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Why is the washer leaking?Search the Repair Forum
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Why is the washer leaking?
WARNING! To avoid personal injury or death, disconnect your appliance from its power source before you start any troubleshooting or repair work. Use caution when working inside any appliance. If it only leaks during a spin cycle, it's probably caused by a leaky drain hose. Over-sudsing is a common problem in homes with a water softener. Soft water and hot water use less detergent, while hard water and cold water need more detergent to clean well. This product, SofChek, will help you to determine if you have soft or hard water in a minute or less. These easy-to-use strips measure the hardness of your water in less than a minute. Just simply look at the color chart provided on the bottle for an instant read-out of the strip to help determine the proper amount of detergent. Lowering the amount of detergent used may alleviate any over-sudsing issues. Leaks on a front-load washer can occur around the door seal. This can happen because of a build-up of dirt and soap on the seal itself preventing a proper seal from taking place. Wipe the door seal carefully making sure that the edge of the gasket is clean. Parts of a plastic bleach dispenser can crack or break off, causing a leak intermittently during the flush process. This is because bleach is a very corrosive chemical. Heavy use of liquid chlorine bleach can pit and rust stainless steel parts. Consider switching to oxygenating bleach, although this type of bleach doesn't get your whites as white as they can get with liquid chlorine bleach. The bleach dispenser is a replacement item. You'll want to confirm that the fill hoses are connected and properly tightened. Always use new rubber washers when re-installing the hoses. Take care not to over-tighten the connection. Other leaks may be caused by the drain hose being cracked, or by a leaky connection at the water-inlet valve. Too many suds may cause the appearance of a leak when actually it's just a sudsy overflow. Sometimes a drain hose leak occurs at the end of the hose where it attaches to the washer. If the hose is long enough you can cut the leaky end off and re-clamp the hose back on. Usually though, when a hose begins to leak, it is best to just replace the hose. Many pump leaks happen around the seal on the pulley. Some pumps have a weep hole that lets water drip out when this seal begins to go bad. The solution is to rebuild or replace the pump. Tub leaks are usually caused by a rotted tub. If this is your problem, consider buying a new washer. Sometimes a constant imbalance can be the culprit. This imbalance can rub a hole in the tub if it consistently runs off-balance. It may be possible to repair the tub with an epoxy kit. Tub replacement isn't usually very economical. The main tub seal can also leak. This is located where the transmission and the outer tub in the center. If this seal goes bad, it can be very difficult to replace. Sometimes the water-inlet valve develops a buildup of mineral deposits and rust. To check this, remove the water-inlet valve and visually inspect the surface. There is a cool product that is designed to help prevent water damage from a leaky washer. It's called a Washer Floor Tray. This tray catches water leaks and prevents floor damage from overflows. This product is a must for upstairs laundries.
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