Washer won't drain

[MikeB]

I'm a complete dumbass when it comes to repairing home appliances, but with this being a weekend, we have a small emergency.

Our Maytag front-loader washer is not draining the water after a cycle. In fact, the water is still soapy, leading me to think that it is just keeping the same water through all the cycles of a wash.

Is this something that I might attempt to fix, and if so what/where should I look? Or am I doomed to go find a laundromat and wait for a repairman to come out next week?

Thanks.

[auggie]

a few options try chosing the spin cycle to see if its even trying to drain, is it in a basment? where does it drain to? is it running through all the cycles or is it stopping after the wash?

[Mikepier]

Sounds like the drain pump/hose is clogged or the pump itself is not working. I once had a blockage from a stuffed animal that broke apart and clogged the pump. It was straightfoward to remove the panel and gain access to the pump. Not sure how it is on front loaders, but on most top loaders like mine, the pump is a seperate component that is easy to get at. You might want to visit a site like this for help.

[MikeB]

Well, it spins, but I can only see/hear a trickle of water initially, then nothing for the duration of the spin cycle, The washer is in the laundry room on the 1st floor and it drains into a standing pipe. It runs through all the cycles, but at the end, the water in there is still the soapy, dirty water from the original wash.

[MikeB]

I opened the back and the pump is quite separate from the rest of the components. One concern I have is that I open anything there, all the water in the machine will come running out into the innards of the washer. Not good. I did remove as much water as I could, but there is water below the perforated drum that I cannot reach.

[Jim]

Hi Mike... try here...

My neighbor called me last week to see if I could find the problem as THERE IS a filter that needs to be cleaned....hers wouldn't drain either and it was a front load also. She just finished washing some kind of fluffy quilt.........85 dollars later she had a repairman "find " it for her and cleaned it out...now she says now that she knows where the damned thing is she can do it herself... hope that link is of some help... Jim

[Red Green]

MikeB wrote in news:918eb35b-a018-4b7b-9c4b- [e-mail]:

Once many many moons, errr decades, ago when I was dumber than I am now about appliances I had that same thing happen. Repair man came and reached way up in the rim of the tub and pulled out a sock.

Don't ask for details or tell me that's impossible. I won't argue.

[auggie]

if the pump is higher than the level of water it wont come gushing out on ya, if there filter idea doest work i would take a five gallon pail and disconect the line from the inlet side of the pump .. at least then you would know if its before or after the pump

[MikeB]

Well, from what I can tell the pump (and where the hoses connect to it front and back is below the drum. and less than an inch off the floor. I can't get anything but perhaps a cookie sheet (if I can find a smallish one with a rim) in there. Tomorrow I have to leave early, but later in the day I might try to post a pic. Perhaps I'm looking at the wrong thing/place.

[MikeB]

That Maytag link (and all the others I could find) are so generic and they don't mention a filter at all. I can't seem to find any good manuals on the web either. None of the Maytag help mentions anything that involves removing scres from the back of the machine. :\ But hey, thanks for helping. I didn't actually find the link you posted, so that's one more thing I could look at.

[cshenk]

"MikeB" wrote

Hey Mike, the other guys probably have it tagged better but there's one obvious one it could be.

With all this cold weather, make sure the drain pipe isnt frozen. If you can unplug from it then pour some water down (if you are in one of the areas hit hard enough to be frozen), you'll be able to check for a blockage there. If it fills fast and overflows, you've got your answer.

[Oren]

Is this digital control buttons, with circuit board? I had a board go bad on a machine that acted just like this. ($$)

[MikeB]

My wife didn't want me to unscrew stuff and let water run out, so in the (mistaken) belief that a qualified repair person qould make less of a mess, we called out our trusted appliance guy. He tool one look and said that he does not work on Maytag front-loaders. and left (no charge). Called another company htat sent some guys out. They unscreed the pipes, made a mess that took several towels to blot up and found caked together washer detergent blocking the drain opening.

Turns out my wife has recently started using granular Oxyclean in the wash, and had disregarded the instructions to not mix the HE detergent and Oxyclean granules, so we had these little undissolved blobs of gunk in there. $110 lesson.

[Oren]

Thanks for the update.

[Mikepier]

Did you watch the guy to at least learn how to unclog the drain next time?

[Stormin Mormon]

Thanks for the field report. Expensive, but maybe saved someone else.

[MikeB]

Heck yes.

[Jim Elbrecht]

-snip-

Where were those instructions? I just looked through all the paperwork on our Frigidaire affinity washer & no mention of Oxyclean- which my wife uses liberally.

Is it Maytag specific- or was it on the Oxyclean or HE detergent?

Jim

[MikeB]

Sorry for the late reply. On the Oxyclean container, there is something about not mixing it with the HE detergent.

[Jim Elbrecht]

Hmm. Are you in California? Just wondering is they have restrictions on some chemical that is available to the rest of us. I bought this box at Samsclub a few months ago. [NY] I didn't see any warnings last time looked, but since you said it was on the box I looked closer this time.

My box has a little logo [smaller than the 'O' in Oxi Clean] that is a He logo with "For regular and HE Washers". Maybe new/old stock? Or maybe a chemical restriction where you are?

Glad we can use it without guilt as changing my wife's laundry habits is not a battle I'd choose to begin.

Jim [want me to send you a box?]