Washer Repair in the San Francisco Bay Area

A washer that stops with a drum full of water, won’t spin or leaves a puddle on the floor needs fixing before the laundry takes over. Best Pro repairs front-load and top-load washers, stacked pairs and compact 24-inch units in San Francisco, on the Peninsula and in the South Bay — usually on the day you call.

Bay Area laundry rooms

Many of the washers we see live in tight spots: a stacked pair in a hallway closet of a San Francisco flat, a compact European washer under a condo counter, or a full-size pair in the garage of an Eichler or a Peninsula ranch house. Getting a stacked dryer down safely and back up again is part of the job, and we bring what it takes.

What usually goes wrong

• Won’t drain or spin. The drain pump filter is the first suspect — a sock, a coin or a hair tie is enough to block it — followed by the drain pump itself. A washer that can’t drain won’t spin. In older San Francisco buildings, a slow standpipe or a partly blocked house drain can also make the washer stop with a drain error even though the machine is fine. We check which side the problem is on.
• Won’t start or stops with an error code. On front-loaders the door lock is the usual cause: the control won’t start a cycle until it sees the door locked. Other causes are the water level sensor, the motor control board or the main board.
• Leaking. A torn door boot on a front-loader, a cracked fill or drain hose, or a failed tub seal. On an upper floor or above a downstairs unit, a leak is worth fixing the same day.
• Shaking or walking. Worn shock absorbers or suspension springs, or a cracked drum spider on a front-loader. Stacked units on old wood floors amplify every bit of imbalance.
• Loud roar during spin. Almost always worn tub bearings; replacing them early saves the seal and the drum.
• Not filling. A failed inlet valve or clogged inlet screens — common in the South Bay, where harder water leaves scale behind.
• Musty smell. Mold in the door boot and the pump filter of a front-loader. We clean what can be cleaned and replace a boot that’s torn or stained through.

Repair or replace?

Drain pumps, door locks, inlet valves and shock absorbers are quick, inexpensive repairs. Bearings on an older front-loader are a bigger job, and if the repair would eat up too much of the price of a new washer, the technician tells you before you pay for parts.

We repair Samsung, LG, Whirlpool, GE, Maytag, Kenmore, Bosch, Miele, Electrolux, Frigidaire and other major brands. Dryer acting up too? See dryer repair. For laundromats, apartment buildings and other businesses, see commercial washer repair.