LG F1481TD5 Not Draining
I am having trouble with my LG Washing Machine. I have had this just over 5 years, with no trouble so far. But now the washing machine is not draining the water in the drum. I have tried all the advice including:
checked drain filter and no blockage
checked drain pipe and no blockage. Am able to blow into drain pipe and can see water coming out from other side.
checked drain pump and no blockage on both pumps.
removed sump hose and no blockage. On a separate issue, cant understand why the sump hose doesn't have any valve inside and what is keeping the water from empty from the drum!
tried descalers and limescale remover. Nothing.
I have spent a good 6 hours on this, taking the machine apart. Now getting to the point of either calling LG engineer for £120 to fix or buy a new machine.
Today, after relooking at sump hose and reattaching (all clear) I am now finding the water, is coming out of the drain pipe when the machine spins. Not sure why this is happening now? But strangely the machine will still not drain. The only way I am getting the water out of the drum is through the bleed nipple pipe on the side of the filter.
I am pretty sure I can hear the drain pump working.
Please, any last minute advice on what I should do next or what I am missing?
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.
LG F1481TD5 not draining despite clear filter and hoses
- The problem
- LG F1481TD5 washing machine would not drain water from the drum. The owner could only empty it using the small drain/bleed hose by the filter. Water was also seen coming from the drain hose during wash agitation when the hose had been left on the floor.
- Likely cause
- No blockage was found in the drain filter, drain pipe, pump passages or sump hose. The accepted reply indicated that water leaving the drain hose during wash is likely due to siphoning if the hose end is too low. A further forum reply explained that this model has two pumps, one for recirculation and one for draining, so seeing only one pump running during wash may be normal. The exact non-draining fault was not confirmed; the owner suspected an electrical fault.
- What fixed it
- No confirmed repair was documented. The strongest supported advice was to correct the drain hose height to avoid siphoning and then continue a methodical diagnosis. As the machine still would not drain after the owner’s checks, further diagnosis by an engineer was indicated rather than a confirmed DIY fix.
- Checks to try
- Checked drain filter and found no blockage
- Checked drain pipe and found no blockage
- Checked drain pump areas and found no blockage on both pumps
- Removed sump hose and found no blockage
- Observed one pump fan spinning with the machine open and on its side
- Observed water coming from the drain hose during wash when the hose was on the floor
Safety: Further diagnosis should be carried out by a suitably qualified appliance engineer.
3 Answers
Not sure what you mean when you say water comes out of the drain pipe when the washing machine spins. That’s what’s supposed to happen. If you mean when the washing machine is just turning the drum on wash then it could be siphoning if the drain hose end is too low.
I have a comprehensive article on washing machine not draining the water which covers everything I can possibly think of including links to other relevant articles. Best thing is to go through it slowly and methodically to see if you can sort it.
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Thanks Andy for getting back to me.
With regards to water coming out the drain pipe, you are correct I am referring to when the washing machine is just turning the drum on wash (not spin cycle). You are correct I was placing the drain hose on the floor so guess that is why the water was coming out. Although I did pick this up and placed higher later, but strangely found water was still coming out.
One further observation, I turned on the machine (whilst on the side and open) and could definitely see one drain pump fan spinning. Not sure why the other drain pump (this model seems to have two) was not spinning or working. Even with one pump definitely working, this should drain some water and this is not the case.
With regards to your article, I suspect an electrical fault but still find it hard to believe as all other functions seem to work. It's getting to the point now an engineer would be able to look further.
The question is should I invest money booking engineer or just go for a new machine now?
One pump will be for recycling water back into the drum during the wash cycle. The other pump is for draining out the water. So recirculation pump is okay to be running during the wash cycle. If it's the drain pump that is running during the wash cycle that can be caused if the washing machine thinks it is overheating or is aborting the programme.
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