If you are having trouble with your top or front loading washing machine not filling with water, here are some quick fix tips. This guide will show you what to do if your washing machine will not fill with HOT or COLD water. Both of these issues can be fixed by doing a few simple checks.
The main causes your washing machine is not filling with water MAY BE:
1. One of the water valves (hot or cold) supplying the washer with water has been turned off or closed.
2. Your washer has a shutoff valve on the back that may be in the closed position.
3. There may be a water filter on your washer that is clogged and tells the washer computer (control board) to not allow water to enter.
4. A hose or water connector on the back or inside the washer is defective or clogged.
5. The water to your home has been turned off temporarily (the city may be doing work outside and did not notify you).
If the washer is brand new…
Check the back of it to be sure there is not a shutoff valve in the closed position near the water hose connection.
Many of the newer front load HE machines have a shutoff valve and sometimes during shipping it is put into the closed position.
So your problem with your washing machine not filling with water may be as simple as just turning the valve to open.
Your washing machine may have a shutoff valve in the
water connection assembly, make sure it is not closed.
If the washer is not new and is suddenly NOT filling with water…
Your NEWER washer may have a water filter installed.
If so it may be clogged and telling the computer to not allow water to enter.
If your washer has a special filter, clean or replace it and test the washer for water flow.
If there is no filter on your washer then you will need to take further steps to find the problem.
Check to be sure the water supply valves that supply
water to your washer are not closed or off.
To determine if a valve may be shut…
Unplug the washer and slide it out from the wall to leave space to access the water valves.
Locate the 2 water valves (one is for hot water and one is for cold water).
If both water valves are open (hot and cold) then there is a problem in the washer or the water supply hoses.
Check to be sure that somehow the washer water valve has not been shut (may or may not be something on your washer but if so it is located on back of washer).
If you assume water is going to the washer and ALL valves are open, go to the next step below.
The HOT and COLD water lines will connect to the back
of your washer similar to the picture above.
To determine if water is being supplied to your washer…
Turn off the 2 water valves and remove the hoses from the back of the washer (not the wall).
Hold the ends of both hoses pointing into an empty bucket and open the valves.
If water flows then you know the hoses and valves are not clogged or defective. (This procedure will verify water flow to the washer and you can rule out a problem with the hoses or valves located on the wall)
While you have the water hoses disconnected, look into the hose connections on the back of the washer.
Make sure that there is nothing clogging the screen or in the hose connection.
If there is anything clogging the screen or blocking the connection, remove it and reinstall the hoses and test washer.
Some other tips and suggestions…
On most washers, if water flow is going to the machine but the machine will not fill with water, you probably have a bad water valve on the machine itself.
You can remove the water valve or hose connectors and see if there is anything visibly wrong with it.
Sometimes they crack and block water flow to the washer and may leak.
Washers that have a water shutoff valve on the back can sometimes fail in the closed position.
There are also hoses that are in the machine that may be clogged or possibly pinched.
This issue can be fixed yourself but taking the machine apart may be necessary to access all the hoses and water lines.
Feel free to ask us washing machine questions by using the comment form below and we will troubleshoot your issue for free and in a timely manner.
Written by Keith Schneerer
Certified Appliance Tech · Founder, RemoveAndReplace.com
Keith has spent 30+ years repairing machines, starting as a military mechanic and later maintaining food processing equipment before moving into appliance repair. He founded RemoveAndReplace.com to share field-tested repair advice.
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My Whirlpool washing machine doesn’t fill up continuously, the water is on/off by itself, takes hours to fill up. When the water is in, it pours in with good pressure, but only for few seconds then stops, then comes back on again .. etc. If I filled it up manually to the level I picked (load size), it worked just fine, even the rinse cycle didn’t have problem. Is the problem with “water pressure” switch? Or something else?
My indesit IWD71250 washing machine wont fill with water, I was wondering would I need a new water valve or the water pump?
How hard it would be to replace either?
I have a Simpson encore 703 washing machine, 7kg top load.
I have a problem with the water inlet I think
When I first put it on it fills up the machine with water normally and starts its cycle, after it rinses and begins to again fill up with water, the water just trickles out slowly then it says error, I haven’t noted the error code.
I start the cycle again and it works fine up to that point, after that it rinses and then trickles out again so I pause the machine and press the button to send it to the spin, that’s what I’ve been doing to get my by.
GE model GTW460ASJ3WW
I have the model above and just outside the one year warranty (Feb). In Dec the machine was continuously running water after cleaning out cold water filter plugged with same. Now three months later and past warranty the GE machine is disbursing water at a slower pace but not filling up drum. I have watched it and it’s like the water is just draining out bottom then at some point it decides it is full based on setting of large load with cold water. However the machine only has half hand Or 4-5 inches of water on super fill. Is this a valve problem in the machine?
Bev,
Is the o-ring damaged or ripped on the coin trap?
Make sure you install a new and clean gasket or o-ring seal on the coin trap or debris filter.
If the seal is damaged it will leak.
Check on Amazon or your local home improvement store as you may be able to match it up and use a universal seal.
-RR
Kenmore he model 110 what to do when There may be a water filter on your washer that is clogged and tells the washer computer (control board) to not allow water to enter. My husband unclonged it but it still won’t fill
I have a Frigidaire FWS1233FS0, and we purchased it new back in 2008. We only used it for about 6 months, before we moved into a house where the homeowners had a washer. It unfortunately has a latch issue, so we decided to hook up our old one. we wanted to run a cycle empty first to just clear out anything that might be remaining from before. For some reason though the water is running into the drum, but it isn’t filling. So there it sits pouring more and more water in, but it doesn’t advance the cycle since the water is just flowing out. Any idea what we might need to look at?