Washer Making a Loud Noise: What It Is and What It Costs

What's actually happening

A washer makes noise because something that should turn smoothly no longer does, or because something that should stay put is moving. The useful thing about this fault is that the sound tells you which, and the difference matters more here than on almost any other appliance repair: a rattle is usually a coin in the pump and costs nothing to fix, while a grinding roar on spin is usually the drum bearing, and on most modern washers the bearing is part of the outer tub — a repair that on a machine past about ten years costs more than the machine is worth. Work out which sound you have before anyone quotes you.

Check these first — they're free

1. Empty the pump filter. Bottom front on most front-loaders, behind a small panel. Have a tray and towels ready — there is usually a litre of water. Coins, buttons and hairpins collect here, and this single check ends a fair share of noise complaints at no cost.
2. Push down on each corner. All four feet should sit solid with no rock at all. If it moves, adjust the feet until it does not and tighten the lock nuts. Then run a spin and listen again — this is the cheapest repair on the list and one of the most common.
3. Spin the empty drum and listen. Nothing in the machine, spin-only cycle. A rattle that disappears means it was the laundry or something loose. A rumble or grind that is still there with an empty drum is mechanical, and the noise it makes tells us which part.
4. On a new machine, check the shipping bolts. A recently delivered front-loader that bangs violently on its first spin almost always still has the transit bolts in the back panel. They hold the drum rigid for shipping and must come out before use.

What causes it, most likely first

Something loose in the drum or the pump filter (most common, you can fix this yourself)

A coin, a button, an underwire or a hairpin. It rattles against the drum on tumble and clatters loudly on spin. This is the best outcome and the first thing to rule out, because it is free and it accounts for a large share of noise calls.

The machine is not level, or is walking (most common, you can fix this yourself)

A washer that rocks on its feet knocks against the cabinet or the wall at spin speed. It sounds alarming and is nothing more than an adjustment — but left alone the movement wears the parts that turn it into a real fault.

Worn shock absorbers or suspension rods (common)

The dampers that control drum movement lose their damping, and the drum then swings and bangs on every spin. Common on machines installed tight in a closet with no room around them. This is the fault worth catching early, because a swinging drum is what kills the bearing behind it.

Drum bearing (common)

A rumbling or grinding roar that rises with spin speed, like a plane taking off. On most modern washers the bearing is pressed into the outer tub, so replacing it means replacing the tub. On a machine past roughly ten years that is usually the point at which replacing the washer makes better sense, and we will say so rather than quote it and let you find out.

Drive belt or motor coupling (less common)

A squeal on start-up, or a motor that runs while the drum barely turns. On top-loaders the motor coupling is a deliberately sacrificial part — it is meant to fail before the motor does — and it is inexpensive.

When to call a technician

Call when the noise is still there with an empty, level drum. That narrows it to the suspension, the bearing or the drive, and those are the three that need parts. Worth calling sooner rather than later if the sound is a bang on every spin: worn dampers let the drum swing, and that movement is what destroys the bearing behind them. Catching it at the damper stage is a moderate repair; catching it at the bearing stage often is not a repair at all.

How long can it wait? A rattle can wait. A bang on every spin should not, because the damage it does is cumulative and moves the fault from a part that is worth replacing to one that usually is not. A grinding roar that has already arrived means the bearing is going, and continuing to run it risks the drum seizing mid-cycle with a full load of wet laundry inside.

What it costs

If you fix it yourself: $0 (clearing the pump filter, levelling the machine, removing transit bolts).

Professional repair: A fixed price after diagnosis, agreed before any work starts; the diagnostic fee is applied to the repair when you approve it.

See local washer repair cost data

Frequently asked questions

My washer sounds like a jet engine on spin. What is that?

That rising roar, getting louder as the spin speeds up, is the classic drum bearing sound. It is worth knowing before you call anyone that on most modern washers the bearing is pressed into the outer tub, so the repair means replacing the tub assembly, one of the most expensive repairs a washer can need. On a machine under about eight years old with no other problems that can be worth doing; past ten it rarely is, and we would rather tell you that than sell you the repair.

It only makes noise on spin, not on wash. Does that narrow it down?

Considerably. Wash tumbles slowly and spin runs many times faster, so faults that only show at speed are about balance and rotation — loose objects, worn dampers, or the bearing. Something that grinds at both speeds points instead at the drive: a belt, a coupling or the motor itself.

Is it safe to keep using a noisy washer?

It depends entirely on which noise. A rattle from a coin is harmless while you get round to it. A bang on every spin is not, because the movement causing it wears the bearing and turns an affordable repair into an unaffordable one. A grinding roar means running it risks the drum seizing with a full load of wet laundry inside, which is the worst version of this to be left with.

Why is my washer suddenly loud after I moved it?

Two likely reasons and both are free to check. The feet almost certainly need levelling again on the new floor, and if the machine was moved by a delivery crew, the transit bolts may have been refitted for the move — they hold the drum rigid and produce a violent noise on the first spin if left in.

Codes your machine may be showing

• LG UE / uE — Washer
• Samsung UE / UB — Washer