Turn the washer off and give it a few minutes before you try the door. Most washers stay locked while water is in the drum, and forcing the door can break the lock and flood the floor. Once you know it won't finish on its own, you can drain it by hand and get the laundry out.
Do this first
- Press Cancel or Off, then try a Drain and Spin or Spin Only cycle. If the washer drains, the problem may have been a one-time error. Watch the rest of the cycle.
- If nothing happens, unplug the washer or switch off its breaker before you put your hands near water and the pump area. If the floor around the outlet is wet, use the breaker instead of the plug.
- Check the basics: a kinked drain hose behind the washer, a drain standpipe that's overflowing, or a tripped breaker or GFCI.
- Give a front-loader time to unlock. Many models hold the door lock for a few minutes after power is cut. Don't pull hard on the handle.
In the next few hours
For a front-load washer:
- Drain through the pump filter. It's behind a small panel at the bottom front corner. LG's instructions are to open the service cover, place a container underneath, pull out the residual water drain hose and remove its cap to drain the water, then remove the drain pump filter and clean it (LG). LG cautions that the water may be hot.
- Use a shallow pan and towels. The opening sits close to the floor, so you'll be emptying a baking dish many times. A full drum holds far more than one container.
- Look in the filter. Socks, coins, hair ties and lint are common finds. If you clear a blockage, reinstall the filter tightly and try a drain cycle.
For a top-load washer:
- Bail the water out with a cup or small bucket into a sink or tub, then lift the clothes into a laundry basket.
- Lower the drain hose into a bucket on the floor if you can reach it. Gravity drains part of the tub once the hose sits below the water line.
For the laundry:
- Get the clothes out within the day. Wet laundry left in a closed drum starts to smell quickly, especially in a warm laundry room or garage.
- Rinse out the detergent in a tub or sink, then rewash at a laundromat or air dry and rewash once the washer is fixed.
Before the technician arrives
Write down:
- The model and serial number. On front-loaders the label is usually around the door opening or on the back. On top-loaders, look under the lid or on the back panel.
- The error code, if one appeared, and where in the cycle it stopped.
- What you found in the pump filter, if anything, and whether a drain cycle worked afterward.
- Sounds: a hum without draining often points to a jammed pump, while silence points elsewhere.
What not to do:
- Don't pour drain cleaner into the drum or the standpipe. It can damage the pump and seals, and anyone working on the washer will have to handle that water.
- Don't force the door, or pry the lock with a screwdriver.
- Don't tip a washer full of water to drain it. It's extremely heavy and can fall.
- Don't keep restarting cycles that won't drain. Each attempt can add more water.
How to keep it from happening again
- Clean the front-loader's pump filter on the schedule in the owner's manual. LG's guide includes this step.
- Use a mesh bag for socks, baby clothes and small items that slip past the door seal into the pump.
- Empty pockets before every load.
- Don't overload the drum. Heavy, waterlogged loads strain the drain pump and can trigger out-of-balance stops.
- Keep kinks out of the drain hose when you push the washer back, and make sure it isn't jammed too far down the standpipe.
If the problem started with water spraying behind the washer, read what to do when a washing machine hose bursts. For a pump or control repair, see our washer service page.
Sources
Keep in mind: Draining the water gets your clothes back, but if the washer still won't drain on its own, the pump or controls need a technician.
Call ProFix Dallas at (469) 886-1122 to have the drain problem found and fixed.