Diagnosis for “washer won't spin, drum full of water”

The machine has stopped mid-cycle with water still in the drum and the door locked shut. Almost always a drain blockage rather than a spin failure — the machine will not spin until it has emptied, so fixing the drain fixes the spin.

Typical cost: Free to £190

The cycle has finished, or stopped, and the door is locked shut. Most of the time the machine is simply refusing to unlock because there is still water in the drum — drain it and the door releases.

Typical cost: Free to £140

Water on the floor around the machine. The critical first step is working out when it leaks — on fill, during the wash, or only on spin — because that alone narrows six possible causes down to about two.

Typical cost: Free to £220

The cycle runs but the water never leaves. On almost every make and model this is a blocked drain path, and the pump filter is both the most likely cause and the easiest thing to check.

Typical cost: Free to £150

You start a cycle and no water goes in. In the large majority of cases the problem is upstream of the appliance — a closed tap or a scaled-up inlet gauze — rather than a failed part inside it.

Typical cost: Free to £130

Cycles complete but clothes come out washed in cold water — greasy marks stay, and the door glass is cold throughout. Usually a failed heating element or temperature sensor, and both sit behind the drum next to mains wiring.

Typical cost: £95–£230

Banging, rumbling or a jet-engine roar as the machine spins up. Knocking is usually load or suspension; a continuous roar that gets worse with speed usually means the drum bearings, which is the repair most likely to end a machine's life.

Typical cost: Free to £320

You press start and nothing happens — no fill, no drum movement, sometimes no lights at all. Work outwards from the socket: power, then door, then controls, before assuming anything inside has failed.

Typical cost: Free to £240