Troubleshooting your washing machine

If you can open the door:

Heavy or uneven loads can prevent the machine from creating a balance and so cause it to stop.

• Resolve this by reducing the spin speed for small loads or bulky items like towels. 
• If the load is very large, you may need to remove some items and spin them separately.

If you can't open the door:

You'll need to drain the drum manually.

• Turn off the appliance and disconnect it from the mains.
•  Lay down some towels and have a mop to hand.
• Slowly loosen the filter, allowing the water to drain. 
• The filter is generally located at the bottom right of the appliance, but this can vary (check your manual)

Then in both cases:

• Once the appliance is drained, remove the filter and check the filter and its housing for any signs of obstruction. 
• Run the filter under warm water and clean it gently with a soft brush but NO detergent. 
• Remove any obstructions from the filter housing and replace the filter, ensuring it's tightened sufficiently.

The most common cause of this is that the child lock has been activated. Find instructions to deactivate in your user manual

Your clothes need space to move freely within the drum during a cycle:

• If the drum is too full it may affect the efficiency of a cycle or even prevent it from completing. 
• Try reducing the load and seeing if this helps.

If this doesn't work, you may need to do a maintenance wash.

• Find instructions on how to do this in your user manual; it will be longest hottest cycle with no detergent added. 
• Remove the drawer and clean it and the aperture housing it thoroughly with hot water, but not washing up liquid.

It may sound obvious, but:

• Check the connections to make sure the machine is plugged into the mains socket and switched on

If it is:

• Can you check the Residual Current Device (RCD) in the consumer unit (known as the fuse box)? Has this tripped? If so, you may need to reset by flicking the switch. 
• If you don't feel confident about doing this, or it happens more than once, the please do consult an electrician.
  

If your washing machine appears noisy or unstable when using it for the first time:

• Please make sure the protective brackets or transit bolts (used for safe transportation) have all been removed before using your washing machine.
• You can keep them in case you need to transport your appliance again in the future
• Full instructions on how to do this are usually on the first few pages of your user manual
  
• It may also be that the machine or the floor beneath is not level, or that the floor is "bouncy". You may need to add a flat board beneath the machine to stablilise it.

• First, check the fill hose, drain hose and mains plumbing for leaks. 
• Check the fill hose connection to your washing machine and to the mains plumbing (taps) is secure. 
• It’s also possible for a leak to appear from your detergent dispenser, which can be caused by excessive water pressure or the washing machine not having been levelled properly during installation. 
• You can raise the front of the appliance by adjusting the feet at the front of the machine.
• We would also recommend double checking the water supply hose connections (at both ends) as well as checking the drain hose during the pump out process.
  

There are a number of reasons that could cause your washing machine to smell:

• Consistently washing at low temperatures is better for saving energy, but means that bacteria and possibly undissolved detergents can build up, causing your machine to smell.
• To resolve this, run your machine empty at 90°C using some biological detergent to help destroy the build up of bacteria and detergents. It's a good idea to do this monthly.
• If you live in a hard water area, then descale your machine regularly
• You should also check if your washing machine drain hose connects to your under sink plumbing. If so, make sure this is clean and free from any blockages.