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How do you clean a washing machine's drain pump filter?

Updated August 2026

10–15 minutes · Easy DIY

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A front-loader that will not drain, or that hands back soaking clothes after a spin, usually has a drain pump filter packed with coins, hair, and lint, and clearing it takes 10 to 15 minutes. The filter hides behind a small access door at the lower front of the cabinet. The only technique involved is unscrewing it slowly over a shallow pan so a gallon of water comes out in stages instead of all at once. Do it every 3 to 4 months and most drain and spin faults never happen.

What you need

Before you start: Unplug the machine before opening the panel. You are putting hands and a pan of water inside inches of a 120-volt pump motor. If the machine stopped mid-cycle on a hot wash, wait 30 to 60 minutes before you open the filter, because the water behind that cap can still be scalding. Wear gloves, since broken glass, pins, and bra wires are exactly what ends up in a pump housing. And never force a seized impeller by hand: if it will not turn, that is a failed pump, not a clog.

Steps

  1. Cancel the cycle and run a drain and spin to pull out whatever the pump can still move. If the drum is full and dead, bail it through the door with a cup first.
  2. Unplug the washer. The pump sits directly behind this panel and there is going to be water on the floor.
  3. Find the access door at the lower front, either a small hinged flap or a snap-off toe panel. Pop it with a flathead in the notch at its edge.
  4. Lay towels down and slide the shallow pan under the opening. Many machines include a short drain tube with a plug beside the filter cap; pull that plug first and drain into the pan, emptying it as it fills. Expect up to a gallon.
  5. Turn the filter cap counterclockwise a fraction of a turn at a time, letting water escape in controlled pulses. Rushing this is what puts a gallon across the laundry floor in five seconds.
  6. Pull the filter out and clear it: coins, hairpins, buttons, screws, and a felt mat of lint and pet hair. Rinse it under hot water and brush the mesh clean.
  7. Shine the flashlight into the empty housing, reach in with a gloved finger, and spin the impeller. It should turn freely. Anything wedged in the vanes comes out now.
  8. Thread the filter back in until it seats fully, with the handle or arrow oriented the way the manual shows. A filter one turn short leaks steadily during every wash.
  9. Reinsert the drain plug, close the panel, plug the machine in, and run a rinse and spin while you watch the floor at the filter cap.

Or hire it out

An appliance tech charges $150–300 to diagnose and clear a no-drain fault, and $250–450 if the drain pump itself is replaced. Considering the filter is the culprit most of the time and the fix is free, open the panel first.

Done. Now the part everyone skips: doing it again on schedule. Log it in OnOtto and the next reminder for pump filter cleanings sets itself.

Log this task, get the next reminder

Frequently asked questions

Does my washer even have one?

Every front-loader does, and so do most high-efficiency top-loaders built in the last decade. Traditional agitator top-loaders generally do not, since they use a larger drain path that passes coins straight through to the hose. Look at the bottom front of the cabinet for a small door, a recessed finger notch, or a snap-off panel roughly 4 inches tall. If your model has no access there, the pump is reached from underneath and that is a service call.

How often should I open it?

Every 3 to 4 months for an average household, and monthly if you wash pet bedding, work clothes, or anything that sheds heavily. Manufacturers commonly list it as a monthly item in the manual, which almost nobody does. Pair it with the door-boot cleaning so the whole washer gets one visit, and follow the sequence on the washing machine maintenance checklist.

I cleaned it and the machine still will not drain.

Work outward from the pump. Check the drain hose for a kink behind the machine, confirm it rises into a high loop rather than lying flat, and pull it out of the standpipe to check for a lint plug at the tip. Then check the standpipe itself, which clogs with detergent sludge over years. If the pump hums with a clear filter and clear hose, the pump has failed, and that is $150–300 installed.

Water poured out everywhere. How do I avoid that next time?

Two habits. Always run a drain and spin before opening anything, which empties most of what the pump can still reach. Then use the small drain tube beside the filter cap if your model has one, emptying the pan two or three times before you touch the cap at all. If there is no drain tube, crack the cap a quarter turn, let it flow into the pan, and retighten while you empty. Patience beats towels.

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