Five common washing machine faults and what each usually means

Most washing machine complaints come down to five symptoms, and each one has a short list of usual suspects. Knowing the list helps you describe the fault properly, decide whether it is worth checking something yourself, and understand what the technician is doing when they arrive. The prices below are from our rate card; parts are charged at MRP and shown to you before fitting.

Before you touch anything beyond the controls, switch off at the socket. If there is water on the floor, switch off at the MCB first and then deal with the water.

Not spinning (₹399)

The drum fills and washes but does not spin, or spins weakly and leaves clothes sodden.

• Unbalanced load. One heavy bedsheet wrapped around itself. The machine aborts the spin to protect itself. Redistribute and retry.
• Drain not finished. A machine will not spin with water still in the tub, so a blocked pump filter or a kinked hose shows up as "not spinning". Check the drain first.
• Door or lid switch. If the lock does not register, there is no spin. Lid switches on top loaders fail often and cheaply.
• Belt or coupling. On top loaders and semi-automatics, a stretched or snapped belt means the motor runs and the drum does not. You can often hear the motor.
• Motor carbon brushes. On many front loaders the brushes wear down after several years; the machine washes slowly then stops spinning altogether.
• Capacitor or clutch. A hum with no spin on a semi-automatic or top loader is usually the capacitor; a top loader that agitates but will not spin may have a worn clutch.

Water leaking (₹350)

Where the water is tells you most of the story.

• From the front, low down. Door gasket torn or holding grit, or the pump filter cap not screwed back tight after cleaning.
• From the detergent drawer. Too much detergent, the wrong detergent, or a blocked drawer. Foam forces water out of the drawer.
• From the back. Inlet hose washers, a split hose, or the drain hose connection.
• From underneath, only on spin. Tub seal or bearings letting water past; a more serious job.
• From the tap itself. Not the machine at all. Check the tap and the hose end first.

Not draining (₹350)

Water sits in the drum at the end of the cycle.

• Pump filter blocked. Coins, hairpins, a sock. This is the cause most of the time on a front loader.
• Drain hose kinked, crushed or too high. A hose pushed too far into the standpipe or hooked over something tall.
• Drain pump failed. You hear nothing at the drain stage, or a hum and no flow.
• Semi-automatic drain valve. Lint builds up in the drain path; the valve sticks and the tub stays full.

Drum making noise (₹499)

• Rattle or clatter. Something between the drum and the tub: a coin, a bra wire, a button. Often fished out through the gasket or the heater opening.
• Thumping on spin. Unbalanced load, or the machine is not level and is walking. Also, on a new machine, transit bolts that were never removed.
• Grinding, rumbling or a jet-engine whine that rises with speed. Drum bearings. Often with a grey or rust stain under the drum. This is the repair to get quoted early, because on some sealed-tub models the bearings cannot be replaced on their own.
• A loud clunk on every rotation. On front loaders, a cracked spider arm behind the drum. Worth confirming before you decide between repair and replacement.

Fully dead (₹350)

No lights, no response.

• The obvious. Socket, plug, MCB, and the child lock (which can make a live machine look dead).
• Door lock. On many front loaders, a failed lock stops the panel lighting up at all.
• Mains filter, fuse or main switch. Cheap parts that go after a surge.
• PCB. The control board. A power cut or voltage spike, or damp in the monsoon, can take it out. The technician tests the board rather than assuming it.

Two things not to do

Do not bypass a door lock or lid switch to make the machine run; it is there so the drum cannot spin with the door open. Do not keep pressing start on a machine that hums and does not move; you can cook the motor in a few minutes. Switch off, note the symptom and the error code if there is one, and book the right fault so the technician arrives with the parts that usually fix it.