Washing Machines

Washing Machine Not Draining? 7 Checks, Easiest First

admin Updated October 9, 2026 9 min read

Your washer has stopped with water sitting in the drum. Most of the time the cause is something you can find and clear yourself: a kinked hose, a blocked drain or a clogged pump filter. This guide gets the water out first, then works through seven checks from easiest to hardest, so you can stop as soon as the machine drains again. Most of them need no tools.

It covers front-loaders and top-loaders, and where they differ, each check says so. For other washer problems, see all our washing machine fixes.

Before you start: Unplug the washer and turn off the water tap behind it. The water inside may be hot if a warm wash stopped mid-cycle, so let it cool first. Draining a front-loader by hand releases more water than you expect: lay towels down and have a shallow tray ready. Never force the door open while it is locked.

After each check, plug the machine back in and run a spin-only or drain cycle. If the water goes, you’re done. If not, unplug it again and move on to the next check.

First, get the water out

You can’t check much with a drum full of water, so empty it first.

Front-loaders

The pump filter sits behind a small cover at the bottom front of the machine, often in one corner. Lay towels down and slide a shallow tray or baking dish under it: a bucket won’t fit beneath the opening.

Open the cover. If there’s a small drain hose beside the filter, pull it out, take off its cap and let the water run into the tray. Put the cap back each time the tray is nearly full, empty it, and repeat.
If there’s no hose, turn the filter anticlockwise a little at a time so water trickles out, then tighten it again to stop the flow while you empty the tray.
Keep going until no more water comes out. A full drum can take several trays.

Many doors unlock a few minutes after the machine is unplugged and the water is out. If yours stays locked, leave it: don’t force it.

Top-loaders

Lift the lid, take the wet clothes out into a basket, and bail the water into a bucket with a jug or saucepan.

You can also try gravity. Unhook the drain hose from the drain and lower its end into a bucket on the floor, below the level of the drum. If water flows, keep a second bucket ready, and lift the hose end above the machine to stop the flow while you swap buckets. If nothing comes out at all, the blockage is probably in the hose or the pump, which tells you where to look.

Check 1: Is it really a drain problem?

Look inside the drum. Standing water means the washer isn’t draining. If the drum is empty but the clothes are soaking wet, the water drained but the machine didn’t spin, which is a different fault. The usual cause is an unbalanced load, such as a bath mat, a duvet or a pair of jeans bunched on one side. Spread the load out evenly and run a spin cycle.

Check the settings too. A paused cycle or a “rinse hold” option leaves water in the drum on purpose, and a “no spin” setting leaves clothes soaking. Cancel the cycle and start a spin-only or drain cycle.

Check 2: Read the error code

Most washers show a code on the display when they can’t drain. On Samsung washers, nd, 5E, SE, 5C, SC and 1 5C all mean a drain error: water isn’t draining at the correct speed, or at all (Samsung). Other brands use their own codes, so look yours up in the manual or on the maker’s support site using your model number. It’s usually on a label inside the door or lid, or on the back of the machine.

A drain code confirms the problem but not the cause, so carry on with the checks below. A door or lid code (Samsung’s include dS, dE and LO) points straight to Check 6.

Check 3: Look for a kinked or blocked drain hose

Pull the machine forward a little and follow the drain hose from the back of the washer to the drain. It’s the wider, ribbed hose, not the inlet hoses that connect to the taps. A washer pushed tight against the wall often bends or squashes the hose behind it.

Straighten any sharp bends, and leave a gap behind the machine so it can’t kink again.
Make sure nothing heavy is standing on the hose.
Unhook the end from the drain, holding it over a bucket because leftover water will run out. Shine a torch inside and clear any lint, sock or small item you can reach.
If the hose is split or crushed flat, it needs replacing. Check your manual first: on some machines the hose connects inside the cabinet, which is a job for a technician.

Check 4: Check where the hose drains

If the hose is clear, the blockage may be in the drain it empties into. What to check depends on how your washer is plumbed in.

Standpipe (common in the US and Canada): lint builds up inside the pipe over time. Pour a jug of water into it. If it backs up or drains slowly, the pipe is blocked and needs clearing with a drain snake, or by a plumber. The hose should also sit loosely in the pipe: taped or sealed in airtight, it can drain poorly.
Sink trap (common in the UK and Ireland): the hose often connects to a spigot on the sink’s U-bend, so a trap blocked with food or grease stops the washer draining too. If the trap or the washer was just fitted, check the spigot for a plastic blanking piece that was never cut out. Whitegoods Help calls this “by far the most common cause in newly built properties” (Whitegoods Help).
Floor drain (common in India, the Middle East and much of Asia): make sure the drain isn’t clogged with lint or hair, and that the hose end isn’t sitting under water in a pooled drain.

For a standpipe or wall outlet, height matters too. Beko recommends the outlet sits 40 to 100 cm (about 16 to 39 in) above the floor, with the hose pushed about 15 cm (6 in) into it (Beko). Your manual will give the figures for your model.

Check 5: Clean the pump filter (front-loaders)

On front-loaders, this is the most likely cause: Beko calls a clogged pump filter “the most probable cause” (Beko). The filter catches lint, hair, coins and buttons before they reach the pump.

With the machine unplugged and the water drained, put your tray and towels in place.
Turn the filter anticlockwise and pull it out.
Clear out lint, hair and anything caught in it, then rinse it under the tap.
Wipe the opening with a damp cloth and check inside for coins or buttons.
Screw the filter back in clockwise until it’s firm, then close the cover.

Beko suggests cleaning it every three months, or whenever it clogs.

Top-loader? Many top-loaders, including Samsung’s, have no drain filter you can open: Samsung lists pump-filter cleaning for front-loaders only (Samsung). If your manual doesn’t show one, skip to Check 6. Reaching a top-loader’s pump means tipping the machine and opening its base, which is a technician’s job. The lint filter inside some top-loader drums (Samsung) is worth cleaning, but it isn’t part of the drain.

Check 6: Check the door or lid lock

Washers lock the door or lid before they spin. If the machine can’t detect that it’s closed and locked, it may stop before the drain and spin stage. Samsung shows a door error when “the door is not detected as closed and locked” (Samsung).

Check that no clothing is caught in the door seal or under the lid.
Close it firmly and start a spin-only or drain cycle.
Watch the lock light. If it never comes on, or the lock error keeps coming back, the lock itself may be faulty. Replacing it means working on wiring, so call a technician.

Check 7: Listen to the drain pump

Start a drain or spin-only cycle and listen close to the bottom of the machine.

Humming, but no water moving: the pump has power but something is jamming it, often a coin, a bra wire or a hair clip. Items like these can be shaken loose when a machine is moved (Whitegoods Help). On a front-loader, unplug the machine, take the filter out and shine a torch into the opening. If you can see the object, pull it out. On a top-loader, this needs a technician.
Silence: the pump isn’t running at all. With the hose and filter clear, that points to a failed pump or a wiring fault. Stop here.

When to call a technician

Stop and call a technician if: the pump is silent with the filter and hose clear; you smell burning or see scorched wires; water leaks from under the machine rather than the hose; or the fix means tipping the machine over or removing the back panel, the pump or the control board. These repairs need a trained technician, and in some places (such as parts of Australia) the law requires a licensed one.

When you book, have the brand, the model number and any error code ready, and say which of these checks you’ve already done. It saves time on the visit.

Common questions

Why is the pump running but the washer isn’t draining?

Something is blocking the water’s path: usually a clogged pump filter, a kinked hose or a blocked drain. A pump that hums without moving any water can also be jammed by a small object. Work through Checks 3, 4, 5 and 7.

Can a blocked sink stop a washing machine draining?

Yes, if the washer drains into the sink’s trap, which is common in the UK. A trap clogged with food or grease backs up both the sink and the washer. Clear the trap, then run a drain cycle.

How often should I clean the pump filter?

Beko recommends every three months, or whenever it clogs. Your manual may give a different interval for your model.