3 Washing Machines Not Draining

[Daz]

Hello. We moved into our house about 18 months ago we got a Bosch Classix for £50 this worked ok apart having to having to have a knack for shutting the door in order for it to start due to the catch mechanism being loose. It would occasionally not drain and freeze mid cycle with the washing in it.  Eventually we'd be able to get it started again but it kept happening and got worse. Eventually due to the door problem also being problematic we got rid of it and got one for free that was nearly new from Gumtree.  This one was a problem from the beginning and wouldn't drain and the cycle would also freeze.  As it was a similar problem I thought it might be something to do with the drainage. 

I checked all of the visible pipes and then got a two metre drain snake and shoved that down there. I also got the neighbour to check the drains as we can't access ours as the previous owner built decking over the access point and I haven't been able to sort that out yet! This seemed to be fine. Thinking it might be due to the washing machine as it was free we then got a two year old Beko one from our in-laws.  This worked fine to begin with but soon began having the same problem and would stop mid cycle full of water, it would then sometimes work again.  It also had a slightly hot electric smell on the spin cycle and last night the power tripped while it was spinning and there was that smell again, needless to say we are not currently using it, but it is turning on. 

As far as I can tell we've either had a really bad run of luck or there is some problem with the drainage. Would a drainage problem not in the washing machine potentially cause the symptoms described. I'm going to take up some of the decking tomorrow to look at the drain.  Sorry for the essay but thought it was good to get some detail in there! Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Ben

[Whitegoodshelp]

Yes that would be quite a coincidence if all three washing machines develop separate faults giving the same symptoms. It's not impossible but the most likely explanation is as you have said, the water cannot drain out fast enough at your plumbing. There are two places where partial blockages can cause problems. If the washing machine is connected under the sink to a U bend then small blockages can cause problems inside the U bend. Take off the drain hose and check carefully at the point where the water from the washing machine pumps into the plastic spout.

If the washing machine drain hose just pushes into standpipe like they always used to be then blockages can occur anywhere in the angled sections of the plumbing. Especially the 90° bends. However, if you have a partial blockage in this type of plumbing then water tends to backup and pour out of the standpipe where they drain hose is pushed in. If you aren't getting this then maybe something else. I presume you have checked the pump filters on all of these machines?

[Daz]

Hi Andy, thanks for your reply.  I found a blockage in the drain and have cleared this, I think this was causing the water to back up. Unfortunately I think this has caused the pump to blow which is what tripped the power the other day.  The machine is a Beko WM 74155 LW it looks like I can pick one up for about £30.  I've been looking at some videos but do you or anyone else have any real world experience of changing the pump on these machines? Is it doable for a moderately competent DIYer?

[Whitegoodshelp]

A pump usually just has 2 screws fixing it to the chassis and 2 hoses connecting to it. It’s just a question of how easy or hard it is to access, which varies from brand to brand and model to model. 

[Daz]

Thanks Andy, yes the Beko video I just found makes it look fairly simple, I've ordered one so we'll see what happens! Thanks for your help, I'll be sure to check the drains more thoroughly in the future!