This is one of the most-searched washer questions, and the honest answer depends on which kind you have. On a front-load washer there is a filter you should be cleaning every couple of months. On most top-load washers there is not one you can get to at all. Here is where to look on each, how to clean it without soaking the floor, and why a clogged one is behind so many drain and smell complaints.
Front-load washers: the drain pump filter
On a front-load washer, the filter you want is the drain pump filter, sometimes called the coin trap. It is the screen that catches everything that washes off your clothes before it can jam the pump: coins, hairpins, lint, the occasional sock corner.
You will find it behind a small access door at the bottom front of the machine, usually in a lower corner. Pop that door open with a coin or a flat tool. Inside you will see a round cap, the filter itself, and on most models a short hose or spout tucked beside it.
That hose matters, because the drum holds water that drains through this filter. Before you unscrew anything:
- Put a shallow pan and some towels under the access door.
- Pull out the small drain hose, take off its cap, and let the water run into the pan. Expect a couple of liters. Re-cap and empty the pan as needed.
- Once the water stops, unscrew the round filter cap slowly, the last cupful always comes with it.
- Pull the filter, clear the lint and debris, rinse it, and check the empty housing for anything stuck in the impeller you can now see.
- Screw it back in snug, re-seat the drain hose, and close the door.
Skip step two and you get a small flood, so do not skip step two.
Top-load washers: usually no filter to clean
Most standard top-load washers do not have a removable filter. The pump moves lint and debris straight out with the drain water, so there is nothing for you to pull and rinse. If a top-loader is draining slowly and you cannot find a filter, you are not missing it. The pump or the drain hose is the suspect.
Two exceptions are worth checking. Some older agitator top-loaders have a lint filter in the top of the agitator post that lifts out. And many newer high-efficiency top-load washers borrow the front-loader design, with a drain pump filter behind a lower front panel. If your top-loader is an HE model, look low on the front for the same little access door.
Why the filter is worth finding
A clogged drain filter is one of the most common reasons a washer will not drain, leaves the clothes sitting in water, or flashes a drain error. It is also a quiet cause of smell. Lint and water trapped at the filter go sour, and people replace a door gasket or run cleaning cycles when a two-minute filter clean would have done it. On a front-loader, putting this on a one-to-three-month schedule prevents most no-drain calls outright.
When to call a pro
If the filter is clean and the washer still will not drain, the problem is downstream: the pump itself, a kinked or clogged drain hose, or the control that runs the pump. If you have a top-loader with no accessible filter and a slow or dead drain, that is a service call rather than a cleaning. Those need the machine opened and the pump tested, which is quick work for a tech and a wet mess for a guess.
This is part of our laundry repair service. If your washer will not drain even with a clean filter, see our guide on a washer that will not drain, and if the smell is the real complaint, our notes on front-load washer mold and odor.
Book a washer repair
ADRIUM Service Solutions has worked Tri-Valley appliances since 2021. Licensed CSLB #1136642, EPA #1279674151528, BEAR #50788, A+ with the BBB. The $75 diagnostic credits toward the repair, with a written estimate before any work.
Call (925) 999-4095 or email [email protected], or book online.