Appliance Spares
Quick answer: Water under a washing machine is not one fault. Where it appears, and when in the cycle, tells you which part failed. Water at the front while filling points at the door seal; water at the back after the drain step points at the drain hose or its outlet; water underneath during spin points at the pump housing or the tub seal. Put dry paper towel under each area and run a short cycle — the first sheet to get wet is your answer, and it costs nothing.
Last updated August 2026
Find it in ten minutes, before you buy anything
Pull the machine forward, dry the floor completely, and lay sheets of paper towel in four places: under the front door area, under the front-left corner where the pump filter lives, along the back where the hoses connect, and under the middle of the machine. Then run a short cycle and watch.
| Where the water shows, and when | What it usually is | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|
| Front, under the door, while filling or washing | Door seal split or perished, or an object caught in the fold | Door seal diagnosis — replace only if the rubber is torn or hard |
 Back of the machine, at the tap end | Perished hose washer, or a coupling not seated | Hose washer pack — the cheapest fix in the laundry |
 Back, during or just after the drain step | Split drain hose, or a bad connection at the outlet | Universal 2W50382E drain hose outlet |
 Front-left corner, at the filter flap | Filter cap not seated, cracked, or its thread stripped | Drain hose cap — check the cap seal before blaming the pump |
| Underneath, mainly during spin | Pump housing crack, tub-to-pump hose, or the tub seal behind the drum | Pump and hose first; if it’s the tub seal, that’s a bearing job — see below |
 Underneath, only when the drum is full | Overflow or tub-to-panel hose | Tub to back panel overflow hose |
Start with the hoses, because they’re cheap and they’re usually it
Hoses do most of the leaking. They perish, they get kinked when the machine is pushed back into place, and the little rubber washers inside the tap couplings go hard and stop sealing. None of that is expensive, and none of it needs the machine opened up.
Check the washers. Turn the taps off, unscrew the inlet hoses at the tap end and look at the small rubber washer inside each coupling. If it’s flat, cracked or missing, that’s your leak. A pack of four washers costs less than almost anything else in this article.
Check the inlet hose itself. Look for bulges, weeping at the crimps, and green or white crusting around the fittings. A universal cold inlet hose replaces most of them.
Check the drain hose. Look along its whole length for splits, particularly where it bends behind the machine, and at the outlet end where it goes into the standpipe. Drain hose outlets are one of the most cross-badge parts we sell — the same 2W50382E fits an unusually wide spread of machines, including Haier, Euromaid and Stirling. Brand-matched versions are also stocked for Samsung, Simpson, Electrolux, Westinghouse and Hoover and Whirlpool.
Fisher & Paykel front loaders use a specific drain hose, H0020300148, listed by model group — for WH7560, WH8560, WH8060 and WH9060, WH1060 and WH1160.
The standpipe trap
Worth its own section, because it produces a leak that has nothing to do with a faulty part.
If the drain hose is pushed too far down the standpipe, or the standpipe is a tight fit around it, the machine can siphon — water is drawn out of the drum continuously, the machine keeps refilling, and eventually something overflows. If the hose sits too high, or the loop is too tall, the pump can’t lift the water and it backs up.
The hose should hook over into the standpipe with an air gap around it, and the top of the loop should sit roughly at the height the manufacturer specifies, usually somewhere between 60cm and 100cm. If your leak started after the machine was moved, this is the first thing to check.
Front, during fill: the door seal
Water running down the front of the glass and pooling at the door is the door seal. Open the door, pull the fold of rubber back towards you, and run a finger all the way round the bottom third — that’s where coins, hair clips and underwires collect, and where seals wear through.
A split you can see is conclusive. Rubber that has gone hard and no longer springs back is also a replacement. Mould staining on its own is not — that cleans off, and our mould removal guide covers how. The full diagnosis is in washing machine leaking from the door, with brand versions for Bosch and Hisense, and fitment detail in the door seal replacement guide.
Underneath during spin: pump, hose or tub seal
This is the one worth diagnosing carefully, because the three candidates differ enormously in effort.
The pump housing or its hoses. Most likely, and the most approachable. Take the front kick panel off with the machine unplugged, dry everything, and run a spin while you watch. A weep from a hose clamp or a hairline crack in the housing shows itself quickly. Clamps sometimes just need re-seating.
The filter cap. Check the thread and the O-ring on the cap you unscrew to clean the filter. A cracked cap or a perished seal weeps a small amount every cycle and is very often mistaken for a failing pump. Caps are a stocked part.
The tub seal, behind the drum. If water appears from the centre underneath and only under spin, and the machine has also been getting louder, the drum bearings and the lip seal behind them are the likely answer. That is a substantial job — the machine has to come apart — and it is the point at which repair-or-replace becomes a genuine question. Our guide on telling a failed spider from failed bearings covers how to tell, and is it worth repairing a washing machine covers whether to.
Older top loaders have a tub-to-pump hose that perishes and leaks only when the drum is full — the tub-to-pump hose is a stocked part on some of those.
The safety part
Water and electricity in the same cabinet deserves a plain rule: unplug the machine at the wall before you go behind or underneath it, and dry any standing water before you start. If the machine is hard-wired rather than plugged in, or if water has got into the base tray and tripped the safety switch, treat it as a job for a licensed person.
Hoses, washers, filter caps and drain outlets are genuinely low-risk work. Anything requiring the machine to come apart is a bigger commitment, and a leak that has already tripped a safety switch is a signal to stop and get advice.
What the two paths cost
Hose washers, drain hose outlets and filter caps are the cheapest parts in the laundry — typically $10 to $25. A drain pump is commonly $30 to $70. A repairer generally charges $100 to $165 just to attend and diagnose before parts and labour, with a full washing machine repair usually landing between $200 and $450. Given that a large share of leaks turn out to be a hose or a washer, the paper-towel test really is worth the ten minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Q: How do I find where my washing machine is leaking from?
A: Dry the floor, lay paper towel under the door, the filter flap, the back hoses and the middle of the machine, then run a short cycle and watch which sheet wets first. Where and when the water appears identifies the part more reliably than looking for a visible drip.
Q: My machine only leaks during the spin cycle. What does that mean?
A: Spin-only leaks point underneath — the pump housing, a tub-to-pump hose, or the tub seal behind the drum. Take the kick panel off with the machine unplugged and watch a spin. If the machine has also become noisy, suspect the bearings and lip seal.
Q: Water appears at the back after the machine drains. Which part is that?
A: The drain hose or its outlet connection. Check the full length for splits, particularly where it bends behind the machine, and check that the hose isn’t pushed too far down the standpipe, which can cause siphoning.
Q: The leak started right after I moved the machine. Is something broken?
A: Often nothing is. Moving a machine kinks drain hoses, unseats tap couplings and changes how far the hose sits in the standpipe. Check the hose routing, the standpipe height and the tap washers before ordering any part.
Q: Is a leaking washing machine dangerous to keep using?
A: Treat it as a stop-now situation if water is reaching the power lead or the base tray, or if it has tripped the safety switch. Unplug it at the wall, dry the area, and diagnose before running it again.
Bottom line: where and when beats what it looks like. Ten minutes with paper towel usually turns a mystery leak into a named part. Match your model through the part finder, or browse hoses and outlets.
Disclaimer: this article is general information only and is provided without warranty of any kind. Appliance designs vary between models and production runs — always follow the manufacturer’s instructions, switch off and unplug the appliance before starting any work, and confirm parts against the model number on your appliance’s model sticker. Any repair is undertaken at your own risk and Oz Appliance Spares accepts no liability for injury, loss or damage arising from work performed after reading this guide, to the maximum extent permitted by law. If in doubt, use a qualified technician.
