Top loader washing machine leaking after use

[Travis]

After a full cycle there's a little bit of water on the floor in the upper left corner of the washer. I cleaned it up, and two days later there's a new puddle in the same area. The hose from the wall to the washer is dry as is the drain hose. When I slid the washer around to clean up I thought I heard a little sloshing like there's still water in the unit. I've got it tipped over, but I'm not seeing any wet spots where the water might have been coming from. Some water poured out of the drain hose when I tipped it over. I was thinking of leaving the back case off and just run a cycle and stare at it until I find it.

[scottish]

If I recall correctly, sometimes (eventually?) the seal on the gear box will start to go, leaving dirty water behind.    Is the water clean?   Or mixed with oil?

[Travis]

It looked like clean water. Almost couldn't see it on the tile until I stepped in it. Is the pump supposed to suck out all the water in the system, or does gravity keep a little behind? I've never kicked a washer after a cycle to check.  The motor in the bottom center of the unit is shiny, but that appears to be grease instead of water.

[sonofsven]

Yes to your last question: run it and see.
I put mine out on the front porch two summers ago to diagnose it, and use it. Ended up doing about five loads while waiting for parts.
It was real convenient to do laundry outside, right next to the clothesline. Country living.

It takes four five gallon buckets to handle the outflow, if memory serves.

[former player]

Silly question, have you checked the filter?

[Travis]

Silly question, have you checked the filter?

I'm trying to find it. I found a video that thinks I'll need to disassemble the agitator to get to it. I don't see it in the manual's diagrams.

[Travis]

Yes to your last question: run it and see.

Yes the pump should completely empty the system, or yes there will be some water remaining?

[sonofsven]

Yes to your last question: run it and see.

Yes the pump should completely empty the system, or yes there will be some water remaining?

Sorry, I just meant run it with the back off and check for leaks. On mine at least there's always water in the system when I take the pump out. I have a front loader.

[Travis]

Yes to your last question: run it and see.

Yes the pump should completely empty the system, or yes there will be some water remaining?

Sorry, I just meant run it with the back off and check for leaks. On mine at least there's always water in the system when I take the pump out. I have a front loader.

I ran a load this morning with the back off and watched it. So far no new leaks. I'm going to let it sit for a night and see if anything happens. If the floor is dry in the morning, I'm going to assume one of the hoses had a slow leak.

[Just Joe]

Check your hoses. And perhaps the drain pipe. When we bought our current house the previous owner may have been putting grease down the sink drain.

Everything was okay for a little while and then the washing machine started backing up during the drain cycle. Pipe was not totally clogged but was slow to drain.

We mostly saw the overflow in the basement below but it got on the floor around the washing machine too. You could hear it coming during the drain cycle as the pipe backed up until it overflowed.

I snaked the pipes (bought a machine even) and had the septic tank pumped. That fellow confirmed that there was alot of grease in the septic tank.

Septic tank was not the problem. The pipes were. No problems since.

[Weathering]

Buy the plastic catch basin specifically for washing machines. Home Depot, Lowes, or possible other appliance-related stores. It will save your bacon if the washing machine does ever leak.
My washing machine leaked once because I had too many towels in it. They must have strangled the agitator some way, affecting drainage, and the tub overfilled. Never happened again.

[chemistk]

Our top-loader started to do this shortly after we moved into our house last year.

Ours ended up being too much water backpressure for the pump - the PO had routed the drain hose just a bit too high above the washer and the pump couldn't generate enough pressure to get rid of all the water. Then when the rinse cycle would start, the residual water in the tub would exit via the overflow tube.

To come to that conclusion, I didn't really feel too comfortable watching the washer go without the front panel on (on ours, it's structural). So to diagnose specifically where the leak was coming from I took an assortment of food colorings and put a few drops of each color on parts I suspected water may have been coming from and let them dry just a little bit. Then I put a dropcloth (that would show all the colors) under the washer and ran a load I knew would cause it to leak.

Sure enough, the overflow tube was the culprit and the solution was to re-route the drain a bit lower (I think most washer pumps are designed to carry water no higher than the top of the unit).

[BlueMR2]

Buy the plastic catch basin specifically for washing machines. Home Depot, Lowes, or possible other appliance-related stores. It will save your bacon if the washing machine does ever leak.
My washing machine leaked once because I had too many towels in it. They must have strangled the agitator some way, affecting drainage, and the tub overfilled. Never happened again.

The fill sensor has twice become disconnected in ours.  Twice flooding the laundry room (and once into the dining room)...  I now make a point of standing next to the washer and watching it fill each time as with the fill sensor disconnected a catch basin is not enough since it will never stop trying to fill...

[lthenderson]

I used to be an engineer in the washer and dryer business. The number one cause of small "leaks" is usually insufficient draining compacity, i.e. as someone mentioned above, your drain has become partially clogged or something else was draining at the same time or a combination of both. Broken seals and hoses generally lead to big noticeable leaks.

No, the pump can't remove 100% of the water in the bottom of the tub. They have sumps to collect the water in a small area to allow for most of it to be drained but not all.

[Travis]

No leaks since I first posted. I'm guessing the cold water hose was loose. I did notice though that either the hot water hose or the faucet head needs replaced. I can't keep that from leaking no matter what I do. Thankfully we never wash in hot water.

The dryer stopped working, but it turns out the on switch was loose behind the panel. Thank you Youtube!