Every front loader has a pump filter hiding behind the small flap at the bottom front of the machine. Its job is to catch the coins, hairpins, bra wires, hair and lint that would otherwise jam the drain pump. When it fills up, water cannot leave the drum fast enough, the cycle stalls, and the machine either sits full of grey water or gives up with a drain error code on the display.
The signs your filter is blocked
The classic pattern: the wash runs fine, then the machine stops before the spin with water still in the drum. You may also notice a sour smell from the drum (trapped water and detergent residue go stale fast in a damp Dublin utility room), a humming pump that cannot move the water, or the same drain code coming back cycle after cycle - Bosch E18, Samsung 5C, LG OE and Hotpoint F05 all point at this corner of the machine first.
What you need
- Two or three old towels and a shallow tray or baking dish
- A bucket, in case the drum is full
- A soft brush or old toothbrush
- A torch - the filter housing is dark and the interesting evidence is inside it
The safe method, step by step
- Switch the machine off at the plug. Never open the filter housing on a live machine.
- Lay the towels down and slide the tray under the flap. Expect one to two litres of water if the drum has not drained.
- Use the drain hose first. Most machines have a small rubber hose beside the filter cap. Pull its bung out over the tray and let the water trickle out slowly. Refill the tray as needed.
- Unscrew the filter cap slowly, anti-clockwise. If water pours past it, pause and let the tray do the work. Never force a cap that will not turn - grit in the thread is common, and a snapped cap costs more than the blockage.
- Pull out what you find. Coins, screws, hair grips, elastic bands, colour-catcher sheets and a felt of lint and hair are the usual haul. Rinse the filter under a tap and brush the mesh clean.
- Check the pump impeller. Shine the torch into the housing: you should see a small fan-shaped impeller at the back. Turn it gently with a fingertip or a pencil. It should move with a slight magnetic springiness. If it is jammed solid or wobbles loosely, stop here - that is the pump itself, and it needs an engineer.
- Refit the cap hand-tight, push the drain hose bung back in, close the flap, and run a short rinse or drain cycle to check for leaks before you push the machine back.
Draining by hand, when there is no hose
Some machines have no drain hose beside the filter, so the water has to come out around the cap itself. A shallow basin does the job:
- Switch off and unplug, towels down, and slide the basin or a tray under the filter flap.
- Loosen the filter a quarter-turn at a time. Let the water run out in stages and empty the basin as it fills. Expect one to two litres, and more if the drum is still full.
- Never force the filter. If water keeps coming long after it should have slowed, or the seal will not reseat afterwards, close it back up and call us - that points to a blockage further in, or a perished seal, not a dirty filter.
How often should you clean it?
Every two to three months is plenty for most homes; monthly if you wash horse blankets, dog beds, work overalls or anything that sheds heavily. In the harder-water parts of Dublin - homes normally supplied by Leixlip at around 200 mg/L, and the Bog of the Ring supply around Balbriggan and Rush at around 336 mg/L - scale grit joins the lint in the housing, so err on the shorter interval.
When to stop and call us
Stop if the impeller will not turn, if the filter cap is seized solid, if the machine still will not drain with a clean filter (that points to the pump, the hose or the pressure switch), or if water leaks from the housing after refitting - the cap seal may be perished. Those are the jobs on our washing machine not draining guide, and most are fixed on the first visit. Ring Washing Machine Repair Dublin on 645 465-6305 with the brand and the error code, and we will give you the likely range on the phone.
