The door on your front load washing machine locks during operation to prevent water leakage and potential flooding. This is an essential safety feature, especially during hot wash cycles.

However, if you need to unlock the door mid-cycle or in an emergency, follow these troubleshooting steps.

1. Does Your Model Have an "Add a Garment" Feature?

Some front load models have an "Add a Garment" feature, allowing you to pause the cycle and unlock the door to add or remove clothing.
Check your user manual to see if your model supports this feature and at what points in the cycle it can be used.

2. Stop the Cycle and Wait

Press the "Pause" button or turn off the machine.
Wait a few minutes—in many cases, the door lock will deactivate automatically once the drum stops moving.
If the door unlocks, remove or add your item and restart the cycle as needed.

3. If the Machine is Full of Water

If your washer is still full of water, the door will not unlock until it is drained.
Check if your model has a "Drain" program:
- Select the Drain cycle and wait for the water to empty.
- Once the cycle completes, check if the door unlocks.

4. Emergency Drain Function (For Machines That Won't Drain Automatically)

If the machine won’t drain or the power is out, follow these steps:

What You'll Need:

✔ Old towels (to soak up spills)
✔ A bucket (to collect water)
✔ Bricks or blocks (to elevate the machine)

Steps to Manually Drain the Machine & Unlock the Door:

Tilt the washer backwards and place bricks or blocks under the front to elevate it.
Lay towels under the front of the machine to catch water spills.
Locate the emergency drain hose (inside a small access door at the bottom front of the washer).
Pull out the emergency drain hose and aim it into the bucket.
Unstopper the hose—water will begin draining.
Empty the bucket periodically until all water is drained.
Re-seal the drain hose and replace it inside the compartment.
Lower the machine back down and check if the door unlocks.

5. If the Door Still Won’t Unlock

Wait a few more minutes to see if the lock deactivates.
If the issue persists, contact our Customer Care team for further instructions on how to perform an emergency door release for your specific model.

📞 Customer Care Team: 1300 11 4357 (Mon-Fri, 8:00am-7:00pm AEST).

Front Load Washing Machine Brand