Okay, I’ve got a front loader washing machine, and there seems to be a puddle of water in it. Just after my clothes are done, it’s dry, but the next morning there’s about an inch or two of water standing from the bottom of the drum.
I think it’s a recent phenomenon, but I can’t be sure. Is there a problem?
Mine front loader is fairly new & always has standing water in it. I can hear it slosh if I shake the machine.
But it’s below the level of the bottom of the drum. I can’t see it. If you have visible water in the drum, I’d bet that’s a problem. Do you have to owner’s manual, or can you look it up at the manufactuerer’s site?
FYI, you left out part of the URL in your pic link. It doesn’t work.
Is the water fresh or dirty? If it’s fresh water, one of the water inlet valves may be leaking. Turn off the water to the washer after your last load then check the next morning. If there’s no water thats the problem Then individually shut of the cold one night, the hot the next night to determine which valve. If the water is dirty, the water may be siponing back from the drain pipe. Besides used washing machine water, other nasties from your waste drain system could be pulled back into the washer. My grandmother had this problem, her drain pipe was too short. Other problems that could cause water to come back into the washer from the drain pipe include an obstruction down line or the drain system getting overwhelmed from a bathtub drain located higher that the washer drain.
Hmm… now that you mentioned it, the drain is indeed connected to the kitchen sink drain. And the water doesn’t smell all that fresh. Is there anything I can do about that?
I’m a very avid do-it-yourselfer. I would probably try to use a snake to make sure the kitchen drain is clear, inspect the washer drain to make sure there are no obvious defects, and then call a plumber.
An hour or so of a plumbers time is probably cheaper than ruining a washer full of clothes, if soemthing REALLY nasty were to back up in there.
Two methods you could try . One is to loop the waste-water pipe so that it is higher half way between the drain and the machine. This should prevent syphoning. You could also try fitting a non-return valve . I know in the UK you can buy these and they come as part of the fittings to connect the machine to the drain outlet.
The drain from the washer should fit into a vertical standpipe, and there needs to be a gap so that water can’t siphon back into the washing machine. Usually, the drain from the washer is just stuck inside a larger pipe. It sounds like your washer’s drain is sealed to the house plumbing upstream of the p-trap for the sink. The water from the sink is draining into the washer than to go through the pipes.
FWIW, the universal plumbing code for the U.S. may require a 2 inch vertical standpipe, but I’m not a plumber and I’m not sure about it. Also, the standpipe needs to be separate from your sink drain so that a clogged sink doesn’t overflow out the standpipe. My guess is that it would be ok to connect the drains where the drop towards the floor, with a separate trap for the washer.
-I had no clue where to begin with the problem and had laundry stacking up, so didn’t argue with calling a repairman. If you can figure out how to get the cover off the washing machine and can pull the old valve off first and take it along in order to match it at the parts supplier, it’s a pretty straightforward thing to fix.
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