Washing Machine Not Spinning? Why Your Clothes Are Still Wet
By Mluleki Ndlovu · 7 August 2026
A washing machine that won't spin, or leaves clothes soaking wet, is almost always one of three things: an unbalanced load that the machine has stopped to protect itself from, water that hasn't fully drained yet (spin won't start until draining finishes), or the machine standing unlevel on the floor. All three are checks a homeowner can do in under ten minutes without opening the machine. If you've redistributed the load, confirmed it's drained, and levelled the machine and it still won't spin, the fault has moved to a worn drive belt, a faulty lid switch, or the motor — and that's technician work.
You open the machine expecting clean, ready-to-hang washing, and instead you're pulling out clothes that are as wet as when you put them in. Before you assume the machine is broken, there are three quick checks that solve most cases I see in Midrand homes — and none of them need tools.
Why won't my washing machine spin?
A washing machine that won't spin almost never means the whole machine has failed. Spin is the last, most demanding part of the cycle, and the machine is built to refuse it rather than risk damaging itself or your floor. Three things account for the large majority of "won't spin" calls: an unbalanced load, water that hasn't finished draining, or a machine that isn't sitting level. Work through these in order before you worry about anything mechanical.
Check 1: Is the load unbalanced?
This is the most common cause by far, especially with big family wash days — a duvet or a pile of towels bunching to one side of the drum is enough to stop the spin completely.
- Switch off the machine at the wall before opening it.
- Open the drum and look at how the washing is sitting. Heavy items clumped on one side, or a single bulky item like a duvet or a large towel washed alone, are the usual culprits.
- Redistribute the load by hand so it's spread evenly around the drum, adding a spare towel if you're washing one heavy item alone.
- Close the lid or door, switch the machine back on, and run a spin or rinse-and-spin cycle to test it.
If the machine spins normally once the load is balanced, that was the whole problem. Keep loads spread out and avoid washing a single heavy item on its own, and this won't come back.
Check 2: Has the machine actually drained?
A washing machine will not spin until it has finished draining — trying to spin a drum full of water is exactly the kind of strain the safety systems are designed to prevent. If your clothes are sitting in standing water and the machine hasn't spun, the fault is more likely a drainage problem wearing a "won't spin" disguise. I've written a full guide on what causes a washing machine not to drain, including how to check and clean the drain pump filter yourself — that's worth working through before you assume the spin motor is at fault.
Check 3: Is the machine standing level?
An unlevel machine struggles to detect a balanced load correctly, even when the washing itself is spread out fine. This matters more than people expect in older Midrand homes with uneven tiled or concrete floors.
- Switch off the machine at the wall.
- Place a spirit level on top of the machine, front to back and side to side. Most hardware stores sell a small level for under R100 if you don't have one.
- If it's out of level, adjust the machine's feet — most twist to raise or lower — until the level reads flat in both directions.
- Run a spin cycle to test.
A machine that rocks or wobbles even slightly during spin is telling you it's not level. Fixing this once usually stops the problem for good.
When a power cut interrupts the spin cycle
If load shedding or a tripped circuit cuts power mid-spin, the cycle stops wherever it was and the load is left wet and possibly still unbalanced. When power comes back, most machines need the cycle restarted, or will re-check the load balance before attempting to spin again, which can make it seem like a new fault. It usually isn't — just run the spin or rinse-and-spin cycle again once power is stable. The bigger concern with load shedding isn't the interruption itself, it's the surge when power returns, which is a separate risk to the machine's control board over time.
When to stop and call a technician
If you've redistributed the load, confirmed the machine has drained, and checked it's level, and it still won't spin, the problem has moved past what's safe to check yourself. A worn or broken drive belt, a faulty lid or door switch, or a failing motor all show up as "won't spin" from the outside, but fixing any of them means opening panels close to the motor and mains wiring. That's not a place to guess — it's technician territory, and getting it wrong risks turning a simple repair into an expensive one.
This is exactly the kind of fault I see regularly across washing machine repairs in Midrand and the surrounding suburbs — a same-day home visit means I diagnose it on-site rather than you trying to work out which part has actually failed.
If your washing machine is a Samsung or LG showing an error code alongside the spin problem, the code itself often confirms exactly what's wrong — worth a look at my guides to Samsung error codes and LG error codes before you call anyone.
Still stuck after working through these checks? Get in touch or send me a WhatsApp on 082 419 4125 with what the machine is doing — I'll tell you whether it sounds like something quick or a proper repair, and my call-out fee of R650 covers the full on-site diagnosis and comes off the bill if you go ahead with the repair.