An unbalanced washing machine has its weight piled on one side of the drum when the spin starts. The washer bangs, slows the spin or stops. Run a rinse and spin with the drum empty first. If it spins smoothly, the load was your problem.
Whirlpool says an off-balance load brings noise, vibration, a slower spin, longer cycles and clothes that come out wet.
Your washer often tries to fix it on its own first. A Whirlpool top loader refills and rocks the basket back and forth to spread the clothes. You’ll only see an error when that doesn’t work.
Run the washer empty before you fix anything
An empty rinse and spin cycle tells you whether you’re fixing laundry or fixing the washer. GE’s front-load washer help page says that if vibration is normal with no load in the drum, the wash load caused the unbalance.
It costs you one short cycle and no tools.
Pull the wet clothes out and set them in a basket. Pick Rinse and Spin, or Drain and Spin on some models, and stay close enough to watch the cabinet. LG gives its empty top-load test as about 20 minutes.
On service calls, I ran this test before I touched a leveling foot or a shock. It’s the one check that can’t lie to you about the clothes.
| What happens on the empty spin | What it points to | Go to |
|---|---|---|
| Spins smoothly, no error | The load: one heavy item, a tangle, too much or too little | Fix the load |
| Rocks or walks, and the washer is new or just moved | Shipping bolts still in, legs too long, a soft or sloped floor | Install and leveling |
| Front loader shakes and drains slowly | A clogged drain pump, which GE lists as a shake cause | Pump filter |
| Bangs or shows the error with nothing inside | Suspension parts or a repair, per LG and GE | Suspension check |
LG puts it plainly on its top-load page.
If the error comes back on an empty Rinse and Spin, the washer needs repair service. If it doesn’t, look at leveling, how the load went in, and the cycle you picked.
On an LG washer that error shows as UE or uE, and our LG washer UE code guide walks through the same empty Rinse and Spin test.
Fix the load the way Whirlpool and Samsung describe
Most unbalanced washing machine loads come down to one heavy item, a tangle or the wrong amount of laundry. When the empty test passes, rearrange or shrink the load and restart. Whirlpool and Samsung both give rules you can check against your own basket.
Is the error already on the display? On a Whirlpool, cancel the cycle with Start or by unplugging it. Run a drain-only cycle if water’s still in the tub, then rearrange the clothes or take some out before you start again.
If the cycle will pause, it’s quicker. Press Start, open the lid, spread the clothes out and press Start again.
- Load height. Whirlpool wants clothes loose and no higher than the top row of holes in the basket.
- Never one heavy item alone. Don’t wash one rug. Whirlpool says wash two or three so they balance each other.
- Bulky things go in a ring. Lay quilts and cotton blankets in a doughnut shape around the impeller.
- Small loads. Samsung says small loads bunch up on one side. Add a few items or lower the spin speed.
- Sheets and blankets. They soak up water and tangle. Pull them apart by hand and try a slower spin.
Samsung puts numbers on it. A small load is 3 to 5 pounds, about a third of the drum. A large load is 6 to 16 pounds, about three quarters full.
One pair of jeans weighs about a pound, Samsung says. That’s why a jeans-only load gets heavy fast, and why it doesn’t spread out the way mixed clothes do once they’re soaked and pinned against one wall of the drum in the spin.
Pick a cycle that matches the load, too. Whirlpool suggests Bulky or Heavy Duty for big items. Samsung’s don’t-wash list includes floor mats and pillows. It also names dog houses, which you’d hope nobody tries twice.
New washer or just moved: shipping bolts, floor and pedestal
A front loader that shakes hard from its first load usually still has its shipping bolts in. Samsung’s test needs no tools.
Open the door and push the drum. It should feel like it’s hung on springs, with a little give. If it feels bolted to a rock, the bolts are still there.
Compare it with your dryer drum if you aren’t sure. Samsung says the washer’s drum should move a lot more.
The bolts sit on the back of the cabinet. Some Samsung front loaders have four, some have three, and FlexWash models have seven. Samsung top loaders don’t have any.
Back each bolt out with the spanner that came with the washer, then press the plastic covers into the holes. Keep the bolts, since you’ll need them if you move the washer again.
GE adds one warning. Leave the bolts and braces in until the washer’s slid into its final spot.
The space around it counts. Samsung wants about an inch between your washer and the dryer, and between the washer and any wall. A slippery floor can throw off the balance.
Carpet or a pedestal adds some vibration even when the washer’s level. Level a pedestal before the washer goes on top.
Balance a washing machine by leveling its legs
To balance a washing machine, get all four feet solid on the floor with the legs as short as you can make them. GE says the more the legs stick out, the shakier the washer runs in spin. Samsung says shorter legs make it more stable.
- Unplug the washer and shut off the water before you pull it out from the wall.
- Rock it corner to corner with your hands. Whirlpool says any rocking means it needs leveling.
- Loosen the locking nut on each leg you’ll adjust. Samsung uses a flat-blade screwdriver on front loaders.
- If one corner wobbles, shorten the other legs first. Only lengthen the wobbly leg if the others are already as short as they go.
- Turn a leg clockwise to raise that corner and counterclockwise to lower it, per Samsung.
- Set a level on the top, side to side and front to back. Adjust until the bubble sits centered both ways.
- Tighten the locking nuts against the cabinet so the legs can’t creep.
- Run a small load and watch it spin. If it still rocks, go back to step 4.
Some Samsung models also have a calibration mode for after leveling. With the drum empty, hold Temp. and Delay End for 3 seconds until Cb shows on the display. The buttons can differ by model, so check your manual if Cb doesn’t appear.
If the washer still shakes hard with the legs set, the full list of shaking causes is on the page about how to stop a washing machine from shaking.
Unbalanced on an empty drum: suspension and the bounce test
Some movement is designed in, so don’t order parts over a tub that sways. GE’s top-load tubs float on rods and springs, and the basket can move forward, back, side to side and up and down.
On a GE front loader, movement up to 1/4 inch can be normal now and then.
An unbalanced washing machine that bangs on an empty spin is different. Unplug the washer, make sure it’s drained, and push the tub down hard at the center. One commenter on r/appliancerepair gave the test this way:
“Switch it off. With it empty and drained physically push down on the agitatior and bounce the tub. It should bounce pretty well on all 4 shocks. Chances are youll find a shock, or two, that are stuck or not bouncing well. It will need to be lubricated or if its bad enough just replaced.”
– r/appliancerepair, February 2026 (4 upvotes)
On a front loader, check the drain pump before the shocks. GE lists a clogged pump as a cause of shaking. If yours has a small access door at the bottom front, the filter behind it’s easy to clean, and your owner’s manual shows where it is.
Before you order rods, shocks or springs, pull the tech sheet and get the exact part numbers for your model.
Stop and call a pro if the empty drum still bangs after the legs, bolts and pump all check out. LG and GE both send you to service at that point.
A suspension job on a hung tub isn’t one you want to guess at.
Unbalanced washing machine questions
Can an unbalanced load break a washing machine?
An unbalanced washing machine load won’t usually break the washer in one cycle, because most washers stop or slow the spin when they sense it. Whirlpool lists slower spins, longer cycles and wet clothes as the results. A washer that goes off balance on every load needs the empty-drum test.
How much does it cost to rebalance a washing machine?
Rebalancing a washing machine yourself costs nothing, because rearranging the load and adjusting the legs need only your hands, a level and sometimes a screwdriver.
A repair visit for worn suspension parts is the only part that costs money, and that price depends on your area and model.
If your washer’s old, our appliance age calculator decodes the build year from GE, Bosch and LG serial numbers, takes the year for other brands, and runs a 50 percent repair-or-replace check before you pay for parts.
Why does my washer only go unbalanced on big loads?
A washer that goes unbalanced only on big loads is usually overloaded or tangled. Keep clothes below the top row of holes in a top loader, or about two thirds full in an LG front loader. Wash bedding with a few smaller items, not alone.
