the wash, and again after the rinse, the washer runs its drain pump to push the water up the drain hose and into the standpipe. Only once the tub reads empty will most washers start the spin. That's why a drain fault so often gets reported as a washer that won't spin. The motor is fine, and the control is holding the spin back until the water is gone.
Listen when it should be draining
The sound the washer makes at that moment is the most useful clue you have. A steady hum while the water level stays put usually means the pump is getting power but its impeller is jammed, most often by a small sock, a coin or a bra underwire. On a front-loader, most of that collects in the pump filter first, which is why cleaning the filter is the first thing to try.
If the pump sounds normal and you can hear water moving, but the tub still won't empty, look downstream. A hose that got crushed when the washer was pushed back against the wall will do it. So will a slow house drain: if water rises out of the top of the standpipe while the washer pumps, the drain or trap is blocked and the pump is doing its job.
If nothing is jammed and the pump makes no sound at all during the drain step, either its motor has failed or the control isn't sending it power. From the outside those two look identical, and only a test tells them apart.
Front-load and top-load
Front-loaders give you the pump filter behind the small door at the bottom front, so you can clear most jams yourself. Expect water to come out when you open it, sometimes a lot of it. On a top-loader the pump sits under the tub, and reaching it means taking panels off, so that part is ours.
On the visit we clear the pump and its filter, check the hose and the drain path, and confirm the pump is getting power when the washer calls for a drain before we replace anything.
What it usually turns out to be
- PartDrain pump jammed by a sock or coinA small sock, a coin or a bra wire gets into the pump and stops the impeller. You'll usually hear the pump hum at the end of the cycle while the water level doesn't drop.
- Cleaning or upkeepClogged pump filter (front-load)Front-loaders have a filter behind a small access door at the bottom front that catches what would otherwise jam the pump. Once it packs with lint and debris, the tub drains slowly or not at all.
- Cleaning or upkeepKinked drain hose or blocked standpipeThe pump runs and you can hear it, but the water has nowhere to go. A hose crushed behind the machine, or water backing up out of the standpipe, points here and not at the pump.
- PartFailed drain pump motorIf the pump is clear but stays silent when the washer should be draining, the motor may have burned out. We confirm it's getting power first, because a control fault looks the same from outside.
Try this first
- Unplug the washer, then make sure the drain hose isn't kinked or crushed behind it and isn't pushed too far into the standpipe.
- On a front-loader, let hot water cool, lay down towels and a shallow pan, then open the small access door at the bottom front and clean the pump filter.
- Plug it back in and run a drain or spin cycle while you listen: a hum with no water moving points at a jam, and silence points at the pump or its power.
- Write down any error code on the display. It helps us bring the right part.
Stop using it and call now if
- Water on the floor near an outlet
- A burning smell from the washer
- The breaker trips when it tries to drain