Last updated on May 22nd, 2017
If laundry on a drying cycle comes out of a washer dryer hot and steamy there is a problem with the condensing process. Condenser washer dryers pass the steam through a plastic chamber on the back of the outer drum. During the drying cycle a steady trickle of cold water runs into the top of this chamber. When steam hits the cold water it condenses back into water. The water runs into the bottom of the outer drum and is pumped down the drain as normal.
Clearly the heating element is working OK if the laundry is hot and there is steam in the drum when you open the door. The hot steam generated by drying just isn’t being dealt with. This is likely to be for one of two reasons –
No cold water is running into the condenser chamber
There’s a dedicated valve with a flow restrictor supplying water into the condenser chamber. If the main fill valve was faulty the washing machine would fail on the wash cycle first so the main water valve or plumbing isn’t a suspect (unless there’s very low water pressure maybe). It’s easy to see the dedicated condenser water valve (solenoid). It is attached to a small hose leading to a large plastic compartment at the back of the outer drum. If you know what you are doing you can check that the solenoid hasn’t gone open circuit. Water valves have a very high resistance and could appear open circuit depending on what type of test meter is used. If I remember correctly they are often around 200 Ohms. If you have an appropriate test meter compare the resistance with the other valves. They should be very similar.
The water flow into the condenser chamber is usually only a trickle. This is not a fault. For the steam to be condensed into water there should be some water constantly running into the chamber on the drying cycle.
The condensed water can’t run into the main drum to be pumped away
Another fault is when water is trickling in, but a blockage at the bottom of the condenser chamber is stopping it from running into the main drum to be pumped away. Faults with the main pump would produce the same symptoms – but they would also cause faults in the wash cycle. It might be possible to observe that water is slowly rising up inside the bottom of this chamber. Water should run straight through into the outer drum.
Poorly designed condenser chambers can accumulate fluff inside or can accumulate gunge blocking the path from the chamber to inside the main drum.
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This article was inspired by a question which I answered on my Washerhelp forums. You might be interested in seeing the conversation here
Clothes Coming Out Of Washer Dryer Hot And Steamy, Still Wet (goes to washing machine forums).
Would I be right to assume that condenser dryers not connected to mains water use the water recovered from the laundry itself to feed this constant trickle of water?
No Riccardo. A condenser dryer needs to be connected to the cold water supply to be able to dry laundry.
Hi i have this problem on a normal dryer not a condensing dryer i have cleared all the filters and it is still doing it the steam stays in the drum it doesnt come out of the vent which is also clean and clear help please
Hello Samantha. On a vented dryer the steam is blown out of the dryer with a fan. If it isn’t clearing the steam the fan must not be running, or there’s a blockage around or in the fan chamber. Another possibility is if there is a vent hose connected that could be blocked.
hi, i have steam from the soap draw on my lg washer dryer (condenser) it seems the valve isn’t being energised as i have replaced the valve and it’s still doing it. can you advise on what i should check to see what is not energising the valve? The whole machine has been checked for blockages and apart from the steam everything is fine with the machine.
thanks for any help
Hello Brad. That washing machine has an “inlet valve for steam”. Also, if a valve isn’t working the washing machine should malfunction or bring up an error code.
thanks Andy…I have changed the valve but still the steam,
the service manual has some tests that can be done so i did them by holding two buttons and starting the machine then cycling through tests to perform actions to check things are working ok. one test was (turn on Inlet valve for dry) and the valve did turn on and water trickled out into the condenser chamber, so i know the valve is being energised and water does flow into the chamber when instructed. There was another test (Water level Sensor for Steam) i chose that test and the machine just shuts off no error code or anything just OFF. i then tested the pressure switch to see if it had a fault with the multimeter. The manual says “is the resistance of the Pressure Switch out of range?” if so replace the pressure switch.
[Pin1 ~ Pin3] should be 21~23Ω)
on pin 1 and 3 i get 0.00Ω with the multimeter i don’t ever see 21-23Ω
does that mean the pressure switch could be faulty. is it possible the pressure switch could be responsible for the excess steam i’m seing as it’s not telling the valve to open and send water to the condenser chamber and so i see excess steam?
its definitely is a puzzle and if it wasn’t for the fact the machine is working fine but for some steam from the soap draw i would have called someone out by now. thanks again.
brad