Over 30 years as an appliance repair technician, one of the problems I see most frequently is a washer that won’t spin. Fortunately, the cause of this is commonly something simple that you can fix. In this article, I’ll walk you through the steps to get your washer draining like new again, saving you time and money.

While on rare occasions, a broken pump needs to be replaced, most often the problem is a clogged drain. Water that hasn’t drained out is so heavy that it could severely damage the washer during spin. To prevent this, water-level sensors in your washer won’t let it progress to spin until all the water has drained. So you’re stuck with a tub full of water.

The cause of the clog is usually small items in the laundry that got sucked into the drain, blocking the flow of water during the drain/spin cycle. These are just some of the items I’ve found clogging washer drains: panties, thongs, paper money, metal bra wires, tons of coins, hairpins, hair ties, rubber bands, and baby socks.

It’s easy to prevent this problem with two simple steps:

Symptoms of a washing machine with a drain problem are:

This is a beginner-level project that should take about 30 minutes.

Some washers have a small door in the lower right or left corner of the front panel with access to the washer’s coin trap. Just hinge this door open to get to the coin trap. The coin trap is a plastic tray with holes in it that lets water go to the drain but catches coins and other small items before they can come in contact with the drain impeller.

Other models of washers will have a rectangular lower panel that spans the entire width of the front panel below the washer door. For these models, use the nut driver to remove between 2 to 4 small screws below the lower panel.

Pro Tip: To make it easier to get to the screws securing the lower panel, lean the washer back and put something around 2 inches thick like a block of 2×4 wood under the washer.

For most models, you can follow these steps to drain the water from the washer tub.

Option B — if your washer doesn’t have a small drain tube:

Option C — if you have a recent Whirlpool model. Recent Whirlpool models don’t have front access to the coin trap cover. On these models, you access the drain by removing the back panel. Follow these steps:

Once you have drained out all the water, unscrew the coin trap cover by turning it counterclockwise. (If you followed Option B or Option C, you’ve already done this.)

Quick and Easy Video – How to Clear Your Washer’s Drain

Your washer should now drain quickly and fully. You’ve saved money and time and kept another washing machine out of the landfills. (Note: If your washer still won’t drain the water, then it’s time to call in a technician to replace the drain pump.  Either the drain motor is worn out or the impeller is broken.)

Check out more easy DIY appliance repairs from Scott the Fix-It Guy.

Scott Flint, known on YouTube as Scott the Fix-It Guy, is a licensed California appliance tech who believes we can save the Earth one appliance at a time. He has 30 years of experience repairing home appliances and has taught self-defense and biology for decades. Please consider donating to support his ongoing project to create video guides that help people do their own appliance repairs.

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