Washer or dryer down? Same day washer and dryer repair across Greater Boston, leaks, no spin, no heat, error codes, stacked units, coin op. All brands. $125 diagnostic waived with repair. Call (617) 778-2904.
Common laundry problems we fix today
Washer leaking
Front loaders: torn door boot or a drain pump giving out. Top loaders: fill hoses, tub seals or the pump. We carry boots and pumps for LG, Samsung, Whirlpool and GE, the four brands in most Boston homes, so leak calls usually end the same day.
Washer won't spin or drain
A sock in the drain pump, a failed lid lock, worn clutch or a bad control board. The pump filter check takes minutes; we go deeper only if needed and always quote flat before parts go in.
Dryer not heating
Heating elements, thermal fuses, gas igniters and cycling thermostats, the classic no heat lineup. If clothes take two cycles, the exterior vent may be choked with lint too; we check airflow on every dryer call because it's the #1 cause of repeat failures (and dryer fires).
Dryer squealing or thumping
Drum rollers, idler pulley or a worn belt. Cheap parts, quick fix, and catching it early saves the motor.
Error codes
Bring us the code (photo of the display helps) when you call, for common LG/Samsung/Whirlpool codes we can often arrive with the right part already on the van.
Washer symptoms and what they usually mean
| What you see | Most likely cause | Same day? |
|---|---|---|
| Water on the floor at the door | Torn door boot on a front loader, or a boot full of debris holding water | Yes |
| Water under the machine, nothing visible above | Drain pump housing, pump seal or a split drain hose | Yes |
| Drum full of water, cycle stuck | Blocked pump filter, a sock past the filter, or a dead pump | Yes |
| Drains but never spins | Lid lock or door latch switch, worn drive belt, failed motor control | Usually |
| Spins but clothes come out soaked | Low spin speed from an unbalanced suspension, worn shocks or struts | Usually |
| Loud grinding or a bang on spin | Tub bearing or spider arm, the one repair where replacing the machine often wins | Quote first |
| Fills slowly or not at all | Inlet valve, screens blocked at the hose, or a closed supply valve | Yes |
| Too many suds, drain and spin errors together | Detergent overdose, see the Boston water note below | Often no repair needed |
Dryer symptoms and what they usually mean
| What you see | Most likely cause | Same day? |
|---|---|---|
| Tumbles, no heat at all, electric | Heating element or thermal fuse, sometimes one lost leg of the 240V supply | Yes |
| Tumbles, no heat at all, gas | Igniter, flame sensor or gas valve coils inside the appliance | Yes |
| Heats, but clothes need two cycles | Restricted vent run, crushed transition hose, or a flapper stuck shut at the hood | Yes |
| Shuts off part way through, then restarts later | Thermal cut-out tripping on high temperature, nearly always airflow | Yes |
| Squeal that changes with drum speed | Idler pulley, drum rollers or the rear bearing. What each dryer noise means | Yes |
| Thump once per drum turn | Flat spot on a roller, or something lodged behind the drum | Yes |
| Motor hums, drum will not turn | Snapped belt, seized idler, or a failing motor | Yes |
| Burning smell | Stop using it. Read what each burning smell means before you run another cycle. | Call today |
Why Boston laundry fails differently
We have worked on laundry from Quincy two families to Back Bay brownstones, and the same handful of local conditions drive most of the calls.
The closet stack
Most Boston apartments were not built with a laundry room. The machines went into a hallway or bathroom closet years later, often a stacked pair with four inches of clearance behind them. That matters for two reasons: the dryer's transition hose gets crushed flat against the back wall the moment the unit is pushed in, and nobody can see a slow leak until it reaches the ceiling below. If your closet pair has never been pulled out, the hose behind it is the first thing worth checking.
Shared vent risers in triple deckers
In a three decker where all three units vent into one riser, your dryer is only as good as your neighbors' lint. A third floor dryer that suddenly needs two cycles is very often a riser problem, not a machine problem, and no new heating element will fix it. We check static airflow at the hood before we sell you a part.
Long duct runs and the exterior hood
Basement and garden level laundry often runs 20 to 30 feet of duct to daylight, sometimes with two or three elbows. Every elbow costs you the equivalent of several feet of straight pipe. Add a winter of snow against the exterior hood or a bird nest in spring and the dryer starts cutting out on its high limit.
Gas dryers are more common here than people expect
Plenty of Boston buildings have gas laundry. We repair everything inside the appliance: igniters, flame sensors, gas valve coils, thermostats. We do not touch the building's gas supply line, that is licensed gas fitter work, and we will say so plainly if your problem lives on that side of the shutoff.
Soft water, oversudsing, and the leak that is not a leak
MWRA water is soft, roughly 40 mg/L as calcium carbonate. That is good news for your machine, scale is rarely the problem here the way it is in hard water cities. The flip side catches a lot of people out: a normal detergent dose in soft water produces far more suds than the machine expects. A front loader drowning in foam will throw drain and spin errors, push water out past the door seal, and look exactly like a failure. If your washer is newer and the errors come and go, try half the detergent for three loads before you book anything. We would rather tell you that on the phone than take your money for a diagnostic.
What washer and dryer repair costs in Boston
The diagnostic is $125 and it is waived when you approve the repair, so an approved job costs you the repair price and nothing else. Flat quote before any part goes in, and the number does not move afterwards.
| Typical job | All in, parts and labor |
|---|---|
| Dryer heating element or thermal fuse | $160 to $280 |
| Dryer belt, rollers or idler pulley | $170 to $290 |
| Gas dryer igniter or coils | $190 to $320 |
| Washer drain pump | $180 to $320 |
| Front load door boot | $220 to $380 |
| Lid lock, door latch or control switch | $160 to $280 |
| Shocks, struts or suspension rods | $180 to $300 |
| Tub bearing or spider arm | We quote it, and we often tell you to replace the machine instead |
Ranges, not promises. The quote you get on the day is the number you pay. For a wider view across every appliance, see our Boston appliance repair cost guide.
Five minutes before we arrive
None of this is required, and all of it speeds up the visit.
- A leak: shut both supply valves behind the machine, and unplug it if there is standing water near the outlet.
- An error code: photograph the display. Codes clear themselves, and a photo often means we bring the right part on the first trip.
- A stacked closet pair: clear whatever is stored on top and in front. We need to get the unit out, and we would rather not move your things.
- A dryer: note whether it is gas or electric, and roughly how long the vent run is. It changes what we load on the van.
- A condo or a third floor: tell us about the elevator, the loading dock hours and the parking. It is the single biggest cause of a late arrival in this city.
Stacked units, condos and landlords
Half of Boston's laundry lives in a hallway closet. We service stacked and combo units in tight spaces without wrecking your trim, and we handle Speed Queen and coin op equipment for landlords and property managers, multiple units, one invoice.
Frequently asked questions
My washer is leaking, should I keep using it?
No. Shut the water valves off and call. In Boston's triple deckers and condo buildings a washer leak becomes your downstairs neighbor's ceiling. Most leaks (door boot, drain pump, hose) are a same day, one visit fix.
Why is my dryer running but not heating?
Electric dryers: usually a heating element or thermal fuse. Gas dryers: usually the igniter or a gas coil inside the appliance. All are stock parts on our van. A dryer that stopped heating after a vent clog is also a fire safety issue, worth fixing today.
Do you repair stacked and combo washer dryers?
Yes, stacked units in closets are half our Boston laundry calls. We service LG, Samsung, GE and Bosch stacks and combos, and Speed Queen coin op machines for landlords and laundromats.
What do washer and dryer repairs cost?
$125 diagnostic, waived with the repair. Common fixes, pumps, belts, elements, igniters, boots, typically land between $150 and $320 flat, parts and labor included, quoted before work starts.
How fast can you actually get here?
Call before noon and in most of our area we are there the same day. We are based in Boston, so Boston itself, Brookline, Cambridge, Somerville and Quincy are usually the quickest runs for us. A washer actively leaking into a unit below jumps the queue regardless of where you are.
My dryer needs two cycles. Is that the dryer or the vent?
Far more often the vent. A dryer that heats but cannot move the moisture out is nearly always fighting a restricted duct, a crushed transition hose behind the machine, or a hood flapper stuck shut. In a triple decker with a shared riser it can also be your neighbors' lint, not yours. We measure airflow before we quote a part, because a new heating element fixes nothing if the air cannot leave.
Do you repair gas dryers?
Yes, everything inside the appliance: igniter, flame sensor, gas valve coils, thermostats and the high limit. We do not work on the building's gas supply line or the shutoff, that is licensed gas fitter territory, and we will tell you straight away if that is where your problem is.
Is a washer with a bad bearing worth fixing?
Usually not, and we will say so. A tub bearing or spider arm means splitting the machine, and on most mid range front loaders the cost lands close enough to a new unit that replacing wins. We still come out and confirm it rather than guessing over the phone, but we do not sell repairs that do not make sense.
Do you clean dryer vents?
We clear the duct run as part of a dryer repair whenever airflow is the cause, because otherwise the same part fails again in a few months. We are not a duct cleaning company and we do not sell it as a standalone service, but you will not get a repair from us that leaves the real cause in place.
Dryer smells like burning? Read this first: what each burning smell means and when to call a pro.
Washer and dryer repair by town: Cambridge, Somerville, Medford, Malden, Newton and Brookline.