The short answer
When a MFH washer makes a new noise, establish whether it happens on fill, on wash or on spin. Those three moments belong to different parts of the machine and telling them apart costs nothing, which is why it comes before any other check on this family.
What you observe
- A grinding or scraping that follows the drum — Something hard between the drum and the tub, or caught in the pump.
- A squeal that rises with drum speed — A belt or a bearing, where the model uses a belt.
- A rattle from the panel or the lid — Trim and fasteners rather than the mechanism. Common once a light machine has been moved a few times.
- A rhythmic thump at low speed — A load gathered on one side. It is the machine telling you it could not redistribute, not that a part has failed.
Causes, most likely first
- The machine out of level or standing on a floor that gives — First on this family. A light chassis has nothing to damp a spin that is even slightly out of true, so one foot off the floor turns an ordinary load into a machine that walks and drums.
- A coin, wire or button loose between drum and tub — Hard objects escape a pocket, pass the drum lip and then ride around scraping. It is a distinctive metallic sound that follows the drum exactly, and it will damage the tub if it is left there.
- A load gathered on one side — Second. A small drum concentrates an unbalanced load far more than a large one, so a single heavy item or a sheet that has wrapped will produce a thump the whole house hears without anything being wrong with the machine.
- Tub bearing or drum support wear — Last. It is real, it is progressive and it is the one cause here that is not an owner fix - on a machine of this size it is usually a replacement decision rather than a repair.
Check in this order
- Press on each panel and the lid while it runs — A noise that changes under a hand is trim rather than mechanism, and no further diagnosis is needed.
- Check every foot is carrying weight, with a level across the top — Second because it is free and because it is the leading cause on this family.
- Open the pump filter or access flap and look at what is in it — Worth doing while the machine is off anyway, because debris here explains a noise heard only during draining.
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Never reach into a drum that is still coasting, and never defeat the lid or door interlock to watch a spin - that interlock is the only thing that stops the drum with a hand in it.
Models in the MFH family — The models this page covers, as the product spine lists them. This family is a single model, so there is no variant to rule out before you start.
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| MFH180-G1302DS/F01E-US | black-decker:washer:mfh |
When to call
The line on this family is the cabinet panel. Levelling, emptying, turning the drum by hand, clearing the pump filter and reseating trim are all yours and need no tool.
Other faults on this family
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
