Question: Every 3 out of 5 washes our washing machine will fill with water and just keep filling and filling. During this time, the water will drain out normally at the same exact time. Our washer is in an endless fill/drain cycle. It is stuck filling and draining until we unplug the machine. We sometimes just set the load to the end of the wash cycle and wait a few hours before trying again. Sometimes this happens and other times it does not. What could be causing this to happen?
If your washing machine (top load or front load) is filling with water WHILE it is draining, here is a simple quick fix. This issue happens frequently and about 90% of the time it is NOT THE WASHER MALFUNCTIONING. This “washer fills and drains at same time” issue can be fixed in a matter of minutes. See below for how easy this repair solution is. This easy fix solution will work on all washers including GE, Whirlpool, Kenmore, Samsung, LG, Frigidaire, Maytag, and more.
Answer: Your washer DRAIN HOSE is causing a siphoning condition. Your washing machine drain hose is pushed way too far into the stand pipe in the wall. There needs to be an air gap and by having the drain pipe pushed too far there is no air gap. This creates a vacuum or siphoning affect and the water is pulled out of the washer as it fills with water. What you need to do is pull the drain hose out of the stand pipe and put it back in making sure it is not in the wall too far or too deep. There needs to be a bend at the apex of the drain hose. It needs to be above the height of the wash tub. Once you have the drain pipe or hose in the exact position you need it to be in to not cause siphoning, tie the drain hose to the water fill hoses with a plastic zip tie so it can’t fall back down deep or pull out.
Top Load Washer Fills and Drains At Same Time
If you know of another way for a washing machine to fill and drain at the same time, please leave a comment below to assist our other readers.
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 machine has been filling with water while I was doing a load of laundry, but it would also drain at the same time. I thought this was rather strange, so it’s good to know that there’s something that I can do about it. It seems like fixing my drain hose so that it isn’t pushed too far into the stand pipe is a good way to fix the problem. I should check out the drain hose on my washer to find out if that’s exactly what’s causing it to drain while filling up with water.
Denise,
Your drain tube is not vertically located in the right spot. Our WASHER WILL DRAIN AND FILL AT SAME TIME page will help you.
-RR
After trying to do our part in drought stricken California by buying biodegradable soap and allowing the washer to drain out onto the lawn…the washer started filling and draining at the same time. Initially thought it might be a bad pump because of back pressure…thinking we’ll just have to buy a new washer. Went online came across your site and low and behold the solution to our problem!! Thank you for posting this advice!! Most appreciated!
What a helpful site. With just a few paragraphs and a YouTube video it immediately answered a problem I have been looking up for hours on other sites.
Thanks for the advice. I didn’t know that it’s a common problem for washers to keep filling with water while it’s draining. I’ve always thought that it was something strange that would cause my washer to malfunction. It’s good to know that the washer isn’t really malfunctioning, but the drain hose. I’ll be sure to make sure that the drain hose has an air gap so that it won’t siphon.
Jim,
You probably have a faulty water inlet valve. First check to see if you are getting proper voltage to the valve. If in doubt remove and replace the water inlet valve and test your washer. GE may call this part something different but similar.
-RR
I have a GE front load. At the rinse cycle, the water turns on and does not turn off during the spin cycle. It continues to add water even after the timer goes off. I need to turn the water off manually and do a drain and spin cycle to get my clothes to a damp condition.