Written by
Tessa Brandt Appliance Care EditorPublished October 29, 2026
VERIFIED
Error coderL / F-34
ApplianceWasher
The Clean Washer cycle is meant to run on an empty drum. On a front load Maytag washer, rL (also shown as F-34) appears when the washer detects items inside while that cycle is going.
What to try, in order
Ask whether everything was removed before the cycle started. Take any clothing out of the drum and run Clean Washer again.
If rL is still there, reset the control. Like a computer, a washer control may recover after a restart. Cut its power for 5 minutes; for a washer plugged into an outlet, that means unplugging it, waiting, and plugging it back in.
Related codes
F0 E1: items found in the drum during a Clean Washer cycle.
F0 E7: a load detected when Clean Washer was selected.
Washer repair in San Francisco for a stubborn rL
An rL that survives an empty drum and a power reset calls for a technician. Reach us at (415) 649-2156 about Maytag washer repair in San Francisco and the Bay Area, and tell us the model number and whether the drum was truly empty at the start.
Model compatibility: Maytag reuses codes across series and model years, so rL / F-34 may mean something different on another appliance or generation. Confirm this against your model’s documentation and record your full model number before acting.
Plain language
What this code means
rL (F-34) means the front load washer detected items in the drum during the Clean Washer cycle.
Important safety warning. Do not attempt repairs involving electrical components, gas, water lines, refrigerant or sealed systems. Unplug the appliance if it is safe to reach the outlet, and leave internal diagnostics to a qualified technician.
Seeing this code on your Maytag appliance?
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