# Washing machine flood- any ideas on what caused it?



## glenn1000 (Sep 3, 2008)

Our front loading six year old GE profile washing machine flooded yesterday. It's on the second floor but fortunately we caught it in time and there was no damage (it's in a pan and that filled up). My question is what caused this? It looks like the water came from towards the bottom of the machine, not the top where the water inflow and drain pipe are located. There is no leak in the door of the machine. Could the drain tube itself be plugged and causing a backup? Where else could this come from?

I'm curious becuase our home warranty covers drainage but not the washer itself. They were going to send someone to check the drain pipe but since the wall was not wet at all it seems like a waste of time and $50 copay. Is there a way to check this out myself or do I need a GE service call? It seems like it must be a simple fix but I don't know how to go about checking it out.

Any ideas appreciated!


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## urple2 (Sep 3, 2008)

I have no idea, but you may find it on the web.

One search...  http://www.acmehowto.com/howto/appliance/washer/diagwasher.php

Good luck!


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## nazclk (Sep 3, 2008)

*Flood*

It may be the hose that fills the water inside the machine. mine came off a year ago and flooded the laundry room.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Sep 3, 2008)

There are lots of possibilities.  Almost anyplace that would leak inside the machine is likely to drain out the bottom of the machine, so it could be any fitting or hose inside the unit, as well as anything on the bottom of the machine.

The only way to find out where the leak is occurring is observation.


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## Passepartout (Sep 3, 2008)

I think that before I called for service, I would remove the drain hose and make sure that it's not clogged. If it is, that would cause the internal leak from the machine. If that's not it, darned if I know what it might be.

Or....

If the pan under it will hold the leak, dry it and run the machine (while watching) and see what cycle it's doing when the leak occurs. Obviously, be ready to stop the machine and/or turn off the water supply when it leaks.

Jim Ricks


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## klisow (Sep 3, 2008)

We just had a similar problem with our front loader last month.  It turns out the gasket came loose from the tub and needed to be put back on. I had washed a large blanket and it caused it to come loose.   I thought it was going to run a fortune to fix, but it ended up running $75.00.  I

Not sure if this would be the same problem or not...but its a possiblity.  Good Luck!


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## shagnut (Sep 3, 2008)

Did your hot or cold hose get a crack in it?  shaggy


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## hotmike98 (Sep 4, 2008)

*check the drain hose*

sometimes a sock gets sucked into the drain hose, then clogs the whole thing up.


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## KforKitty (Sep 4, 2008)

It does sound to me like the drain is blocked in some way.  This happened to us and on removing the cover at the bottom we found a lanyard chain wrapped around the pump.  Removed the article and it worked just fine.

Kitty


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## Kay H (Sep 4, 2008)

hotmike98 said:


> sometimes a sock gets sucked into the drain hose, then clogs the whole thing up.




Is that what happens to the mate of all my mateless sox?


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## DonM (Sep 4, 2008)

*I think you can rule out the drain pipe*



glenn1000 said:


> Our front loading six year old GE profile washing machine flooded yesterday. ... there was no damage (it's in a pan and that filled up).



If the pan contained the "flood" then there's less than a gallon or two of water at most. The pan under my washer would not catch any water from the drain pipe because that's located in the rear of the machine and  the pan would not be directly under it.

I believe your best advice was that it could be any number of things, and that you should observe where the leak is coming from by running a wash. My front loader has a small leak- we have to empty our pan every so often. We called in a serviceman and paid the minimum charge to be told that it would cost more to repair than to buy a new one, so just keep emptying the pan until things get worse, then we'll replace it.

good luck
don


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## glenn1000 (Sep 4, 2008)

Thank so much for all the replies!

We found seven unmatched socks behind the washer.

I took the front panel off and cleared the drainage hose from the machine to the wall. It seems to have been blocked somehow though there was nothing solid in it. I noticed that the plastic pan the machine sits in is cracked so water leaked through it- not too useful- so I've purchased a new pan. The machine also seems to rock more than it should when spinning so I am going to adjust that. Managed to do a load without flooding the house and hope that luck holds out.

Thanks again!


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## maddaug (Sep 4, 2008)

OMG, what the heck is with missing socks lost in these front loader washers??
We have a set due to be delivered on Saturday!!!   

Do these washers swallow up socks on a regular basis?
Anything else I should watch for?


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