I received the following question from someone having difficulty in getting the manufacturer to send an engineer to look at their faulty washing machine.
My LG washing machine is not taking on enough water for a satisfactory wash, there is only a very small pool of water in the bottom of the drum. When I phoned customer services they stated there should be more water than this (at least a water level half way up the door). They suggested that my water pressure must be too low to feed the machine and that I get the water board out to put it up.
The water board visited and the pressure was fine. I further contacted LG who then advised I get my insurers (Comet) back out and tell them it is probably the pump. Is the intake of water reliant on the pump? Thanks.”
From your description of events it sounds like you are getting the run-around. You don’t say if the washing machine is under their guarantee or not but I would assume it is. Otherwise they’d be happy to send an engineer who would give you a bill. Maybe their operators are under some sort of pressure to try and reduce the amount of engineer visits by filtering out jobs that they think might not be covered. Having said that, if the fault does not lie with the washing machine they would normally charge the customer. So it may be fortunate that they don’t send an engineer out too easily if he ends up having to charge because it isn’t covered.
If the washing machine was not taking in enough water due to low water pressure then the washing machine should bring up an error code and abort the wash as described in my article on Low water pressure and washing machines. If the washing machine is happily washing without producing an error code I can’t see how the water pressure could be too low, which has been confirmed by the water board.
If there was a problem with the pump it should also produce an error code. The fact that no error codes are being triggered implies it’s not got a fault, which ironically may be why they fobbed you off. However, if it isn’t washing satisfactorily there must be a cause somewhere.
I’m not aware that the water level should come up half way up the door glass on modern washing machines, in fact using the least amount of water has been the focus of all washing machine manufacturers for years resulting in poor rinse efficiency (Why can’t modern washing machines rinse properly?) Manufacturers proudly boast about how little water their washing machines use so I’d be surprised if it’s supposed to get halfway up the door glass on wash.
These articles may be worth looking at regarding possible causes of poor wash results
- Whites coming out of washing machine looking grey, coloureds losing their colour
- White streaks or residual washing powder on laundry after washing
- Grease marks or spots on laundry
- washing isn’t coming out clean or has marks on it
The last article mentions a partial blockage in the pump or pump filter which can cause a washing machine not to rinse very well though these days washing machines normally time out and produce error codes if the pump isn’t pumping at a proper rate.
If none of these seem applicable you will need to get an engineer to look at it though they might try to charge of they can’t find a fault so make sure you check all the possibilities first. Try to keep some examples of the poor wash results to show. (Related: My washing machine is under guarantee, but repair company say they will charge me if their engineer can’t find any fault Can they do that?)
washer help, thank you for your helpful reply, i use two washing powders, 1 for whites and one for coloureds. i have taken out a five year guarantee with comet. ( the machine is 18 months old ) the machine is high maintenance, calogen, occasional crystals and monthly machine cleaner, there can not possibly be enough water in the machine to give good results. the main purpose of a washing machine is to give good results, not save on water. my machine is ruining my clothes / towels. after one more attempt with comet ( their last visit, they sold me powders ) i intend to dump the £500 machine and buy a reconditioned hot and cold fill for £100 and odd pounds. the makers that decide to bring back the original machines will do a roaring trade.
Hello Barbara: Their object today is to give good results using the least amount of water possible, a trend which started over 15 years ago and has got worse. There are lots of sites ranking washing machines on how much or little water they use and encouraging consumers to buy the ones using the least amount.
I personally think it’s gone way too far, but consumers do fall for it and get suckered into buying one washer over another because it uses a few litres less water. Manufacturers have designed drum paddles that scoop up water and sprinkle it on top of the laundry, or pumps that pump water from the bottom up to the top of the drum to spray water over the top of the laundry. These methods both allow less water to be used, they claim it’s like the difference between having a bath and a shower.
They also soak laundry for longer to help get better results in less water and most of them don’t rinse as well as they used to before. At the end of the day most modern washing machines claim to use a lot less water than they used to. Whether this is related to your poor wash results or not is hard to tell but if it’s not fit for its purpose and can’t wash properly you should be entitled to a refund under the Sale of Goods Act.
Many modern washing machines have so little water in them on wash you can hardly see any water when it has laundry in. It’s around 15 years back that washing machines used to fill with enough water on wash to come 2 or 3 inches over the bottom of the door glass. On rinses water used to go half way up the door glass but these days that would be considered extremely extravagant.