Washing machine won't spin and the drum is full of water

1. Blocked pump filter

   Most likely

   This is the answer more often than everything else combined. The filter traps coins, hair grips, buttons and underwires until the pump can no longer move enough water, and most households have never cleaned it.

   How to check: Open the flap at the bottom front of the machine and unscrew the round filter. If it comes out matted with debris, that was your fault.

   Pump filter / trap£8–£20 for the partDIY

2. Kinked or blocked drain hose

   Common

   The corrugated hose at the back gets crushed against the wall when the machine is pushed into place, or silts up internally with detergent scum.

   How to check: Pull the machine out and run the hose through your hands feeling for kinks and hard spots.

3. Blocked sink trap or standpipe

   Common

   Where the machine shares a waste with the kitchen sink, a fat-blocked trap backs up and stops the machine draining even when the machine is spotless.

   How to check: Run the kitchen tap hard. A slow-clearing sink tells you where to start.

4. Unbalanced load stopping the spin

   Common

   If the machine has actually drained but will not spin, a single heavy item such as a duvet may be preventing it balancing. This presents as an empty drum rather than a full one.

   How to check: Redistribute the washing by hand and run a spin-only cycle.

5. Failed drain pump

   Occasional

   The pump seizes or goes open circuit. A pump that hums without moving water, or is silent when it should be running, has usually failed.

   Drain pump£15–£40 for the partDIY with care

6. Worn motor carbon brushes

   Occasional

   On a machine that drains fine but never reaches spin speed, partly worn brushes deliver enough power to tumble but not to spin. Clothes come out soaking rather than damp.

   Motor carbon brushes£8–£22 for the partDIY with care

1. 1

   Isolate the machine and get ready for water

   Unplug it at the wall. Lay towels along the front and have a shallow baking tray ready — the filter housing empties faster than you expect.

   5 minTowels, Shallow tray
2. 2

   Drain the drum down

   Open the hatch at the bottom front. Most machines have a short emergency drain hose beside the filter — pull it out, hold it low over the tray, remove the bung and empty in stages. If there is no emergency hose, unscrew the filter a quarter turn at a time and let it weep out slowly.

   15 minShallow tray
3. 3

   Clean the filter and check the impeller

   Remove the filter completely and clear everything caught in it under a running tap, mesh included. Shine a torch into the empty housing and turn the pump impeller with a finger — it should rotate freely with a slight magnetic resistance.

   10 minTorch
4. 4

   Check the drain hose and the waste connection

   Pull the machine forward. Straighten any kinks. Disconnect the hose at the standpipe or sink spigot and confirm water runs through it freely into a bucket. Clean the sink trap while you are there.

   15 minBucket
5. 5

   Refit and run a rinse and spin

   Screw the filter back in hand-tight and square — cross-thread it and it will leak. Restore power and run a rinse-and-spin, watching the front of the machine for the first minute.

   10 min
6. 6

   If it drains but still will not spin

   Redistribute the load and try a spin-only cycle with a bare drum. If an empty drum still will not spin, you are looking at motor brushes, the belt or the control board — that is an engineer job.

   15 min

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.