DoorThe round door on the front. It stays locked for the whole wash cycle.
Door gasketA folded, flexible ring round the door opening, also called the bellows. It keeps water from leaking out and small clothes inside the drum.
Door lockThe door is locked shut for the entire wash cycle. Opening it with the machine in use would let the water out.
Dispenser drawerDetergent, bleach and fabric softener go in it. Water runs in through the dispenser and carries them into the tub.
Control panelWhere the wash cycle is chosen and started.
DrumThe inner drum, inside the outer tub. It turns on a horizontal axis, one way and then the other.
Front load: inside 8
Outer tubThe drum turns inside it. On many front load washers it is made of plastic. It hangs on springs and rests on dampers, which are drawn but not asked.
BearingsThe shaft at the back of the inner drum runs through them. They sit in the back of the outer tub.
PulleyA large wheel fixed to the shaft of the drum. The belt from the motor turns it, and it turns the drum.
Drive beltA grooved belt from the motor up to the pulley. A direct drive washer has no belt and no pulley.
MotorIt turns the drum, here through the belt and pulley. On a direct drive washer it is fixed to the back of the tub instead.
Water inlet valveAn electric valve that opens to fill the tub. The water supply hose joins the back of the washer here.
Drain pumpIt takes the water from the tub's bottom. Then it pushes it out through the drain hose.
Drain hoseIt carries the water from the drain pump to the house drain.
Top load washer 4
LidA top load washer is loaded from above, through the lid.
Wash basketThe clothes sit in this perforated basket. It is inside the tub that holds the water. It spins late in the cycle to throw the water out of the load.
AgitatorA finned post at the center of the basket's bottom. It moves the clothes through the water.
TransmissionIt converts the rotation of the motor into an alternating motion. That motion drives the agitator during agitation. Also called the gearbox.
Agitator apart 7
Fabric softener dispenserA cup that sits in the top of the agitator. Liquid fabric softener goes in it. Some agitators have a plain cap there instead.
AugerThe top half of a two-part agitator. Its spiral vanes push the clothes down toward the base. It turns in one direction only.
ClutchA one-way clutch between the base and the auger. One maker's patent calls its moving pieces dogs.
BarrelThe tube that rises from the skirt. The auger fits over it.
VanesFins carried on the skirt. They move the clothes as the base swings back and forth.
SkirtThe flared bottom of the base. The vanes stand on it.
Drive shaftA splined shaft from the transmission. It swings the base of the agitator back and forth.
How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it: Wikipedia, text only, Washing machine, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washing_machine (drum, outer tub, bellows and gasket, door locked by an interlock, main bearings, pulley and belt, direct drive, basket, agitator, transmission, lid); one maker's front load washer service manuals, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6004235 and https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6033377 (drum, outer tub assembly, gasket, door lock, dispenser, control panel, bearing, inlet valve, drain pump, drain hose; its motor drives the drum without belt and pulley); a second maker's front load washer service document, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7256273 (outer tub, door lock, belt, motor and pulley, water valve, drain pump, drain hose); a third maker's front load owner's guide, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7257495 (drum, flexible gasket, door lock, dispenser drawer, drain hose); two makers' top load owner's manuals, https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7255251 (agitator, basket, lid, transmission, fabric softener dispenser) and https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7257514 (agitator, inner wash basket, lid, transmission, fabric softener dispenser); and for the agitator two makers' patents: US 4,068,503, https://patents.google.com/patent/US4068503, with US 4,719,769, https://patents.google.com/patent/US4719769A (auger, one-way clutch and its dogs, barrel, skirt, vanes, drive shaft, agitator cap), and US 5,611,221, https://patents.google.com/patent/US5611221A (auger, ratchet clutch, barrel, skirt, vanes, splined drive shaft). Hints and detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's washer, nothing traced. Licence: own work
How it works
Four drawings: a front load washer from the front, the same washer cut through from the side, a top load washer cut through, and its agitator pulled apart. The drawings are of no one make.
Read the full guide
What happens inside a front load washer
The water inlet valve opens and water runs in through the dispenser, taking the detergent with it. The outer tub holds the water. Inside it the drum turns one way and then the other, driven by the motor through a belt and a large pulley on the drum's shaft, which runs in bearings. The door gasket seals the opening, and the door lock holds the door shut for the whole cycle. At the end the drain pump sends the water out through the drain hose. A top load washer stands its basket upright: the agitator in the middle moves the clothes, and the basket spins to throw the water out.
A direct drive washer has no belt or pulley: the motor sits on the back of the tub and turns the drum's shaft itself.
Gasket, bellows and door seal are names for the same rubber ring. Each is accepted when typed.
Questions and answers
What are the parts of a washing machine drum?
A front load washer has two. The inner drum holds the laundry and turns; the outer tub round it holds the water. The drum's shaft runs through bearings in the tub to a pulley, or straight to the motor on a direct drive washer.
What are the parts of a washing machine agitator?
A two-part agitator has a base and an auger. The base is a barrel standing on a skirt with vanes, and it swings back and forth. The auger sits on the barrel and, through a one-way clutch, turns in one direction only.
What is the rubber ring on a front load washer door called?
The door gasket, also called the bellows or door seal. It is a folded, flexible ring that seals the door opening, so water stays in and small clothes stay inside the drum.
How is a top load washer different from a front load washer?
A front load washer has a drum that turns on a horizontal axis behind a door in the front. A top load washer has an upright basket inside a tub, loaded through a lid, often with an agitator in the middle.