Common Problems
Every symptom covered on this site, grouped by appliance. Pick the one that matches what your appliance is actually doing.
Dryers
- Dryer Smells Like Burning: When to Stop Using It A burning smell from a dryer can come from lint, a slipping belt, an overheating motor or an electrical fault. Stop the cycle and identify the clue first.
- Dryer Drum Not Turning: How to Narrow Down the Cause If the dryer powers on but the drum will not turn, use hand resistance, sound and load behavior to separate a belt problem from rollers or motor trouble.
- Dryer Making a Grinding Noise: What to Check Grinding from a dryer can mean an object is rubbing or a drum-support part is worn. Stop guessing and use when the sound happens to narrow the cause.
- Dryer Keeps Running: Why the Cycle Will Not End If your dryer keeps running, first separate normal wrinkle-control tumbling from a sensor cycle that never reaches dry or a timer/control problem.
- Dryer Not Heating but Still Running: How to Find the Cause Your dryer tumbles but clothes come out cold. Here is how to tell whether it is airflow, a blown thermal fuse, a failed heating element or gas ignition.
- Dryer Overheating: Why It Gets Too Hot A dryer that feels excessively hot usually has an airflow problem. Check the lint filter, vent and load before looking at internal controls.
- Dryer Shuts Off Mid-Cycle: What to Check First If your dryer stops before the cycle ends, check airflow, load size, power and overheating symptoms before assuming a control has failed.
- Dryer Squeaking: What the Sound Can Tell You A dryer squeak can come from drum supports, a pulley, a small trapped object or simple cabinet vibration. Use the timing of the sound to narrow it down.
- Dryer Takes Too Long to Dry: Why Cycles Keep Running Long Loads that need two or three cycles usually point at airflow, not a broken heater. Here is how to find the restriction and confirm you fixed it.
- Dryer Keeps Tripping the Breaker: What to Do A dryer that repeatedly trips its breaker should not be reset over and over. Rule out an overloaded circuit and visible damage, then stop for diagnosis.
- Dryer Won't Start: How to Narrow It Down Fast Nothing happens when you press start, or the dryer hums without turning. Work through power, the door switch and the start button in the right order.
Washers
- Washer Door Won't Unlock: Safe Checks to Try If a front-load washer door stays locked, check for water in the drum, let the cycle end fully and solve any drain problem before forcing the door.
- Washer Fills With Water but Won't Wash If the washer fills but the clothes never begin washing, check the lid or door, load and cycle first, then listen for drive-system clues.
- Washer Leaking Water: Find Where It Starts A washer leak is easier to diagnose if you find when and where the water appears. Check hoses, detergent, the door area and the drain path first.
- Washer Making a Loud Noise: Use the Sound to Narrow It Down Banging, grinding, rattling and humming point to different washer problems. Check the load, drum and drain stage before assuming a major part failed.
- Washer Shaking Violently: What to Check First A washer that bangs or walks across the floor is often dealing with an unbalanced load, poor leveling or a setup problem before an internal failure.
- Washer Smells Bad: Where the Odor Usually Hides A musty washer usually needs residue removed from damp areas such as the door seal, detergent dispenser, filter area and drum rather than perfume.
- Washer Stops Mid-Cycle: How to Narrow It Down A washer that stops during a cycle may be waiting on drainage, dealing with an unbalanced load, losing power or failing a door or lid check.
- Washer Stuck on Sensing: What to Check If a washer stays on Sensing and never moves on, check the load, water supply, door or lid and simple cycle conditions before internal diagnosis.
- Washer Won't Drain: Finding the Blockage Water still standing in the tub at the end of a cycle almost always means something is blocking the drain path. Here is where to look, in order.
- Washer Won't Fill With Water: What to Check If the washer starts but no water enters, check the faucets, inlet hoses, door or lid status and cycle settings before assuming a valve has failed.
- Washer Won't Spin: Load Balance, Draining and Lids Clothes come out soaked because the spin never happened. Start with load balance and draining, because those explain most cases before any part has failed.
Refrigerators
- Refrigerator Door Not Closing: Blocked, Tilted or Sagging? A door that will not shut and a door that shuts without sealing are different problems. Check what is in the way, then how the appliance sits, then the gasket.
- Refrigerator Fan Not Running: Which Fan Do You Mean? Most refrigerators have an evaporator fan inside and a condenser fan near the compressor. Identify which one you are listening for before judging it dead.
- Freezer Cold but Fridge Warm: The Cold Is Not Arriving A cold freezer with a warm fresh-food section often points to airflow or defrost, though not only those. Start with vents, fan behavior and frost pattern.
- Refrigerator Frost Buildup: Where Is the Frost? Frost on the packages, frost on the freezer back wall, and frost around the door opening have three different causes. Location tells you which one you have.
- Ice Maker Not Working: Water, Temperature and Jams An ice maker that stopped producing usually has no water reaching it, a freezer that is not cold enough, or ice jammed in the mold or the chute.
- Refrigerator Leaking Water: Where It Comes From Water on the floor or under the crisper drawers usually traces back to a blocked defrost drain, the water line, or a door that is not sealing properly.
- Refrigerator Making Noise: Identify the Sound First Buzzing, clicking, rattling and gurgling come from different parts, and several of them are normal. Describe the sound precisely and the list gets very short.
- Refrigerator Not Cooling: Airflow, Defrost and Coils A fridge that is warm but running usually has an airflow or defrost problem rather than a dead compressor. Here is how to tell which, and what to check.
- Refrigerator Running Constantly: Is That Even a Fault? Many modern refrigerators run for long periods by design. Before chasing a fault, check whether the temperatures are right and what changed recently.
- Refrigerator Water Dispenser Not Working: No Flow or Slow? Nothing at all and a weak trickle mean different things. A new filter, a frozen line in the door and a half-closed valve each have their own signature.
Dishwashers
- Dishwasher Pod Not Dissolving: What to Check First An intact pod in a closed cup, a half-dissolved pod and an empty cup mean different things. Use the dispenser, spray and water temperature to narrow it down.
- Dishwasher Not Drying: Rinse Aid, Cycle or Heat? Wet plastics while glass and ceramic are dry is often normal. If the whole load stays wet, check rinse aid, cycle options, loading and final-rinse heat.
- Dishwasher Leaking: When the Water Appears Matters A leak while filling, while draining, or steadily through the wash points at different parts. Timing narrows it down faster than hunting for the drip.
- Dishwasher Not Cleaning: Read the Pattern on the Dishes Which rack came out dirty, what the soil looks like and whether the detergent dissolved can help narrow loading, water temperature, filtration or circulation.
- Dishwasher Not Filling With Water: Trace the Supply No water at all, a slow fill, or water that seems to disappear point in different directions: supply, restriction, sensing, or drain-hose installation.
- Dishwasher Won't Drain: Filter, Hose and Disposal Standing water at the bottom of the tub is usually a blocked filter, a drain hose problem, or a garbage disposal knockout plug that was never removed.
- Dishwasher Won't Start: Dead Panel or Live Panel? Whether the panel lights up at all splits this in two: power and wiring on one side, the door latch, control lock or an accidental delay on the other.
Ranges & Ovens
- Electric Burner Not Heating: One Element or All? One dead element and a whole cooktop that stays cold are different faults. Coil and smooth-top ranges also fail in different ways, so start by identifying both.
- Gas Burner Keeps Clicking: When Does It Click? Clicking after lighting, clicking from several burners, and clicking with every knob off have different explanations. Moisture is one common cause.
- Gas Burner Won't Light: Safety First, Then One or All If you smell gas, leave and call from outside. Otherwise the useful question is whether one burner fails or all of them, and whether the igniter clicks at all.
- Oven Not Heating Evenly: Hot Spots and Bad Bakes One side browns faster, cakes come out lopsided, or everything burns on the bottom. Most uneven baking traces to calibration, racks or the door seal.
- Range Has No Power: What Exactly Is Dead? Everything dead, the oven dead while the cooktop works, or the clock alive with no heat are three different faults. What still works narrows it down fast.
- Oven Not Heating: Rule Out the Settings First Several modes stop an oven heating without anything being broken. Clear those, then follow the electric or gas branch depending on what your range actually is.
- Oven Not Reaching Temperature: Test It the Right Way Do not diagnose an oven from one thermometer reading. Check preheat, bakeware, power, door sealing and the model's own calibration procedure first.