A washing machine was leaving clothes very wet at the end of the cycle, but not every time. Intermittent faults are the hardest to pin down. Here the cause was two parts failing together: a worn drain pump and a malfunctioning water level sensor.
The complaint was that clothes came out soaking, sometimes. Other loads finished normally. That inconsistency is what made the customer put off calling, and it is also what makes this kind of fault worth a proper diagnosis rather than a guess.
A machine that fails every time is easy. A machine that fails one load in three is telling you a component is degraded rather than dead.
What was wrong with this washer?
The drain pump was worn out. The pump clears water from the tub before and during the spin. A worn pump still moves water, just not reliably or fast enough. On loads where it kept up, the cycle finished normally. On heavier loads it fell behind, water stayed in the tub, and the machine could not spin properly against it.
The water level sensor was failing. That sensor tells the control how much water is in the tub. When it misreports, the machine makes wrong decisions about when to drain and when to spin, which compounds a marginal pump.
Together they explain the pattern exactly. Neither part had failed outright, which is why the machine worked some of the time.
How did we fix it?
We replaced both the drain pump and the water level sensor. Replacing only the pump would have left the machine still misjudging water levels, and replacing only the sensor would have left a pump that could not keep up.
After both parts went in, the machine drained fully and spun clothes as dry as when it was new, across repeated test loads including a deliberately heavy one.
Reading the symptom before you call
Clothes wet every single time usually means a blocked drain hose, a clogged filter or a dead pump, and it is worth checking the filter yourself first.
Clothes wet only on some loads, especially heavier ones, points at a component that is degraded rather than failed, which is what happened here.
A machine that stops with water still in the tub and hums is a different fault again, normally a seized drain pump or an obstruction in it.
FAQ
Why are my clothes still soaking wet after the spin cycle?
The machine could not remove enough water before spinning. That is usually a drain problem: a blocked filter or hose, or a worn drain pump. A faulty water level sensor can produce the same result by telling the control the tub is empty when it is not.
Why does it only happen on some loads?
A partially worn pump still moves water, just slowly. On light loads it keeps up and the cycle looks normal, and on heavy loads it falls behind and water stays in the tub. Intermittent symptoms usually mean a degraded component rather than a failed one.
Should the water level sensor be replaced along with the pump?
Only when it has actually failed, which it had here. The two work together, and leaving a faulty sensor in place means the machine keeps mistiming drain and spin even with a new pump. A proper diagnosis tests both before either is ordered.
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