Washing machine stopped? Safe checks before you call a technician

Before you book anything, there are a handful of checks you can do in ten minutes that fix a good share of "broken" washing machines: a closed tap, a tripped MCB, a blocked pump filter, a child lock that someone switched on. None of them needs a tool beyond a torch and a tray. Everything that needs the back or top panel off is a technician's job and is listed at the end as do-not-touch.

Rule one for all of it: before you put your hand anywhere near a hose, a filter or a wet floor, switch the machine off at the socket. If there is water on the floor, switch off at the MCB first, then mop.

It will not switch on

1. Socket and plug. Try a table lamp in the same socket. Loose plug pins and burnt socket faces are common on the 16 A sockets machines use.
2. MCB. Look at the distribution board. If the machine's breaker has tripped, reset it once. If it trips again immediately, stop; that is a fault, not a nuisance.
3. Child lock. A padlock symbol on the panel means the buttons are disabled. Hold the marked pair of buttons for a few seconds to release it.
4. Door fully shut. Many machines show no life at all until the door latches with a click. Push it firmly.

It will not fill, or fills very slowly

5. Tap. Open fully. Someone may have closed it, or the tap washer may have failed so the tap is open but passing nothing.
6. Inlet filter. Close the tap, unscrew the inlet hose at the back of the machine and look into the socket: a small mesh. On borewell water it packs with grit. Pull it out with pliers, rinse, refit. This one check clears a large share of "no water" errors in Nellore.
7. Water pressure. If the overhead tank is low or you are on a ground-floor tap fed by a slow line, the machine times out waiting. Fill the tank or wait for supply and try again before assuming the inlet valve has failed.

It will not drain or spin

8. Drain hose. Follow it from the back of the machine to the drain. No kinks, not crushed behind the machine, not pushed more than a hand's length into the standpipe, not hooked higher than your waist.
9. Pump filter (front loaders). Tray and towel down. Open the flap at the bottom front, unscrew the cap slowly, let the water out, pull out coins, hairpins and lint, then screw it back tight. A loose cap leaks on the next wash.
10. Load balance. One heavy item wrapped on itself stops a spin. Untangle, add a couple of towels, restart on rinse-and-spin.

On a semi-automatic, also check the spin-tub lid is properly closed (there is a switch under it) and that the drain selector is in the right position.

Read the error code

Photograph the code on the display and look it up in the manual or online for your model. Codes for "door", "drain" and "water supply" point to the checks above. Codes for the motor, heater or board are not something to chase; just quote the code when you book.

What never to do

• Do not open the back or top panel. Live terminals, the heater connections and the board live there.
• Do not bypass the door lock or lid switch to make it run.
• Do not force a locked door. Use the emergency drain described in the FAQ.
• Do not run a machine that gives you a tingle when touched, or one standing in water.
• Do not run it on a home inverter or UPS unless the inverter is rated for it; a heater cycle draws a great deal of current.
• Do not keep pressing start on a machine that hums without moving. Switch off and wait for the technician.

When it is time to book

Book a repair if the MCB trips when the machine starts, the drum does not turn at all, there is a burning smell, water comes from underneath during spin, the machine is dead after a power cut, or you have done the ten checks and the symptom is unchanged. Tell us which of the five listed faults it looks like most; that way the technician brings the usual parts on the first visit, and you are quoted before anything is fitted.