The short answer
When a Panda washer will not drain, the usual cause is the drain hose higher than the machine can lift water, and on this platform it is far more often the route the water takes than the pump that moves it. This is a portable automatic machine: one tub, a faucet adapter at the tap and a drain hose into a sink, and that is what sets the order below. These are set up beside a kitchen sink in an apartment, connected for each wash and put away again afterwards.
What you observe
- Water standing in the tub at the end of the cycle — The complaint in its plainest form.
- It drains slowly rather than not at all — Slow and stopped have different causes; note which you have.
- The pump hums with no water moving — Something is stopping the flow rather than the pump failing.
- The tub empties while it should still be washing — The opposite fault, and it comes from the same hose.
- NEAR MISS — water is on the floor rather than in the tub — That is a leak, and the leak page for this appliance is the right one.
Causes, most likely first on this platform
- The drain hose higher than the machine can lift water — First on a portable, and it is a design constraint rather than a defect: these machines drain by gravity or with a very small pump, and a hose hooked over a tall sink or run up a wall simply will not empty. Anything handled that often wears out first, which is why this heads a list that would look different on a plumbed machine.
- The pump filter or lint trap loaded — Ranked immediately after the routing because it is the most common physical blockage and the easiest to clear: hair, lint, a coin or a hair grip collects at the filter and the flow drops to nothing over a few weeks.
- A kinked or crushed hose — A machine pushed back against a wall traps its own hose.
- A blocked standpipe or sink downstream — The machine may be innocent.
Check in this order, and why
- First: lay the drain hose low and run the drain step again — It tests the top-ranked cause without tools, and on this platform it is usually the whole answer. On a machine connected and disconnected for every wash, start with what gets handled most.
- Second: open the filter cover and clear the trap — Second because it is the most common physical blockage and it is designed to be opened by the owner.
- Third: pull the machine out and follow the hose along its whole length — A crush point is never at the end you can see.
What an owner can safely check
- Lay the drain hose low and run the drain step again — On this platform the routing decides whether the water can leave at all, and this is usually the whole answer.
About 15 min
- Open the filter cover and clear the trap — Put a shallow tray and a towel down first — there is more water behind it than people expect.
Tools: shallow tray, towelsAbout 20 min
- Pull the machine out and follow the hose along its whole length — A crush point is never at the end you can see.
Tools: flashlightAbout 15 min
- STOP HERE before removing the pump — Bail the tub out first if you must move the machine, and hand it over rather than opening the cabinet.
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the machine before you open any cover — mains wiring and standing water share the inside of this cabinet. Bail the tub out before you tip or move it, both because the water will go over the floor and because a full machine is far heavier than it looks. Never run it with a cover off to watch what happens, and keep the drain hose secured before every spin rather than after the first flood.
When to call a technician
Call once the hose is low and unkinked, the filter is clear and the household drain runs freely. Bail the tub out before anyone moves the machine.
Nearest pages of this class
What this page does not cover
Read this as the class-level answer. It stops short of anything that changes model to model — connector pinouts, electrical test values, the sequence for pulling a panel and all part numbers — because getting those wrong is expensive. A family or model page, where one exists, is linked among the siblings and takes precedence over this page.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
