An LG Washer That Stopped Draining in Altadena

A Tub Full of Water That Would Not Empty: An LG Washer in Altadena

A homeowner in Altadena called A+ Appliance Repair and Maintenance with one of the more frustrating laundry problems there is: an LG washer that had stopped draining. The wash finished, but the water never left. The tub sat full, the load sat soaking, and on a machine like this the door will not even unlock while there is water above a certain level. It is a small emergency in the middle of an ordinary day.

What the drain pump does, and how it fails

Near the end of every cycle, the washer has to move a large volume of water out of the tub in a short window of time. That job belongs to the drain pump, a small electric motor spinning an impeller that pushes water out through the drain hose and into your standpipe. When it works, you barely notice it. When it fails, the whole machine stops, because a washer will not move on to spin while it is still full of water.

A drain pump can fail in a few different ways, and they are worth understanding because they are not all the same repair. The motor can fail electrically, giving you silence when the drain should start. The impeller can crack or break off, so the motor spins but moves no water, often with a healthy-sounding hum that fools people into thinking the pump is fine. The bearing can seize, producing a strained buzz as the motor tries and fails to turn. And very often the pump is not broken at all, but blocked, jammed by a coin, a hairpin, a button, or a scrap of fabric that slipped past the filter.

Why we check before we replace

That last possibility is exactly why our technician did not simply install a new pump on arrival. A blocked pump and a failed pump produce the identical symptom, standing water, but only one of them needs a new part. Replacing a pump that was merely clogged is a waste of the customer's money, and clearing a clog on a pump that has actually failed just means a second visit.

So the technician worked through it properly. He checked the drain pump filter and the pump housing for the coins and debris that jam impellers. He verified the drain hose was not kinked behind the machine or clogged partway along its run, since a blockage downstream produces the same full tub as a dead pump. And he confirmed the pump was receiving power on the drain portion of the cycle, which separates a genuinely failed pump from a control or wiring fault that only looks like one.

Power was reaching the pump, the drain path was clear, and the pump still moved no water. The drain pump itself had failed.

The repair

We replaced the drain pump. With the new pump installed, our technician ran the washer through a full drain and spin cycle to confirm the tub emptied completely, that the machine advanced into spin without stalling, and that the door released normally once the water was gone. He also checked the pump housing and hose connections for leaks, because a fresh pump that seeps is a callback waiting to happen. The washer drains and completes its cycles the way it should.

Getting a long life out of a drain pump

Plenty of the drain pumps we replace were killed by something avoidable. Check pockets before loading, because a single coin is the most common thing we find lodged in an impeller. Clean the drain pump filter a few times a year, which on most LG front-loaders sits behind a small access panel at the lower front of the machine; keep a shallow pan and a towel handy, because water will come out when you open it. And pay attention to how the drain sounds, since a pump that is starting to struggle usually gets louder or slower before it quits entirely. That change is your early warning, and acting on it turns an emergency into a scheduled repair.

About A+ Appliance Repair and Maintenance

We service LG, Samsung, Whirlpool, Maytag, GE, Bosch, and every other major washer brand throughout Altadena, Pasadena, and the surrounding San Gabriel Valley. Our technicians are certified and carry common parts, which is why a drain-pump repair like this one can usually be diagnosed and completed in a single visit.

We quote the price upfront before any work begins, we waive the service call fee when you go ahead with the repair, and every completed repair is backed by our full repair warranty. If your washer is holding water and will not drain, do not leave it sitting full. Standing water turns into odor and mildew in the door boot faster than most people expect, and a drain problem rarely resolves on its own.