Washing Machine Door Won't Open or Drain?

Video transcript:

Hi I’m Lee from Ransom Spares and in this video I’m going to go through the procedure of what to do when your washing machine won’t empty and the door won’t open.

With most washing machines the reason the door won’t open is because it detects that there is water still inside, and once the water has been removed then the door will open.

So, before you start forcing the door open you need to get rid of the water that’s inside the washing machine and there is a process to follow in order to do this.

The first step is to attempt to drain the water out of the machine via the drain hose. To do this all we need to do is place the outlet of the hose in to a bowl or other container. As long as the hose is placed lower than the drum then gravity will take over and the water will drain out. If water flows out freely then we know that there are no blockages and the problem will likely be a fault with the washing machine drain pump. We have a video online that shows you how to change the pump on a washing machine.

On some machines the drain hose is routed up above the drum as on this machine and so it’s not possible to drain the water in this way.

If your machine has this sort or drain hose set up or if water doesn’t drain from the drain hose then the next step is to try and drain the machine via the filter if your washing machine has one. We need to tilt the machine slightly backwards and with a bowl and some towels on stand-by slowly unscrew the filter. Water should start to flow in to the bowl. When the bowl is full simply tighten the filter and empty the bowl. Repeat this until there is no water left in the machine. Because the machine didn’t empty via the drain hose, but did empty via the filter it confirms that the blockage must be in the drain hose.

If again water fails to drain from the filter then the blockage must be in the sump hose, which is the hose that normally connects from the bottom of the drum to the pump.

We need to tilt the machine on to its back laying it down on to some towels. We also need to lay some towels around where the sump hose connect to catch any water that leaks when we disconnect the hose. First slowly disconnect the sump hose to pump connection and allow any water to drain out, and secondly disconnect the sump hose to drum connection and again be ready for any water. We now need to remove the blockage and replace the sump hose.

Once the water had been drained out the door of the washing machine should now open. Just make sure that either the blockage has been removed or the drain pump has been replaced before you use your washing machine again!

Remember Washing Machine Pumps, hoses and all washing machine spares can be found on the Ransom Spares website. Thanks for watching!

By Lee Gillbert