Why does my washing machine smell of burning?

This is the one laundry fault that is not a diagnose-and-continue problem: isolate it, stop using it, and get it looked at, because the plausible causes are all electrical or mechanical heat.

Difficulty: beginner
Time: 15 min
Read: 5 min
Safety: warning

Short answer

Switch it off at the socket and stop using it. A burning smell from a washing machine is usually a slipping drive belt, failing motor brushes, a seizing pump, or an electrical connection overheating — and none of those improves by running another cycle. Check the plug and socket for scorching or heat before touching anything.

Most washing machine faults are inconvenient. This one is different, because every realistic cause involves something getting hot that should not be. Rubber burning, hot plastic and the sharp acrid smell of overheating electrical insulation are all signals that the machine has already exceeded a temperature it was designed for. The correct response is the same regardless of which cause it turns out to be.

Safety

A burning or hot electrical smell from an appliance is a stop signal, not a symptom to investigate while it runs. Switch off at the socket, unplug it if the plug is accessible and cool, and do not run the machine again until it has been checked. If you can see smoke, scorching, a melted plug or a discoloured socket, or if the socket is hot, switch the circuit off at the consumer unit and call an electrician — do not pull a hot plug. Never open the machine's casing to look for the source.

What you'll need

Nothing — this guide is mostly about what not to do

Step by step

Switch off at the socket immediately.Do not wait for the cycle to finish. If the machine is mid-cycle with water in it, that is a problem for later; the electricity is the problem now.
Check the plug and the socket before touching anything else.Look for scorch marks, discolouration, a melted or distorted plug, or a socket that feels warm. If any of those are present, switch the circuit off at the consumer unit rather than pulling the plug, and call an electrician.
Unplug it if the plug is cool and undamaged.This is your isolation. Leave it unplugged. A machine that has produced a burning smell should not be run again casually to see whether it does it twice.
Do not open the casing.Everything that could be the cause — motor, belt, pump, wiring, element — sits next to mains voltage inside a metal box. There is nothing an owner can usefully or safely do in there.
Note what the machine was doing when the smell appeared.At the spin, at the drain, or throughout. Spin points at the belt or motor. Drain points at the pump. Throughout, or at switch-on, points at wiring or the control side. This is information for the engineer, not a reason to keep testing.
Note whether the smell is rubber, plastic or electrical.Hot rubber is characteristically the drive belt slipping on a stalled drum. Sharp acrid electrical is insulation or a connection. Hot plastic is often a pump running dry or seized. Each narrows the diagnosis considerably.
Check whether the drum turns freely by hand — unplugged.A drum that is stiff or seized explains a burning belt smell instantly, because the motor keeps driving a belt against a drum that will not move. Do this only with the machine unplugged.
Distinguish it from a new-machine smell.A brand new machine or a newly replaced element can give off a faint hot smell for the first couple of cycles as manufacturing residue burns off. That fades after two or three washes. Anything on an established machine, or anything that gets stronger, is not this.
Ventilate and check nothing has been left on the machine.Occasionally the smell is external — something resting on a warm machine, or lint against a hot part behind it. Worth a look, but do not let it substitute for the checks above.
Get it inspected before it is used again.By a qualified appliance engineer. If the machine is under warranty or within the retailer's liability period, report it in writing as a safety fault, and keep the machine unplugged in the meantime.

Tips

Never plug a washing machine into an extension lead or a multi-way adaptor. They draw a large current and the connection heat in an undersized lead is a genuine and recorded fire cause. If the socket is unreachable behind the machine, have a switched fused spur fitted somewhere you can get at.
A warm socket is not normal, whatever appliance is in it. Warmth means resistance, and resistance means heat where the current is meant to be passing cleanly.
If the machine is in a fitted kitchen, check that nothing has fallen down the back of it and come to rest against the motor or the element housing.

Common mistakes

Running another cycle to see whether it happens again — Whatever overheated once will overheat again, hotter, and the second time it may not stop at a smell. There is no diagnostic value that justifies the risk.
Pulling a plug that is hot or scorched — A damaged plug or socket can arc as it is withdrawn. Isolate at the consumer unit instead and get an electrician to deal with the socket.
Confusing a burning smell with a musty one — They call for opposite responses. Musty, damp or sour is biofilm in the seal and drawer and needs cleaning. Burning, acrid or hot-rubber is electrical or mechanical heat and needs isolating.

If it doesn't work

Hot rubber smell, appearing at the spin

Cause: Drive belt slipping on a drum that is not turning freely — Fix: Unplug. Check the drum turns by hand. Either way, the belt and the reason it slipped are engineer work.

Sharp acrid electrical smell, any point in the cycle

Cause: Overheating connection, motor winding or wiring — Fix: Isolate at the socket, or at the consumer unit if the socket is hot or scorched, and do not use the machine until it has been inspected.

Hot plastic smell while draining

Cause: Pump seized or running dry against a blockage — Fix: Unplug, and check the pump filter with a tray and towels down. If the impeller will not turn freely, stop there.

Faint hot smell on a brand new machine, fading

Cause: Manufacturing residue burning off the element — Fix: Normal for the first two or three cycles. If it persists or strengthens, treat it as a fault.

Questions people ask

Is a burning smell from a washing machine dangerous?

Treat it as though it is. The realistic causes — a slipping belt, failing motor brushes, a seized pump, an overheating electrical connection — all involve heat where there should not be any. Switch off at the socket, stop using it, and have it inspected before it runs again.

Can I keep using my washing machine if it smells hot?

No. A hot or burning smell means something has already exceeded its design temperature. Running it again does not diagnose anything you cannot tell an engineer for free, and it does add risk.

The smell is musty rather than burning — is that the same thing?

No, and the responses are opposite. Musty, sour or damp is biofilm in the door seal, drawer and hoses, and it is fixed by cleaning and a hot maintenance wash. Burning is heat, and it is fixed by isolating the machine.