Washing machine won't drain the water away — is it blocked pump filter?

The trap in front of the pump packs solid with debris until water can no longer get through. Cleaning it is a twenty-minute job and fixes the majority of drain faults.

Washing machine won't drain the water away — is it blocked sink trap or standpipe?

A grease-blocked kitchen waste stops the machine draining even though nothing inside the machine has failed.

Washing machine won't drain the water away — is it kinked or silted drain hose?

Crushed behind the machine, or narrowed along its length by years of detergent scum.

Washing machine won't drain the water away — is it drain hose pushed too far into the standpipe?

If the hose end sits too deep it can siphon, which confuses the level sensor and makes the machine behave as though it never emptied.

Washing machine won't drain the water away — is it jammed or failed drain pump?

An object past the filter stalls the impeller, or the pump motor fails outright.

Washing machine won't drain the water away

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.

Verdict

You can fix this yourself

No special tools or qualifications needed

Urgency

Fix soon

About 55 min to work through

Typical cost

Free to £150

DIY: Up to £40 in parts

Before you start

Electrical safety: Unplug the machine before opening the pump filter.
Water: Several litres will come out of the filter housing. Towels and a shallow tray first.

What causes it, most likely first

Blocked pump filter
Most likely
The trap in front of the pump packs solid with debris until water can no longer get through. Cleaning it is a twenty-minute job and fixes the majority of drain faults.
Pump filter / trap£8–£20 for the partDIY
Blocked sink trap or standpipe
Common
A grease-blocked kitchen waste stops the machine draining even though nothing inside the machine has failed.
How to check: Run the kitchen tap hard and watch how quickly the sink clears.
Kinked or silted drain hose
Common
Crushed behind the machine, or narrowed along its length by years of detergent scum.
Drain hose pushed too far into the standpipe
Occasional
If the hose end sits too deep it can siphon, which confuses the level sensor and makes the machine behave as though it never emptied.
How to check: Check the hose enters the standpipe by no more than about 10cm.
Jammed or failed drain pump
Occasional
An object past the filter stalls the impeller, or the pump motor fails outright.
Drain pump£15–£40 for the partDIY with care
Blocked pressure switch hose
Rare
The thin hose that tells the board the water level silts up, so the machine reports a drain failure despite having emptied normally.
Pressure switch / level sensor£12–£32 for the partEngineer

What to check, in order

Isolate the machine
Unplug at the wall and lay towels along the front with a shallow tray ready.
5 minTowels, Shallow tray
Drain down through the emergency hose
Open the bottom flap, pull out the emergency drain hose beside the filter, and empty the drum into your tray in stages.
15 min
Clean the filter thoroughly
Unscrew and remove the filter, clear it under a tap including the mesh, and check the impeller in the housing turns freely with a finger.
10 minTorch
Check the hose and waste
Straighten any kinks, disconnect the hose at the waste and confirm free flow into a bucket, then clean the sink trap.
15 minBucket
Refit and test
Screw the filter back hand-tight and square, restore power, run a rinse-and-spin and watch for leaks in the first minute.
10 min

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.

Appliance Maintenance LtdVerified
Great Yarmouth
01493 290698
Domestic Appliance Specialists LTDVerified
Reading
0118 9420 145
DW AppliancesVerified
Aberdeen
07766 426665

Find washing machine engineers near you

Parts you might need

Typical UK prices for the part alone, before fitting. Worth knowing before you accept a quote — the part is often a small share of what a repair is priced at.

Pump filter / trap
A removable mesh trap in front of the pump that catches coins, hair grips and buttons before they reach the impeller.
£8–£20
Pressure switch / level sensor
Reads how much water is in the tub via a thin air hose. Blocked hoses and split diaphragms make the machine over- or under-fill.
£12–£32
Drain pump
The small electric pump that pushes waste water out of the drum and into your waste pipe at the end of a cycle.
£15–£40

Worth repairing, or replace it?

At the top of this range the repair costs a significant share of a graded replacement, which typically starts around £200. Worth getting the quote first, then deciding — on a machine under about five years old a repair usually still wins.

Work out if it's worth fixing Compare graded washing machines

Is there an error code on the display?

If your washing machine is showing a code, that will narrow the diagnosis a lot further than symptoms alone.

Look up your error code

Before you start

What causes it, most likely first

Blocked pump filter

Blocked sink trap or standpipe

Kinked or silted drain hose

Drain hose pushed too far into the standpipe

Jammed or failed drain pump

Blocked pressure switch hose

What to check, in order

Isolate the machine

Drain down through the emergency hose

Clean the filter thoroughly

Check the hose and waste

Refit and test

Need an engineer for this?

Parts you might need

Pump filter / trap

Pressure switch / level sensor

Drain pump

Worth repairing, or replace it?

Is there an error code on the display?

Other washing machines problems