We have a six-year-old high-efficiency washer (Kenmore Elite HE3t, same as the Whirlpool Duet). We have been very fortunate with it, never having the dreaded eternal-mold-growth problem as some friends of ours have. (I religiously keep the door wide open for days after running a load, to let the internals dry out. I also regularly run a sanitize load, to keep the innards less prone to such outbreaks.)
My husband came to bed the other night asking if I heard the washer beeping for the past 20 minutes? (Umm, no, I was in the complete opposite end ofthe house, and I think alseep!). I went to check it out, and found it flashing a F02 code. I'd only seen this a couple of times before, so I clicked the Pause button a couple of times, then Start to let it try again. Usually resolves the problem.
Not this time. Nothing I did could get it to drain the load (removed most of the clothes, unplugged it for 10 minutes then tried a drain/spin cycle, tried different cycles). After two days and no luck, I was ready to call in a repairman. Then my "Can Do" attitude kicked in and I decided to let my fingers walk over to google.
Lo and behold, I found numerous people suggesting how to fix it. And it seemed really straightforward (took me about 30 minutes from start to end of cleanup).
I grabbed our trusty Torx size 20 screwdriver, and removed the three small screws holding the bottom kickplate on the front of the washer. Slid the panel off to view very user-friendly innards (oh, and I wish I'd seen that "disconnect from power before servicing" warning BEFORE I let loose with the water-related project!):
I followed the advice to cover the floor in multiple towels, and glad I did. When I turned that knob ("check the drain pump filter for foreign objects" ), grey water came GUSHING out (ew!). I desperately shoved a towel as far under the washer as I could. The smell was sewer-ish and awful.
I immediately saw why the washer could not drain:
I scrubbed out the drain line (a toothbrush will come in handy here), and tugged to remove the clogged material from the filter. At first I thought the main clogging item was just a bunch of fabric/hair fiber.
Can you tell what it was? Here is a hint:
Sum total of detritus: one small child's sock, several 2"-3" sticks, one straight pin (rusted), melty beads, bits of Floam, several small rocks and sand bits, hair and fiber bits, and pieces of plastic wrappers.
The washer works great now! I distinctly notice the sound of water plunging rapidly down the drain… and wish I could remember how many months (years?) it has been since I've heard that?
And you thought the dryer was eating all those socks!
