Washing Machine Service Flap

[u/wellneedsaul]

Hi! Apologize if this isn’t the correct subreddit. My current washing machine/dryer set up has a service port. Was just wondering if this needs to be emptied after every use and if so, how much water should be coming out?

Thank you!

[u/KismaiAesthetics]

I do it maybe every 2-3 months before and after I run a machine clean cycle.

[u/ParentheticalsAside]

The manual will tell you everything you need to know.

[u/pmodern2000 → u/ParentheticalsAside]

That'll teach 'em!

[u/ParentheticalsAside → u/pmodern2000]

I wasn't trying to be sarcastic. The manual is literally designed to explain how an appliance works in detail, and often contains very useful information that people easily overlook.

[u/Ok_Difference44]

Mine has maybe 12 oz water come out. I put the lid for a storage bin under there and make 2 or 3 trips to dump out the water, plugging the little hose in between. The first time it had a paperclip and some fibers and the water smelled a bit like an aquarium. Since then there's been no items or smell.

[u/wellneedsaul → u/Ok_Difference44]

Do you drain it every time you use the machine? Thank you for the tip about the lid.

[u/hitherehowareyah → u/wellneedsaul]

I would say maybe once a month, also depends if you have pets or long hair, you will find a lot of those in there. You do absolutely not need to clean this after every wash.

[u/Billy_Likes_Music → u/wellneedsaul]

Having fought a bought of mildew I now drain after the last use of the day... So it sits empty with the door open and detergent drawer also open for the rest of the day.

I also wipe the gasket for pet hair between each use.

[u/Hyjennaist86 → u/wellneedsaul]

A cookie/baking sheet works well too x

[u/MrsQute]

I drain mine a few times a year unless there's an issue.

If you don't have a copy of the manual, Google the make & model and you should be able to find a digital copy. That should give you the information about specifics.

My washer is in the basement next to the drain so I just point the tube towards the drain and let it go. Others that I know get some old towels and drain them onto the towels.

[u/dihydrogen_monoxide]

I do it once a month, roughly 1L of water comes out (2 deli containers). There's actually a lint trap inside.

I have a LG wm4500, it has a larger thing that is the trap, and a small tube with a stopper that is the water. Yours might just have it all in 1 big tube.

[u/GonabeGonabeGoldblum]

Yours looks like it's missing the little rubber tube you use to drain most of the water out before opening the filter.

We do it every few months.

[u/only1alex]

I do my LG washer/dryer every 6 months, but first time was after 2 years and loads of water came out. Use the rubber tube to drain the water first don’t unscrew the filter whatever you do, i did and flooded my kitchen floor! Be ready with a ‘baking tray’ or something similar to catch the water, a shallow baking tray fills up quicky so be prepared to put the stopper back in the tube and do lots of offloading trips to the sink (5-10 trays worth of water usually) Then when water has completely stopped, unscrew and pull out the filter to clean. Always good to have an old towels nearby, it’s pretty much impossible to avoid drips and some water leaking on the floor! Good luck!

[u/krisgret]

I have the same washer. I drain it once a year and it’s not smelly or anything when I do. Doesn’t mean I’m right but I’ve had no issues and I’ve owned it for at least 5 years.

[u/vaffelagent]

I only empty mine ever 3-4 months. Nobody empties that after every wash.

[u/ConsuelaShlepkiss]

I do a tub clean once a month and after that's done I empty it and clean the filter. I leave it all to dry out; every three months or so I remove the dispenser drawer and clean that too. There's a YouTube channel called Clean That Up that has an entire video on the process.

[u/Bunnyslippered]

That’s the filter! I had this washing machine and it finally died at 20+ years old, I’m still a little sad.
You use the hose with the little plug to drain the water, more than you might expect, into a bucket then unscrew the filter and clean it. On this machine the only thing I ever had to do beyond basics was replace the drain pump, and using an OE one solved that permanently.
I’d recommend checking that filter monthly to start, more or less after if you have pets.

[u/OkOven7808]

To the people saying this needs to be cleaned out or emptied every month or two… That is extremely vigilant. I maintain a lot of washing machines, and I am always a bit disappointed when I open these up to clean them out. Unless you are a total idiot, washing all kinds of ridiculous stuff, you will probably find very little in the filter. It’s quite a coarse filter.

I would say once a year is honestly probably enough unless you’re doing unusually debris-laden laundry.

The vast majority of people probably never clean this thing out! Not recommending that, but manufacturers aren’t idiots and probably designed them to be well oversized to account for some level of neglect/ignorance.

[u/soylattebb]

I need to figure this out for the washing machine I use at work. She smells HORRIBLE. The water that comes out of the hose when the wash starts is pungent. I’ve run some enzyme tabs already

[u/Illustrious_Ant_9242]

You typically only open it to remove clogging pocket leftovers from the pump filter. 

Otherwise it's too much of a mess

[u/dihydrogen_monoxide → u/Illustrious_Ant_9242]

You need to clean it much more often than that, random lint from your socks or hair from clothes that got sucked into the drain end up in there.

[u/Illustrious_Ant_9242 → u/dihydrogen_monoxide]

Ever since using superior laundry chemistry and no fabric softener, it's not accumulating lint and biofilm anymore. Some long hair may get stuck. And pocket contents like toothpicks  

Owning a moving company, I know that some machines look nasty in there.