How to open the washing machine, if the handle is broken?

All modern automatic washing machines are equipped with an automatic hatch locking system, which locks the lock on the door immediately after starting the washing and unlocks it a few minutes after the end of the program. But sometimes it happens that the door does not open, no matter how hard you pull the handle. More often than not, the knob remains locked, either because of an electronics problem or a mechanical breakdown.

In this article, we'll tell you why a washing machine handle can break and what to do if it does.

As we said, there are two of the most common causes of the washing machine door locking:

• A failure in the electronic module;
• Failure associated with damage or wear of the knob-lock.

If the fault is in the control module, the situation can be corrected quite simply. In most cases, the problem is solved simply by resetting the device (by unplugging and then plugging it in). If this does not help, try again to run the washing (select the shortest program). If it does not help, it means that the problem is something else.

On what to do if the washing machine does not open due to mechanical damage to the handle, read below.

• Emergency unlocking of the hatch. Most models of modern washing machines have a cable for emergency opening of the lock. It is located behind the same small door on the front of the appliance as the drain filter. You can recognize this cable by its bright, red or orange color.
• Unlocking the hatch on your own. If the previous method did not help, or the washing machine is not equipped with an emergency cable, you can try to remove the lock manually. This can be done by getting close to the lock from inside the device (by removing the top panel and deflecting the drum to the side).
• Using improvised means. In some cases, the jammed door is easy to open with a rope. To do this, you need to take a thin but strong cord and enter it in the gap between the body of the washing machine and the hatch. Then pull both ends toward you - and the lock will open.

The way, which allows you to open most washing machines, is shown in the following video.

Disassembling the handle. This is an extreme method that can only be resorted to if the handle of the appliance is defective. The fact that it is not repairable can be verified by detecting mechanical damage upon visual inspection. Most often, the plastic lock on the washing machine breaks after a few years of active use.

When it is not possible to open the door without damaging the handle-lock, the master usually decides to dismantle it. Before this, you need to disconnect the washing machine from the mains and prepare a basin with a rag - in case you have to collect water that has spilled out of the hatch.

You will not be able to remove the handle right away, you will first have to detach the door from the body. It is usually fixed at two screws, which should be unscrewed with a screwdriver. After that, you need to put the door on the work surface (bolts up) and disassemble it into two halves, getting rid of the bolts fastening them and pick up the upper half with a thin screwdriver.

After disconnecting the halves of the hatch, carefully pull out the glass. After that, it is recommended to take a picture of the internal structure of the hatch, in order to then correctly position all the elements. The plastic handle is usually fixed by a thin metal pin. We need to carefully pull it out, then remove the handle itself, and then remove the small spring and hook. We put the new handle in place, reproducing the entire sequence of actions in reverse order.