The short answer
When the WM family stops draining, the machine usually also refuses to open and refuses to advance. All three symptoms are one fault, and clearing the filter resolves most of them.
What you observe
- Water standing in the drum at the end of the cycle — The defining symptom, and it stops the cycle advancing as well.
- The door will not unlock — The lock stays engaged while there is water in the drum; that is protection, not a separate fault.
- A gurgle from the sink when the machine drains — The shared waste is restricted, so the pump is working against it.
- It drains on some programmes and not others — A partial restriction that only shows when a programme pumps a full drum.
- NEAR MISS - the drum is empty but the cycle hangs — That is a cycle fault and belongs on the cycle page.
Causes, most likely first on WM
- Kinked drain hose or a blocked standpipe — Ranked first on the WM family: the hose is pushed into a tight space when the machine goes back, and it kinks against the wall where nothing is visible. The order below follows the water path rather than the electronics, which is a family property and not a model one. This moves above pump filter loaded or blocked, which leads the brand-generic order, because the family spans several sizes on one platform and it is the shared parts that wear.
- Debris in the pump impeller — Second: coins and wires that get past the drum seal reach the impeller directly, where they stall it against the drain step.
- Pump filter loaded or blocked — Third: everything that leaves a pocket ends up at the hatch filter, which makes it both the likeliest cause and the one that needs no tools at all.
- Drain pump motor failure — Fourth: last, because a pump that has genuinely died is a much rarer find than one that is simply blocked.
- Excess suds — Last: too much detergent produces foam that the pump cannot move, which reads as a drain failure on a perfectly healthy machine.
Check in this order, and why
- Put a shallow tray down and open the filter hatch — There will be water behind it; drain it through the hose before unscrewing the filter.
- Run a drain-only programme and listen at the pump — It tests the drain step alone without filling the drum again.
- Check the standpipe height and that the hose is not pushed too far in — A hose too deep in the standpipe siphons and can stall the drain.
- Consider the detergent dose — Last, but suds are a real cause and cost nothing to rule out.
Before you open anything
Safety
Kill the power and the taps before any hose is touched. A drum full of water is very heavy, so drain it before tipping or moving the machine.
When to call a technician
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel. A capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. The filter, the impeller and the visible hose are owner work. Call when all three are clear and the pump still will not move water.
Other WM pages
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
