The most common cause of a leaking washing machine is the door seal. They often acquire holes or tears letting water leak down inside the machine, which then leaks out from underneath. A door seal can also leak from the door itself straight down the front of the machine.
If water is running down the front of the machine from the door, examine the rubber flange as described in the next paragraph, but first make sure the water isn’t actually coming from the soap drawer. Small runs of water from the drawer can track along the bottom of the control panel and down onto the door ending up dripping off the bottom of the door.
Clean the door glass & Seal
Water leaking out of the door can be caused by a worn door seal flange.
When the door is closed the glass presses against this flange and creates a seal. You can get small chunks broken away, or sometimes the flange goes tacky, wavy, or even hard, and will need replacing.
Sometimes though, a leak can be caused by something trapped between the door seal and the door glass which breaks the seal.
If the door seal flange doesn’t look worn then try cleaning the door seal’s flange and the door glass on the inside of the door where it touches the seal when closed.
Bits of cotton, undissolved washing machine detergent, hairs etc can all cause a leak. Use a scouring pad or similar on the door glass.
If the leak is coming from underneath the washing machine at the front it’s always worth carefully checking all around the door seal inside looking for holes and tears.
Some holes can be quite high up and only leak water on rinses or when heavy loads are inside, or on spin when water is thrown about under pressure.
If the leak underneath doesn’t appear to be caused by a hole in the door seal then it could be coming from many different places inside the washing machine.
See this guide for troubleshooting tips and advice – Washing machine leaking
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Buy a new door seal
You can order a new door seal from the largest spares stockist in the UK – next day delivery option available – Buy door seal. Some can be tricky to fit though – especially on a washer dryer.
I’ve “repaired” some holed door seals in the past using a simple bicycle puncture repair kit. It’s not ideal, but with an otherwise perfectly good door seal with just one small hole in or maybe an old washer needing to limp on a bit longer I found the puncture repair kit did a decent job.
However, I fitted it on the outside of the seal – not inside where it is exposed to water. I removed the band holding the front flange onto the door opening frame, and peeled it off the cabinet. This should be seen as a temporary repair though.
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Hello Henry. I would advise against using washing up liquid.When you tighten the metal clamp or fit the retaining spring it can squeeze out in places. I would remove the door seal and wipe it all down and fit it again. You shouldn’t need any lubrication, the door seal should just fit onto the drum.