I have a front load washer in my laundry room the drain hose runs to a pipe that is on an outside wall, that leads to the drain pipes. We have had temperatures in the low teens for the past 4 days. Tonight I decided to do a load of laundry, and the water will go into the washer, but it won't spin out or drain. Could ice in the drainpipe cause this?

Do you have a drain in that area, like a floor drain - or perhaps a laundry tub? (what location do you live in)

You would have had an over flow at the stand pipe if you had frozen water. You can check this by taking the hose out of the stand pipe and turning on the spin cycle (the part of which the water usually exits the washer) Just turn it on long enough to see if the water is actully draining as it should.

This can be also be a problem with the washer. Post back and keep us posted.

It could be the washer or the drain pipe... depends on how things are hooked together... ;)

Remove the washing machine hose and pour warm water down the drain... if water flows then you will want to run the washer without the hose in place and see if the hose drains.

If you are frozen at this time then you may want to consider heating the inner wall using ahair dryer (to start). Here, if necessary, open a small hole in the wall close to the floor and then use a hair dryer to begin warming trhe inside of the wall cavity. Run the hair dryer periodically so you don't end up burning the dryer element out.

After a few shots at thawing the pipes you should try to run the washer again... use HOT water only here. You could also pour some very hot water (not boiling water) into the washing machine drain pipe. This combined with the hair dryer should get you up and running.

If it doesn't then you may need to open a larger hole in the wall and allow the warm air in the room warm the pipes up overnight.

Let us know how you make out or if you want to discuss this... O.K.?

MARK

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Thank you for your assistance... I discovered the water wasn't draining well in the deep sink next to the washer. I ran hot water in it and broke up whatever ice was blocking that, then tried running the "drain and spin" cycle on the washer. It worked. I am going to try a regular load now... thank you again!