5C on a Samsung washer (older models show 5E) is a drain error — the washer tried to pump the water out and couldn't do it fast enough, so it stops with water in the tub. The most common cause is the debris filter on the front of the machine, and clearing it is something you can do yourself. Here's the order a tech works it.
The #1 cause. Lint, coins, and small items collect in the filter behind a small door on the lower-front of the washer and stop the drain.
Check it: Open the small access door on the lower-front, lay down towels, unthread the round filter slowly (water comes out — drain it in stages), and clean everything out. Run a rinse+spin to confirm 5C is gone.
A drain hose kinked behind the washer, or shoved too far down the standpipe, blocks the water and triggers 5C.
Check it: Pull the washer out gently, straighten any kink, and make sure the hose only goes a few inches into the standpipe.
If the wall drain is partially clogged, water backs up and the washer reads it as a failed drain.
Check it: Remove the hose from the standpipe and pour water in — if it backs up, the house drain needs clearing.
If the filter and hoses are clear but 5C persists, the drain pump has likely failed.
Check it: Listen during the drain step — no pump sound with a clean filter points at the pump, a straightforward tech replacement.
Almost always repair — most 5C codes clear for free by cleaning the debris filter, and even a failed drain pump is an affordable part plus flat labor.
In Middle Tennessee or the Baton Rouge area? We'll come to you, same-day. Anywhere else in the U.S.? Send a 10-second video, a real technician tells you exactly what's wrong for $50 (credited toward the repair), and we ship you the exact part. 24/7 — text, call, or upload anytime.
Clean the debris filter behind the small door on the lower-front (towels ready — water will come out), then check the drain hose for kinks. That clears the large majority of 5C codes. Older Samsung models show the same fault as 5E.
Behind a small access panel on the lower-front of the machine. Open it and you'll find a round threaded filter — that's the debris filter. It holds a surprising amount of water, so drain it slowly into a pan.
Often nothing (a filter clean) or an affordable drain pump if it failed. Your $50 Quick Check credits toward the repair if a part is needed.