Clothes washers have filters on the hot and cold intake water lines to prevent debris in the water line from getting into the washer. Over time these filters can become clogged with sand and sediment and need to be cleaned.
To clean filters on clothes washer water lines:
- Turn off the water to the washer.
- Unscrew the hot and cold hoses on the back of the washer.
- Squirt the filters on the washer with water in a spray bottle.
- Use a stiff acid brush to remove any remaining dirt or debris.
- Reattach the hot and cold hoses to the washer.
- Turn the water back on, and check for leaks.
Watch the video above to find out more.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Joe Truini: If your washing machine seems to take forever to fill with water, here’s the reason why. If you disconnect the hoses on the back side, you’ll see that there are small filters inside each of the hot and cold water fill. And those filters are designed to keep sediment such as sand, dirt, and minerals from passing through into the machine. So what you need to do at least two or three times a year is clean out the filter, and here’s an easy way to do that.
Take a plant mister filled with water and hold a cup underneath it just to catch some of the water and dirt, and just spray right in there. And you’ll see the dirt comes right out. See that? And then what I like to do, most of the dirt comes out just with that. What I like to do is come back with a small acid brush, and just scrub it a little bit just to get any stubborn bits of dirt and sand out, and then spray it one more time. And of course, you need to do this on both the cold and the hot.
And again, if you do this a couple of times a year, it’ll keep the filters clean and the water will be flowing freely.
Further Information
- How to Clean a Dryer Vent (video)
- How to Remove Mold from Front-Load Washing Machines (article)
