--- title: "Washer will not drain" description: "Kenmore washer will not drain — this is the symptom where the decode earns its keep most visibly." url: "https://kenmoremiami.support/symptoms/washer-will-not-drain/" date_modified: "2026-09-01" Appliance type: "Washers" --- # Kenmore washer will not drain ### The filter behind the little door On an LG-built front-loader there is a drain pump filter behind a small panel at the bottom front of the machine. Put a shallow tray and a towel down, open it, and clear whatever is in there. It is the intended maintenance point, it is designed to be opened by hand, and on this symptom it is the answer a great deal of the time. ### What it usually means, by the company that built it Kenmore manufactures nothing, so the same behavior points at different things depending on who made the appliance. The three digits before the period on the rating plate are what tells them apart. - **110 Whirlpool** — Whirlpool calls this a long drain and shows Ld, F9 E1 or drn. Older machines may show nothing at all and simply stop mid-cycle. - **796 LG** — LG's label is WATER OUTLET ERROR and it shows OE, or E03 or E21 on machines with numeric displays. LG front-loaders have a drain pump filter behind a small door at the bottom, and cleaning it is a five-minute job that solves this more often than not. ### Two machines, one badge A Whirlpool-built 110 and an LG-built 796 do not share a drain pump, a filter arrangement, a control or a code table. They are not variants of one washer. That is why the first thing we ask for is the number on the sticker inside the door or lid, and why a repair page that talks about the Kenmore washer as a single machine is talking about nothing in particular. ### Suds are a real cause and an easy one to miss A high-efficiency machine given ordinary detergent, or given three times the right amount of the correct one, fills with foam that the pump cannot move. The machine responds by adding rinses, the cycle stretches, and eventually it gives up with water in the drum. Both manufacturers publish a code for it and both mean the same thing: use less. The drain hose Kinked behind the machine, or pushed too far down the standpipe so it siphons. The pump filter or coin trap A sock, a coin or a hairgrip stops a perfectly good pump. Excessive suds A machine cannot pump foam. Too much detergent produces a drum that will not empty and a cycle that runs forever. The pump itself Tested, including whether it is receiving a signal. A pump getting no signal is a control problem. The house drain A standpipe that backs up is not the washer. It shows itself by overflowing rather than by leaving the drum full. Read the three digits before the period 110 or 796. It decides what the machine was capable of telling you. Was there a code before it stopped On an LG this shortens the visit considerably. Look behind the machine at the hose Kinks and depth into the standpipe, both free to correct. Open the pump filter if there is one Front-loaders mostly have one. Have a towel ready. The cycle ended and the drum is still full What it usually means 110 stops quietly, 796 usually says why The filter or coin trap comes before the pump The pump is blamed far more often than it fails The filter behind the little door On an LG-built front-loader there is a drain pump filter behind a small panel at the bottom front of the machine. Put a shallow tray and a towel down, open it, and clear whatever is in there. It is the intended maintenance point, it is designed to be opened by hand, and on this symptom it is the answer a great deal of the time. What it usually means, by the company that built it Kenmore manufactures nothing, so the same behavior points at different things depending on who made the appliance. The three digits before the period on the rating plate are what tells them apart. 110 Whirlpool — Whirlpool calls this a long drain and shows Ld, F9 E1 or drn. Older machines may show nothing at all and simply stop mid-cycle. 796 LG — LG's label is WATER OUTLET ERROR and it shows OE, or E03 or E21 on machines with numeric displays. LG front-loaders have a drain pump filter behind a small door at the bottom, and cleaning it is a five-minute job that solves this more often than not. Two machines, one badge A Whirlpool-built 110 and an LG-built 796 do not share a drain pump, a filter arrangement, a control or a code table. They are not variants of one washer. That is why the first thing we ask for is the number on the sticker inside the door or lid, and why a repair page that talks about the Kenmore washer as a single machine is talking about nothing in particular. Suds are a real cause and an easy one to miss A high-efficiency machine given ordinary detergent, or given three times the right amount of the correct one, fills with foam that the pump cannot move. The machine responds by adding rinses, the cycle stretches, and eventually it gives up with water in the drum. Both manufacturers publish a code for it and both mean the same thing: use less. ### Can I get the water out myself? On a front-loader, yes — the pump filter door doubles as a drain, with a tray under it. On a top-loader it is usually easier to wait for the visit. ### It drains sometimes and not others. Intermittent points at a partial blockage or at suds rather than at a dead pump. ### Do I need a new pump? Probably not. On this symptom the pump is the last thing we test and it is the answer a minority of the time. --- **[Read full article: Washer will not drain](https://kenmoremiami.support/symptoms/washer-will-not-drain/)**