Small Chassis Washer Drain Errors

 

Maytag calls them F21 errors. Wascomat calls them Error 2.

Other brands have their own code for the same problem: a slow drain.

What is causing the drains to be slow?

The quick answer is a litany of debris:

coins

hair pins

lint

rubber backing from rugs

socks

rocks,

pet hair

Anything that will fit in the drain will be the culprit!

The easiest thing to check is the drain.

Most small chassis models have some sort of panel on the front of the machine. Remove that and behind it is the pump. Some older frontloaders require you to take off the entire front panel.

Either way you should see a circular drain with a cover that can be twisted open.

Twist on the cover and the drain screen should come out when you've twisted a few turns.

The above picture shows all of the junk that accumulated. There was a sock, paper clips, coins, and a bunch of the rubber backing from a bathroom rug.

Once you've dumped out the drain screen. Stick your finger inside the pump drain hole to see if there is anything stuck in there like a sock or dryer sheet. In the models I work with you can feel a small impeller inside the hole. If it isn't blocked up you should be able to spin it freely with your finger tip.

 

There is always water in the drain. If you don't have a bucket you can use the front panel as a water catch. If there is water inside the tub before you start this process then you need a bucket!

 

More examples of junk inside drains.

When you are done your drain and screen should be clean. I like to run a test cycle on the machine just to make sure and to give the machine a rinse in case there was water stuck inside for a time.

It's a good idea to check the drains once or twice a year even if they don't back up.

Remember my other articles about finding money in dryers?

You can often get a chunk of change from your drains too!

Ev

A Heck of A Nice Guy