I get a lot of people asking about the water level inside the drum on their washing machine. Sometimes people can hardly see any water in the drum, and want to know if it is normal.
The short answer is that modern washing machines try to use as little water as possible, so it may well be normal. I can’t rule out a fault, but this article may help you decide if you should be concerned or not.
Are you sure it’s using less water than normal?
Have you definitely noticed there was always a certain amount of water in the drum, and now noticed it seems to have dropped significantly? Or have you never paid that much attention to the water levels, and maybe just noticed there isn’t much water in the drum? Maybe something has made you look closer – such as the laundry not coming out as clean or not rinsing properly anymore? It is unusual for a fault to cause much less water to enter the drum, usually it’s either none at all or too much. However, I can’t rule it out.
How much water should be in the drum?
Unless it’s quite old, probably not much at all, but it varies. It may be normal that you can hardly see any water, but you should be able to see that water drips onto the laundry when the drum is revolving, and that the laundry is adequately wet. Another complication is that many washing machines these days have a brush-less motor. Brush-less motors are completely silent at low speeds.
This can add to the feeling that something’s not quite right because it’s all so quiet on wash. For most of the history of washing machines they used a lot of water. On a wash cycle a typical washer would fill up to a few inches above the lip of the drum.
How much water used to be used?
On rinses the water would rise as high as halfway up the door glass. So on a wash cycle you could clearly see and hear lots of water sloshing about. In the 80s manufacturer’s started to try and reduce the amount of water used. This was for environmental reasons and because using less gave them better energy efficiency ratings.
How do they work with such little water?
They use the same principle as the difference between a bath and a shower. Instead of soaking the laundry in a large amount of water they shower it instead. The plastic lifters or baffles inside the drum lift and scoop water up and sprinkle it onto the laundry as the drum revolves..
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How can you tell if the water level is right?
If you are concerned something is definitely wrong you’d need an engineer to investigate. I have an article here about how washing machines control water levels though you should know what you are doing before interfering. If the washing machine otherwise seems to work ok, it completes the cycle in roughly the time quoted in the manual – and the laundry comes out clean – then it is probably OK.
If you suspect there is no water in the drum at all
It is possible for a fault to cause the washing machine to not take any water in at all. In such a scenario something causes the pressure system to think there is water inside the drum when there isn’t. This can cause it to start washing – and heating the phantom water. This is a dangerous condition because the outer drums are made of plastic, so the outer drum and of course the dry laundry could catch fire. This is a rare fault but call an engineer if suspected.
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I have to stay by the Sharp washer and manually use a hosepipe to add water in able to get it to wash and rinse properly. Manufacturers shouldn’t have messed about rendering their machines not fit for purpose.
an automatic machine should wash and rinse properly without my having to do anything. I am now looking at a way to fix the water sensor thing so that it allows a decent amount of water to enter the drum in order to actually clean the laundry. It’s false economy to using only half the amount of laundry in the drum and washing twice in order to get things clean.
Hi Pam. Modern washing machines and detergents are designed to wash effectively with lower temperatures and lower amounts of water. The downside to this is that they need to take a lot longer to achieve this. Sometimes 2 or 3 hours.
A lot of people decide to use quick wash cycles, or use option buttons to reduce the wash times. This adversely degrades the wash results.
Make sure you are using the exact and proper wash cycles as indicated on laundry wash labels, and that you use the proper amount of detergent as described on the detergent box for the level of soiling and hardness of water.
If you do, washing should be clean, though it maybtake a lot longer. But not necessarily longer than washing twice with two lots of detergent.
I have a Samsun Digital Inverter Technology (eco bubble) washer / dryer machine (WD90J6A10AX/EU).
A 4C code (water is not supplied) has appeared which has disabled the machine from completing a full washing cycle.
I have tried to trouble shoot some of the more common problems such as:
Make sure the water taps are open – Make sure the water hose are not clogged – Make sure the water taps are not frozen – Make sure the water machine is operating with sufficient water pressure – Make sure the cold water tap are properly connected & Clean the mesh filter as it may be clogged. I have checked all of the above & everything seems to be clean and working as they should be.
I have replaced the 4-Way Water Solenoid Valve as this appeared to be the next common fault that would display a 4C code if it was not working, but the problem still remains. However, after purchasing a replacement 4-Way Water Solenoid Valve & the 4C code persisted whilst trying to complete a wash cycle, I did an ohms test on the Water Solenoid Valve. This appears to indicate that the Water Solenoid Valve that I purchased, worked within their permitted parameters.
I am aware that there could be an issue with the PCB, on the front display panel or possibly the water sensor may need replacing, but I am hesitant to keep on buying parts that I may not need to buy to fix this issue.
I have also done a diagnostic mode Test which controls the fill cycle, test the water valve, & tests the pumps via the diagnostic mode and no faults come up, it appears to work perfectly fine.
If you can offer any support in trying to resolve this issue it would be really appreciated.
Hi Paul. Yes replacing parts in the hope that it will fix a fault is risky. You should definitely not buy more parts unless you can diagnose that one does need replacing. If the washing machine is trying to fill with water, but none is going in, the first thing to do is take off the fill hose and point it into a sink or bucket and turn the tap back on to make sure a strong flow of water is running through the hose.
If it is, and you know it’s not a faulty water valve because you’ve replaced it then that only really leaves a wiring or connection fault, the pcb or pressure system. Try the washing machine on a spin cycle. If it spins normally it’s unlikely to be a pressure system problem but if it won’t kick into a fast spin maybe the pressure system is stuck in the on position telling the pcb that it is full of water when it isn’t.
In that scenario it would stop the washer going into a spin and stop it taking any water in because it thinks it is full of water. To learn more about it check the link in this article about how a washing machine controls water levels.
Hi Andy, I really appreciate you getting back to me so quickly.
I forgot to mention in my initial message, that I have taken off the fill hose already and turned on the water, it appeared to come out with some force as water literally splashed all over the kitchen units, so I don’t think that’s the issue, here.
I have tried it on a spin cycle with no rinse and no codes appear but if I put it on a Rinse and Spin cycle the 4C code appears.
I have also had the top of the washing machine, off & looked to see if there are any blockages in the pipe that allow the water to flow into the drum that leads from the deterrent draw. After checking this, it would appear that the water is going into the drum as it should be, as this is something I can visually see happening as well.
When you talk about, in your above message, the PCB possibly being a potential issue here, which one would you be talking about? I am aware that there are two PCB within this washing machine. The one on the front panle and I believe there is one in the bottom left hand corner of the machine which is enclosed in a plastic box unit.
Thanks again for any help you can offer. I will have a look at the article about how a washing machine controls water levels to see if this can enlighten me, in resolving my washing machine issue.
Hi Andy, I really appreciate you getting back to me so quickly.
I forgot to mention in my initial message, that I have taken off the fill hose already and turned on the water, it appeared to come out with some force as water literally splashed all over the kitchen units, so I don’t think that’s the issue, here.
I have tried it on a spin cycle with no rinse and no codes appear but if I put it on a Rinse and Spin cycle the 4C code appears.
I have also had the top of the washing machine, off & looked to see if there are any blockages in the pipe that allow the water to flow into the drum that leads from the deterrent draw. After checking this, it would appear that the water is going into the drum as it should be, as this is something I can visually see happening as well.
When you talk about, in your above message, the PCB possibly being a potential issue here, which one would you be talking about? I am aware that there are two PCB within this washing machine. The one on the front panle and I believe there is one in the bottom left hand corner of the machine which is enclosed in a plastic box unit.
Thanks again for any help you can offer. I will have a look at the article about how a washing machine controls water levels to see if this can enlighten me, in resolving my washing machine issue.