Washing machine problems
No error code on the display? Find the fault by what your washing machine is actually doing.
- Washing machine won't spin and the drum is full of waterThe 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.See the fix
- Washing machine won't drain the water awayThe 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.See the fix
- Washing machine won't fill with waterYou 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.See the fix
- Washing machine door won't openThe 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.See the fix
- Washing machine isn't heating the waterCycles 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.See the fix
- Washing machine is leaking waterWater 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.See the fix
- Washing machine is very loud on spinBanging, 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.See the fix
- Washing machine won't startYou 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.See the fix
Need an engineer for this?
We list 83 washing machine repair businesses across the UK. Diagnostic callouts typically start around £55, and many will put that towards the repair if you go ahead.
- 01493 290698Appliance Maintenance LtdVerifiedGreat Yarmouth
- 0118 9420 145Reading
- 07766 426665DW AppliancesVerifiedAberdeen
Got an error code instead?
A code on the display narrows things down far more precisely than symptoms alone.