Washing machine drain pump help! DIY-ers welcome.
August 21, 2016 1:14 PM

Mrs. Gefilte and I have a ten year old Maytag/Whirlpool top-loading washing machine with a direct-drive motor. It's been working fine for a while, but lately, intermittently, clothes will still end up sopping wet after the spin cycle. It's now constant, and very annoying.

Observations:
-When the spin cycle is initiated, water drains out of the outlet hose in big gushes, then it slows down to a pulsing trickle. If the clothes are removed during the spin cycle, they're usually fine.

-If clothes are left in _after_ the spin cycle, water seems to creep back into the tub.

Attempts at repair:
-I've checked the inlet and outlet hoses, and there are no obstructions.

-I've removed the drain pump and it looks fine to me, nothing obviously stuck inside. (It's this kind.)

Questions:
-Do you think replacing the drain pump will help, which would be very easy, or is this a more complicated repair?

-Anything else that could be causing the problem?
posted by greatgefilte to Home & Garden (6 answers total)
from other threads here i suspect usian washing machines and plumbing are different to what i know. but having said that, your symptoms match what we saw when the drain (the pipe taking waste water away) was (almost) blocked.
posted by andrewcooke at 1:37 PM on August 21, 2016


When this happened with my washing machine, it turned out the lint filter (which I didn't even know existed) was clogged. Cleaning it took less than 5 minutes and the washer drains properly again. (I just googled my model # and "lint filter" and then looked for a youtube video that showed me exactly what to do.)
posted by belladonna at 2:14 PM on August 21, 2016


Update: This page had some more suggestions about one of the switches not working properly. Stay tuned.
posted by greatgefilte at 3:31 PM on August 21, 2016


FYI - front load LG here & my husband and I have replaced the drain pump twice. We found a video on how to disassemble the washer - that was the hardest part the first time, but once you know how to do it, it is easy.
posted by hilaryjade at 6:50 PM on August 21, 2016


Sorry, reading fail. I see you realize changing the drain pump is easy. :)
posted by hilaryjade at 6:54 PM on August 21, 2016


Is it actually spinning correctly? You could have a problematic clutch.
posted by azpenguin at 9:17 PM on August 21, 2016


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