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Symptom guide / washing machine
washing machine: a tub full of standing water at the end of the cycle
Standing water in a washing machine is one free filter check away from being no repair at all, which is why the order of the checks matters more than the price list. The visit is what the money goes on here: $80–$130 [S4] covers the diagnostic alone, and only 4 of the 6 causes on this page need a part at all. The complaint is a tub full of standing water at the end of the cycle, described as standing water in the drum after the cycle, washer won't drain, tub full of water at the end or hums but doesn't drain. Clogged drain-pump filter or trap is where to start — no part needed, about 5 minutes [S1].
medium likelihoodadvanced$150–$360 installedabout 90 minn=127 completed jobs[S3]
hums but doesn't drainwasher won't drain
Time basis: not published as a duration. S2 bills labour at $110-175 per hour against a $180-360 job with a $45-130 part, which puts shop time at roughly one to two and a half hours.
the sources publish the pump as an installed job ($150-350 per S1, $180-360 with the part at $45-130 per S2), not as a bare part price for this symptom; no part-only figure is claimed here
medium likelihoodadvanced$140–$320 installedabout 60 minn=14 completed jobs[S3]
washer won't drainhums but doesn't drain
Many machines will not start the drain step until the lid or door is confirmed shut. Time basis: no published duration, book estimate for opening the cabinet and swapping the switch or interlock.
priced by the source as an installed job (top-load lid switch $140-220, front-load door interlock $200-320), so no part-only figure is claimed
low likelihoodadvanced$150–$300 installedabout 60 min
tub full of water at the endstanding water in the drum after the cycle
If the pump runs and water backs up, the blockage is in the building drain and no washer part will fix it. Time basis: no published duration, book estimate.
priced by the source as a drain-clearing service call ($150-300), not as a part
Repair or replace?
The verdict
Repair in almost every case. At a $381 median this is one of the cheaper appliance repairs relative to what a replacement costs, and a drain fault does not mean the machine is worn out generally - a pump is a wear component, not the end of the appliance. The line is the site's usual one: decline a repair that costs more than half the price of a comparable new machine, and past eight to ten years treat a pump plus a second part as the point where replacement starts to win. [S4]
drain pump replaced, on the publisher's own drain page, from a second published dataset: $376 median, middle half $337–$435 [S4] — n=193 completed jobs[S4]
complete pump assembly replaced, from a second published dataset: $372 median, middle half $328–$433 [S4] — n=212 completed jobs[S4]
drive motor replaced, from a second published dataset: $398 median, middle half $348–$456 [S4] — n=43 completed jobs[S4]
all washer repairs by the same publisher, for comparison, from a second published dataset: $370 median, middle half $310–$430 [S4] — n=4763 completed jobs[S4]
Samsung machines, same fault, from a second published dataset: $390 median — the source publishes no middle half for this row [S4]
GE machines, same fault, from a second published dataset: $409 median — the source publishes no middle half for this row [S4]
LG machines, same fault, from a second published dataset: $396 median — the source publishes no middle half for this row [S4]
The $381 band is 674 completed drain repairs inside the 4,763 washer jobs that publisher finished. The same publisher's other washer cut of 3,350 jobs prices the overall repair at a $365 median and the drain pump at $374 across 127 jobs, and those two sit beside this page's band rather than inside it.
With mid-range machines at $700-1,100 in 2026, the half-price ceiling lands around $350-550, so a $320-442 drain repair sits below it at any age. S4's own warning is worth more than the arithmetic: do not run the cycle again to see whether it clears, because a pump straining against a blockage overheats, and an overheated pump that would have been freed in ten minutes becomes a pump that has to be replaced.
S1 puts the life of a replacement machine at 10-13 years; the decision below uses the low end of that range
Have a quote?
Put your quote and the age of the unit into the calculator — the same half-of-new-price rule, with your own numbers.
standing water in the drum after the cycletub full of water at the end
The source calls this the number-one reason a front-loader stops draining and puts the filter clean at a five-minute job: open the front access panel, unthread the cap over a shallow pan, clear the coins and lint, reseat it.
washer won't drainstanding water in the drum after the cycle
Straighten the hose behind the machine and check it is not shoved too far down the standpipe, which can siphon. Time basis: no duration is published for this step; the 20 minutes is a book estimate for pulling the machine out and checking the hose.
hums but doesn't drainstanding water in the drum after the cycle
A bra wire or a coin that got past the filter stops the impeller; clearing it is free, while the same call handed to a technician runs about $150. Time basis: no published duration, book estimate.
What each fix costs
Cause
Cost
Time
DIY?
clogged drain-pump filter or trap
no part needed
5 min
easy
kinked or clogged drain hose
$0–$20 part
20 min
easy
object jammed in the pump impeller
no part needed
30 min
easy
broken lid switch or door lock
$140–$320 installed
60 min
advanced
failed drain pump
$150–$360 installed
90 min
advanced
clogged house standpipe or building drain
$150–$300 installed
60 min
advanced
A technician visit starts with a diagnostic fee of $80–$130 [S4]. Completed repairs run $320–$442 [S4].
Sources
[S1]OnOtto (home maintenance guides; page updated August 2026) (2026-08). ranked causes with likelihood and typical cost, the five-minute filter clean, the $150-350 installed pump, lid switch $20-150, standpipe $150-300, 10-13 year replacement life, the safety handling of standing water
[S2]FlexFul Appliance Repair (Chicagoland) (2025-10-19). 2026 installed price ranges (drain pump $180-360, lid switch $140-220, door interlock $200-320), $80-130 diagnostic, $110-175/hour labour, the half-of-new-price rule, mid-range machines $700-1,100
[S3]Bozmanfix (first-party records from 3,350 completed washer jobs; page published 2026) (2026). the 3,350 completed washer repairs behind the dataset, a $365 median washer repair with the middle half of jobs between $310 and $430, the $99 diagnostic applied to the repair, and the per-part medians with their job counts: a drain pump at $374 across 127 jobs, a water inlet valve at $362 across 104, a control board at $439 across 112, a door seal or boot at $406 across 62, a drive belt at $327 across 38, a motor at $384 across 23 and a door latch at $390 across 14. Also the rule that no figure with fewer than ten jobs behind it is published, and the note that a drain pump retailing around $45 arrives at $374 on the invoice once the visit, the diagnosis, the disassembly and the warranty are counted
[S4]Bozmanfix (first-party records from 674 completed drain repairs within 4,763 washer jobs; page published 7 September 2026) (2026-09-07). the exact-symptom dataset: 674 completed drain repairs, a $381 median invoice with the middle half of jobs between $320 and $442, and the comparison that a drain repair costs $11 more than the $370 median for any washer repair across 4,763 jobs. Per-part rows with their counts: drain pump $376 across 193 jobs (middle half $337-435), complete pump assembly $372 across 212 ($328-433), drive motor $398 across 43 ($348-456). Per-brand rows with counts: Samsung $390/119, GE $409/99, LG $396/94, Whirlpool $365/56, Maytag $355/44, Kenmore $384/22. Also the $99 service call applied to the repair on approval, the rule that part and brand rows appear only above a minimum count and that drain repairs with no part replaced are not shown as a part line, the four routes a drain fault takes (the pump has failed, something is blocking the pump, the filter or hose is packed, the control or pressure switch misreads), the front-load filter behind the base access panel against the top-load design that often has no user-accessible filter at all, the note that an older top loader whose pump runs off the main motor through a coupler can put a drain failure into the motor or coupler instead, the warning not to re-run the cycle against a blockage, the four things that shorten pump life (coins, bra wires, excess detergent, cold-only washing), and the mechanism that a machine will not spin while water is in the drum, so a drain fault gets reported as a spin fault
Last verified: 2026-09-19. Prices are US market figures from the sources above; your quote may differ.
Built from a fact record, not from a template: every number above is tied to one of the sources and the record is re-checked against them. Editorial choices (which symptom leads, which cause is the single tell) are kept in a separate block so the facts stay auditable.
Quick answers
How much does it cost to fix a washing machine with this problem?
Completed repairs run $320–$442 according to the sources cited on this page, after a diagnostic fee of $80–$130.
How long does a washing machine last?
The decision rule used on this page works from a planning life of 10 years.
Repair or replace?
Repair in almost every case. At a $381 median this is one of the cheaper appliance repairs relative to what a replacement costs, and a drain fault does not mean the machine is worn out generally - a pump is a wear component, not the end of the appliance. The line is the site's usual one: decline a repair that costs more than half the price of a comparable new machine, and past eight to ten years treat a pump plus a second part as the point where replacement starts to win.
