5 Washing Machine Malfunctions and How to Fix Them
Clothes tangled? Washer won't drain? Try these tricks before calling a repairman.
Occasionally, we commit to laundry day, but our washer has other plans. It breaks down and takes the day off (after all, it’s usually a weekend). As dirty clothes pile up, and the unsettling anxiety of lugging loads to a laundromat sets in, we ask ourselves: What to do?
Before you panic, know this: Not every malfunction requires a technician or, worse, that you need to replace your washer. Some smart washers temporarily shut themselves down for safety or efficiency reasons. Other problems result from human error (such as an overstuffed or incompatible load) or from deferred maintenance you can perform yourself.
My Washer Tangles My Clothes
Tangled clothes are a notorious nuisance with top-loaders, according to CR members, who are annually surveyed about their biggest washing machine headaches. Tangles are especially pervasive with HE top-loaders (lid-lift washers without the tall center post), whose lower water levels, fast-rotating impellers, and 60- to 80-minute wash times can twist garments into a mangled mess. Entwined clothes can result in sections of fabric not being cleaned properly or in gooey detergent residue being left behind on clothes.
Solution: To reduce tangling (and wear and tear on your clothes), Larry Ciufo, CR’s laundry lab supervisor, recommends washing similar items together (sheets with pillowcases, cottons with cottons, delicates with delicates, and towels with wash cloths). Don’t mix lightweight synthetic workout clothes with heavy towels and cotton jeans—separate those loads. For delicates like bras, use a mesh bag to reduce tangling. And don’t dump an entire basket of laundry into the washer at once. Instead, load a few items at a time for better separation, and avoid overloading.
Deploying the delicate cycle also reduces
We have the cure for smelly washers.
My Front-Load Washing Machine Stinks
Does your washer smell musty? Front-loaders are high-functioning, high-maintenance machines, but they’re also prone to mold and mildew, two types of fungus that thrive in damp environments and can cause unpleasant odors or trigger allergies.
In our 2025 survey, 13 percent of front-load owners reported issues with both mold and mildew, which can build up in a machine’s door gasket or detergent dispenser due to trapped moisture, detergent residue, or bacteria from dirt and pet hair. Regular detergent is too sudsy for water-efficient washers and leaves behind soap scum that feeds mold and mildew. But overdosing on high-efficiency detergent and fabric softener can also leave excess residue in these parts of your machine and on your clothes, says Ciufo.
Solution: Regular maintenance and a deep-clean after every 30 loads can defunk your washing machine. If you have a front-loader, wipe down the door gasket with a soft cloth or paper towel after every load. For a deeper clean, Ciufo recommends running an empty load on the hot, sanitary, or self-clean cycle with 1 cup of bleach once a month. Then run an additional cycle with just water to thoroughly rinse out remaining traces of bleach before washing clothes again.
In your supermarket’s laundry aisle or online, you’ll see washing machine cleaners specifically formulated to eliminate soap scum and odors that can gum up your washer’s drum, door, gasket, and detergent drawers. Our home evaluations of these cleaners, including Whirlpool’s Affresh, Tide’s OxiClean Odor Blasters, and others, found they didn’t clean any better than a household bleach solution.
My Washer Shakes or Shuts Down
If your top-loader throws a rumble-tantrum or shuts down completely during the spin cycle, you may have an unbalanced load. Among the 8 percent of "other problems" from our latest survey, 464 respondents cited "unbalanced" load, "out of balance," or "banging" as the specific washer issues they experienced. This typically happens when you mix heavy and lightweight garments, such as pillows and sheets, in one load.
Modern smart washers can detect different fabric types and weights and may struggle to spin out moisture from heavy, saturated pillows and thin, lightweight sheets at the same time. Many washers (especially top-load HEs) will add more water to the tub to rebalance the load. If that fails, the machine will pause its spin cycle and flash an error message, asking you to manually adjust items in the drum to rebalance it.
Solution: The solution is tedious but necessary. “Most of the time, you’ll have to pull some items out and run a spin cycle with just pillows or just sheets,” says Ciufo. If you’re washing pillows, he suggests washing two at a time, so they balance each other. Take it from me: I’ve had to dig into the drum and transfer dripping-wet sheets to my shower rod for temporary hanging while my washer spun the water out of my towels. It’s a messy—and easily avoidable—hassle.
My Washer Doesn't Drain
If you find your clothes soaking in a puddle at the bottom of your tub, the culprit could be a faulty or clogged drain pump filter or drain hose. The drain pump sits at the bottom of your washer and empties dirty water from the washer drum through a hose during the rinse and spin cycles. Before reaching the pump, dirty wash water passes through a filter where gobs of fabric softener, pet hair, coins, lint, and other detritus can eventually cause a blockage. Before you call a repair technician, try this potentially easy fix from, well, a repair technician.
Solution: “In many cases, consumers can resolve the issue themselves by opening the pump access door and clearing out any debris that may be stuck inside,” says Daryl Shuler of the Appliance Doctor. “It’s also important to check the pump drain hose, as it can occasionally become clogged as well."
First, dust off your owner’s manual (or find it online) to see if your machine has a user-serviceable drain pump filter (some newer models, particularly HE top loaders, don’t). In top-loaders, a lint filter is typically located inside or under the agitator or along the top rim of the drum. Check your owner’s manual for the proper way to access and clean it.
In newer front-loaders, the filter is often located behind a small door at the bottom-right or bottom-left of the washer; older models may require you to remove a panel to access it. Unplug the machine and mop up any standing water in the drum. Then open the door or panel and unscrew the filter to remove any lint, hair, coins, or other debris, taking care to catch any water that spills out (this can get messy). Screw it back in tight (typically clockwise until it’s snug, or listen for a click).
Shuler recommends cleaning the filter every couple of months. If cleaning the drain pump filter doesn’t fix the problem, the issue may be a clogged drain hose or a defective pump. Both involve considerably more effort, tools, and know-how to repair. "If you’re handy, it can be a DIY job," says Ciufo. But if you’re unsure, call a technician. After all, water is involved here.
My Front-Load Washer's Door Leaks
If your front-load washer door leaks, it may be because the door’s gasket is compromised by the same suspects that cause washing machine odors—hair, soap residue, and lint—or even a stray sock or washcloth wedged between the door and gasket.
Solution: Don’t get taken to the cleaners for a potentially simple fix; you can clean the rubber gasket yourself. After your last load, wipe down the inside of the door and the gasket with a soft cloth dipped in diluted bleach and water. Gently pull back the rubber folds to wipe away any trapped lint, debris, and moisture that can cause mold or mildew (don’t pull the rubber too hard or it can tear). Then dry it with another cloth and leave the door ajar for at least two hours to air it out, but only if small children don’t have access to your laundry space. Running a hot wash cycle with bleach as directed above can also help prevent residue from building up in the gasket.
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