Clogged Washing Machine Filters

Have you ever turned the temperature selector switch on your clothes washer from hot to warm while it was filling and heard a very noticable difference in the sound of running water? Or if you set the washer to hot and only get warm water, you may have clogged filter screens in one or both of the water supply hoses.

You'll find sediment filters inside the hose couplings or sometimes inside the connection of the clothes washer at the mixing valve. Filters are used to protect the mechanism inside the mixing valve. As sediment accumulates in the filter, it first reduces the water pressure, then cuts it off altogether.

This is a common problem with homes on well systems. When you suspect you have clogged filters, disconnect the hoses at the faucet and at the machine, but before you do, make sure to mark which hose is attached to which connection on the back of the machine. Hoses are sometimes marked HOT and COLD, and there's usually an H and C embossed on the back of the machine.

If you don't find filters inside the hose couplings, look inside the machine connection. When you find them, pry them out with the tip of a sharp knife, and clean them off with an old toothbrush under running water.

Before you reinstall the filters, attach the hoses to the faucet and turn the water on full force into a bucket. Let it run for a few seconds to flush out the lines. If the filters are damaged, you can buy replacements in a hardware store.

Another cause of reduced water flow into a washing machine is kinked hoses, so when you go to push the machine back in place make sure the hoses don't get pinched.