3 Washing Machines Not Draining
Hello. We moved into our house about 18 months ago we got a Bosch Classix for £50 this worked ok apart having to having to have a knack for shutting the door in order for it to start due to the catch mechanism being loose. It would occasionally not drain and freeze mid cycle with the washing in it. Eventually we'd be able to get it started again but it kept happening and got worse. Eventually due to the door problem also being problematic we got rid of it and got one for free that was nearly new from Gumtree. This one was a problem from the beginning and wouldn't drain and the cycle would also freeze. As it was a similar problem I thought it might be something to do with the drainage.
I checked all of the visible pipes and then got a two metre drain snake and shoved that down there. I also got the neighbour to check the drains as we can't access ours as the previous owner built decking over the access point and I haven't been able to sort that out yet! This seemed to be fine. Thinking it might be due to the washing machine as it was free we then got a two year old Beko one from our in-laws. This worked fine to begin with but soon began having the same problem and would stop mid cycle full of water, it would then sometimes work again. It also had a slightly hot electric smell on the spin cycle and last night the power tripped while it was spinning and there was that smell again, needless to say we are not currently using it, but it is turning on.
As far as I can tell we've either had a really bad run of luck or there is some problem with the drainage. Would a drainage problem not in the washing machine potentially cause the symptoms described. I'm going to take up some of the decking tomorrow to look at the drain. Sorry for the essay but thought it was good to get some detail in there! Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Ben
Solution Summary
AI-generated from this discussion
This thread was marked as solved. Here's a summary of the problem and the fix, generated from the discussion below.
Repeated non-draining traced to blocked house drain; Beko pump then suspected failed
- The problem
- Three washing machines at the same property showed similar symptoms: stopping mid-cycle full of water and not draining. The current machine, a Beko WM 74155 LW, also produced a hot electrical smell on spin and eventually tripped the power.
- Likely cause
- The accepted diagnosis was a partial blockage in the household waste plumbing, preventing the machine from draining quickly enough. After the blockage was found and cleared, the original poster believed the drainage issue had likely led to failure of the Beko drain pump, but this pump fault was not independently confirmed in the thread.
- What fixed it
- House drain blockage was found and cleared. For the Beko WM 74155 LW, replacement of the drain pump was planned after the power trip and burning smell, but the thread does not confirm that the pump was fitted or that this repaired the machine.
- Checks to try
- Visible pipes checked
- A two metre drain snake was used
- Neighbour checked the drains
- Blockage found in the drain and cleared
- Discussion advised checking the sink U-bend/spout or standpipe bends
- Discussion asked whether pump filters had been checked
- Parts or tools mentioned
- Drain snake
- Replacement pump for Beko WM 74155 LW
Safety: Because the machine produced a hot electrical smell and tripped the power, it should not be used until repaired. Further diagnosis should be carried out by a suitably qualified appliance engineer.
4 Answers
Yes that would be quite a coincidence if all three washing machines develop separate faults giving the same symptoms. It's not impossible but the most likely explanation is as you have said, the water cannot drain out fast enough at your plumbing. There are two places where partial blockages can cause problems. If the washing machine is connected under the sink to a U bend then small blockages can cause problems inside the U bend. Take off the drain hose and check carefully at the point where the water from the washing machine pumps into the plastic spout.
If the washing machine drain hose just pushes into standpipe like they always used to be then blockages can occur anywhere in the angled sections of the plumbing. Especially the 90° bends. However, if you have a partial blockage in this type of plumbing then water tends to backup and pour out of the standpipe where they drain hose is pushed in. If you aren't getting this then maybe something else. I presume you have checked the pump filters on all of these machines?
Need Professional Help or Spare Parts?
Hi Andy, thanks for your reply. I found a blockage in the drain and have cleared this, I think this was causing the water to back up. Unfortunately I think this has caused the pump to blow which is what tripped the power the other day. The machine is a Beko WM 74155 LW it looks like I can pick one up for about £30. I've been looking at some videos but do you or anyone else have any real world experience of changing the pump on these machines? Is it doable for a moderately competent DIYer?
A pump usually just has 2 screws fixing it to the chassis and 2 hoses connecting to it. It’s just a question of how easy or hard it is to access, which varies from brand to brand and model to model.
Need Professional Help or Spare Parts?
Thanks Andy, yes the Beko video I just found makes it look fairly simple, I've ordered one so we'll see what happens! Thanks for your help, I'll be sure to check the drains more thoroughly in the future!
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