We get a lot of phone calls from people who have just installed a washing machine and want to know why it isn’t working. Very rarely is it because the appliance is broken and more often than not there is a simple fix that doesn’t involve calling out an engineer. For this post I’m going to look at the ones we get the most phone calls about.
In any situation always consult your manual. Although they are often boring and have a reputation for terrible grammar they do contain the answers to most questions. And because each washing machine is different a solution that works for most models might not be right for yours. In case you’ve lost your manual I’ve included a list of links at the bottom of this post.
The machine is vibrating excessively and is moving across the floor - The chances are that the transit bolts which stop the drum from moving when it was being transported are still in place. Check your manual to see where they are and how to remove them.
It won’t drain - Our official advice is to check the installation against your manual. This means making sure the outlet hose is plugged in and isn’t kinked or at the wrong angle to the floor. You might also have accidentally selected rinse hold which suspends clothes in the water from the last rinse and will only drain when you tell it to.
The door seal is bent - The chances are that it should be. For all new washing machines you should always run a hot wash with detergent before you use it for clothes. This cleans out any water from the tests the manufacturers ran at the factory and stretches the seal into place.
There’s a hole in the seal - Washing machines are supposed to have a small hole for drainage, so long as the hole is at the bottom of the seal there isn’t (normally) a problem.
There is an error code or “my washing machine keeps showing me f13” - Error codes are the washing machine telling you what’s wrong with it. You should be able to look the code up in a table in your manual and then decide what to do from there – in this case it might be that your washing machine is faulty but some models could be telling you that you have overloaded the drum or that water pressure isn’t high enough.
The drum is filling with water when turned off - If your drum is filling with water for no apparent reason try turning the machine’s water supply off. If the problem persists then there’s probably is a fault with your household plumbing that causes the machine to backfill from the drain. If turning the water supply off fixes the problem then it might be a faulty water valve.
If your problem isn’t on the list above then the simplest solution is usually the right one. So if your washing machine isn’t turning on have you made sure it’s plugged in, turned on at the wall and that the socket is working.
If you do have a problem with a washing machine you have bought from us then call our advice line on 0871 641 1560.
For the electronic version of washing machine manuals for the following manufacturers please click on the relevant link below.
AEG
Baumatic (navigate to your appliance to download the manual)
Beko
Belling – Don’t have a download facility but you can contact their spare parts team on 0844 81 53 745
Bosch
Candy
Electrolux
Hoover
Hotpoint
Indesit
LG (navigate to you appliance and then select the support tab to find a download for the manual)
Neff
Newworld - Don’t have a download facility but you can contact their spare parts team on 0844 81 53 745
Samsung
Siemens
Smeg
Whirlpool
Zanussi