The short answer
Water left in the drum is a blockage far more often than a failed pump. On a compact cabinet the ranking below starts at the drain filter and the hose, because that is where the obstruction usually is and both are owner-accessible on most machines. Before anything else: do not force the locked door, because the lock is what is keeping the water inside the machine rather than on the floor.
What you observe
- Water standing in the drum at the end of the cycle — The core symptom, and it means the water never left.
- The door stays locked — The lock holds while there is water in the tub, which is the machine behaving correctly.
- A straining or humming noise during the drain phase — A pump trying to move water against a blockage.
- NEAR MISS: water backing up into a nearby sink during the drain — That is a blocked household waste rather than a washer fault, and it needs a plumber.
Causes, most likely first on this appliance
- The drain filter is blocked — Coins, hairgrips, buttons and lint collect in the filter in front of the pump. Ranked first on Danby: a compact or portable washer is light and often connected temporarily, so how it stands and how it is plumbed outrank anything inside the cabinet, and this line spans bar cabinets to apartment units, all of them designed to go where a full-size appliance would not.
- A blocked standpipe or waste connection — The machine is draining and the house is not accepting it. Ranked second: it ranks here because it is common enough to be worth checking, but only once the free checks above are clean.
- A kinked or blocked drain hose — The hose behind the machine gets crushed when the machine is pushed back, and it collects soap and lint over time. Ranked third: it is in the middle of the list because it is cheap to rule out and expensive to assume.
- The drain pump itself — An impeller jammed by a coin, or a pump that has failed. Ranked last: it is last because on an appliance this size the major components outlive everything around them, and replacing one often costs more than the appliance is worth.
Check in this order, and why
- Open the filter door and see what comes out — A filter packed with debris explains a failed drain immediately, and clearing it is often the entire fix.
- Watch a nearby sink while the machine drains — Water rising in the sink names the household waste rather than the machine, and that is a plumber.
- Pull the machine forward and look at the hose run — A crushed elbow behind the machine explains a drain that failed the day the machine was moved.
What an owner can safely check
- Drain the machine at the filter and clear it completely — Switch off, put towels and a shallow tray down, open the filter slowly to release the water in stages, clear the debris and close it fully.
Tools: shallow tray, towelsAbout 40 min
- Check whether a nearby sink backs up while the machine drains — Run the drain and watch the sink.
About 20 min
- STOP HERE if the next step needs a meter on live terminals or a panel off — That is where an owner check ends and a service call begins.
Before you open anything
Safety
Switch the machine off at its breaker before opening the filter door or moving the machine, and keep it off while your hands are inside. Open the filter slowly, in stages, with towels and a shallow tray in place: there can be a drum full of water behind it and it can be hot. Never force a locked door on a full machine, because the lock is the only thing keeping the water in the tub.
When to call a technician
Call once the filter, the hose, the standpipe and the hose height are all proven clear and water still stands in the drum, because what is left is the pump or the control. Call a plumber instead if a nearby sink backs up during the drain, because the machine cannot empty into a blocked waste.
Nearest pages of this class
What this page does not cover
This page covers the Danby washer as a class, not one model or production run. Any family- or model-specific page for your unit takes precedence over it. Not here: the pump and filter part numbers, and the drain height specified for your specific installation.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
