If you have a washing machine that is not pumping out the water and stuck full of water – don’t start here. This is the final advice if you’ve tried all the advice on my article won’t drain water. However, if you can hear or see that the pump is running, but water still isn’t being pumped out and you can’t find a blockage – then continue with this article.
Pump has no blockages, filter is clear, and it runs but it still won’t drain water
So if your situation is that no water is being pumped out, but the pump is apparently running, and you’ve checked the pump and filter for blockages and found nothing here are the possible explanations..
There is a blockage but you just haven’t found it
Small objects may not be noticed. They could be underneath the impeller, wrapped round the impeller or stuck inside the pump chamber out of sight.
An elastic band or elastic from a hair bobble, a small piece of torn strap from a bra, a large piece of grit or stone, a small screw, a piece of plastic etc. items like these and other similar obstructions could all cause the impeller to slow down and not be capable of creating the vortex required to force out the water. Rubber bands and similar can wrap around the impeller restricting its movement.
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Other items could get trapped underneath the impeller out of sight and also restrict its movement. In all these cases it should be detectable by trying to turn the impeller with a finger or screwdriver (with the machine unplugged of course!). It should move freely.
However, some impellers may feel like there’s a small resistance which when overcome allows the impeller to jump 180 degrees round. Then another small resistance needs overcoming before it jumps round again. Without knowing how free an impeller should be it’s hard to diagnose but if one is quite tight all the way round it is probably obstructed.
A button of a specific size could be small enough to get through the pump filter and even past the impeller, but then get jammed inside the pump outlet chamber where the drain hose attaches to. This would be invisible unless the drain hose is removed and you look into it.
Another common blockage here that can remain undetected is a small piece of a bra wire that got through into the pump outlet chamber and has jammed inside. Subsequently most of the fluff and threads that would normally pump away can get snagged on it and build up into a blockage.
There is a blockage in the drain hose or connection under the sink
A button of a specific size could be small enough to get past the pump and into the drain hose, but be too large to pass through the drain hose or through the plastic spout on the u-bend that the drain hose may be connected to.This could completely stop water from being pumped out, or it could even manifest as an intermittent fault.
I’ve seen several cases where a button is jammed halfway up inside a drain hose or in the opening of the plastic spout of the u-bend connection but it spins round and acts like a butterfly valve. When swivelled round one way water can get past, but then the water flow can swivel it round again so that it stops the water flow. To check for this you’d need to disconnect the drain hose from the u-bend and examine the end of the drain hose and inside the spout itself to check for blockages.
If necessary, the drain hose can also be taken off the machine to see if you can detect any obstruction. I’ve managed to clear some large obstructions by shoving the end of the drain hose onto the cold tap at the sink and turning on the water. Be careful though, you can easily end up spraying water everywhere. I use a large dishcloth over the hose and hold on tight. If there’s no blockage though or it’s something that’s swivelled round and not closing off the flow you shouldn’t feel much pressure.
The pump itself is faulty
If the impeller is broken it could be spinning on the shaft. In other words although the pump rotor is spinning it is not turning the impeller that forces the water out or due to slippage on the shaft it is not turning fast enough.
The pump could sound like it’s running but in fact it is not revolving at speed inside, however, I would expect it to sound different to normal.
It’s even possible for the pump to be oscillating instead of revolving because of a fault causing it not to spin properly. You would have to use your imagination to find out if either of these are the case. It’s relatively rare.
Watch out if your problem has only occurred after connecting the washing machine to new plumbing after moving house or after someone has put new plumbing in your current house and after connecting the washing machine it will not drain when it did before – Watch out for the blanking piece in new plumbing installations – particularly at new houses
This one is likely to be rare, but worth mentioning. I’ve recently had email contact from Michael, who had a strange fault where he could find no blockages, the pump was running, and it initially pumped a little water out then stopped.
After some struggle and determined investigation he eventually discovered that one of the suspension springs on his Hotpoint Aquarius washing machine had broken (under the lid).
This had caused the main drum to drop, which squashed the sump hose (the main hose leading from the bottom of the tub to the pump) causing it to kink. When he replaced the spring, the tub was held in its proper position and released the pressure on the sump hose allowing it to pump out properly again.
Related pump troubleshooting advice:
- Washing machine won’t empty water (From DIY repair help common washing machine problems)
- How do I clean my pump filter – where is the pump filter?
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Thanks for getting back to me,
You are correct about it not being a UK front loader. I am in Ecuador. For your own references, it was a faulty new motor. The motor was tested before leaving the parts store however, it was not tested while attached to a pump chamber. The small disc behind the pump which holds the o-ring is so tight on the motor spindle that it does not allow the spindle to turn. I oiled it, but it only improved very slightly. I can get it to turn when I assist it with a finger, but not with enough power to move water. If I thought I could remove the impeller without damaging it, I might try widening the spindle hole a microscopic amount, but it is possibly pressed on with a press or heat and would be forever loose then after. I took the motor back and all of that model were bad; sadly for the store. They sold me a different motor and chamber at a discount, that I easily adapted to the machine with just a couple new screw holes. We are doing laundry again.
Hope this helps someone else.
Dan
Hello Dan, many thanks for the update. The chances of a faulty part been replaced with a new part which exhibits the exact same symptoms are very slim. That was very unlucky. It reminds me of a time when a customer of mine phoned me up because her old washing machine was flooding the kitchen and she decided it was time to replace it. I delivered a brand-new washing machine to her, but when I installed it it flooded the kitchen. The flood was caused by a blockage in her plumbing. Glad you got it sorted.
Samsung front load washer. Have had problems in the past with ‘no drain’, replaced pump, everything back to normal. Now several months later… washed a very dirty large dog blanket and ‘no drain’ came on again. Replaced pump again, but this time still saying ‘no drain’….wondering if there could be dog hairs between the tub and tub container? How do I clean it out. From inside the washer, everything looks clean and
when I’ve checked hoses, water drains from the tub fine, but something is still causing the ‘no drain’. Help and thank you!
Mary, in my experience the pump is the least likely cause of a washing machine not pumping out the water. In 90% of cases it’s caused by a blockage or obstruction somewhere. If there is nothing in the pump filter the next place to check is the fitting under the sink if the drain hose is connected to the u-bend. Blockages or obstructions can only be in the sump hose leading from the tub to the pump, somewhere inside the pump itself or the filter, or in the drain hose or the plastic connection the drain hose connects to. This article specifically covers all possibilities that could cause the washing machine to not pump out the water if the pump is running ok and there is nothing in the pump filter.
Hi there,
I have an Askoll drain pump for my AEG. Having removed the pump to clear a (tangled) blockage, I noticed that the impeller comes off the shaft – is this normal? It still “springs” around as you would expect – and doesn’t just spin freely, but at the same time I wondered if it isn’t meant to be permananetly adhered? I can’t see any sign of snapped plastic, sheared screw or anything, so I don’t know how the impeller was adhered oringinally (if it was!). Is this a case of buy a new pump? re-adhere the impeller to the shaft? or simply but it back in the machine as is?
Thanks for your help!
Hello John, I wouldn’t expect a pump impeller to come off the shaft. Not unless there is some way that it is located and locked in place once pushed on. The impeller is usually screwed on (left-hand thread) or stuck/pressed on. If the shaft was held tightly in place, does the impeller turn on the shaft? Once the pump is flooded with water there is a lot of pressure it has to overcome when spinning so the impeller must be firmly attached to the shaft.
Hi Andy,
Thanks for the quick reply. I’m afraid I can’t give a succinct answer: when the shaft is held tightly, the impeller can be rotated 180 degrees freely in one direction (and then back again) before encountering the resistance of the magnets.
I agree, it does seem odd that the impeller would be designed to come off, but I can’t fathom how it was held on before-hand. Given that the pump is quite cheap then I think I’ll just get a new one – when it arrives, I’ll see if the impeller comes off. If it does – I’ll fit my old pump (and keep the spare), if it doesn’t then we have our answer: the impeller shouldn’t come off!
Thanks for your advice! Really appreciate it,
John
Thanks John, an update would be very useful.
Hi Andy
Thanks for your comments here, it has been very helpful!
I have had the same problem with an intermittent
draining of an LG washing machine. One thing I didn’t realise from reading the above was that the impeller and magnet come away from the main pump. Once I took this gently apart being careful with the ‘o’ rings, I found the inside to be full of my daughters play sand and muddy water. This would explain why its working intermittently, but I do wonder if water should be in this chamber? Is this how its supposed to work?
Thanks
Thanks Peter, not totally sure exactly what you mean but if there is an O ring where the impeller shaft slots in then it’s presumably to prevent water getting past and if water and sand has got past it may have stopped the impeller from spinning. A new pump would be required if cleaning everything up doesn’t work.