Splendide Clothes Washer fix!
First use this season after de-winterizing, the front-loader filled with water but wouldn't drain.
Fix:
1. Remove the dryer on top of the washer (disconnect exhaust hose and electric cord first).
2. Remove the drain hose from the wall drain and lower into a tipped drywall bucket or large tupperware on the floor. It should gravity drain most of the trapped water.
3. Pop off the washer front lower trim panel.
4. Put towels in front to catch water.
5. Slowly/carefully untwist and remove black plug about 3" across on bottom right. Water will come out. Check for foreign objects, clear anything out, then spin the four-green-plastic-eared impeller by hand.
6. Reinstall black plug.
7. Put drain hose in bucket or back in the wall drain.
8. Select Cycle C (Drain) and test. Everything should work unless the pump has failed.
9. If the pump has failed, it is about $121 plus $16 shipping from the tech support center in Oregon listed in the manual. The tech support guy there can talk you through the replacement process. It seemed moderately complicated, but do-able.
Background story: First try in the third season since new, washer filled with water half way up the door window and wouldn't drain. I tried everything I knew, then removed the dryer to the bed, unhooked the drain hose and gravity-drained it into a bucket. At some point, the washer started turning, and humming, but no draining. I tried all sorts of online resources for hours, took off the back service panel to look for obvious things like disconnected wires or broken belts, no luck.
Moved the dryer off the bed, prayed about it with my wife, and went to sleep.
Drove to breakfast the next morning, and returned to find an appliance repair truck parked at the office. He had driven 60 miles to work on the park laundry that morning! It was not a "coincidence", it was a "God-incident"!
I told him the problem, and he started smiling. He said, "Whirlpool, right?"
Well, yes, it is--although on the back it says "Splendide", "Great Britain", "Whirlpool", and "Hecho in Espana"!
He told me to follow the procedure I listed above. Looking back inside that opening, I looked for blockages--he said often there will be coins, screws, and once, even a 1/4" drill bit inside. He also said once he found caked-up detergent deposits that were stopping the impeller. The impeller is green plastic, about an inch and a half across, with four ears sticking out toward you. Reach in and see if you can spin the impeller or if something is blocking it. Mine was clear and spun freely by hand. I reinstalled the black plug, put the drain hose in a bucket, selected Cycle C (Drain) and started it. Everything worked great! The repairman said the drain pump is about the size and strength of an aquarium pump, and sometimes it just needs a little assist to start after months of non-use. We used the washer a bunch of times over the next two weeks, and no more problems.
No charge from the repairman, but I gave him a recommended eatery and $20 to buy his lunch as thanks.
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