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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Hello Sir,
I have faced same problem like yours. Changed the pump but drains and fills at the same time after the change. Did you get a solution. Pls let me know.
I have a top loader fully automatic washing machine LG that keeps emptying while filling and really stressing me out been trying what was said about the drain hose but nothing
I have the same machine that UWL 15 and when I start the machine ifills and starts to pump out the water at the same time I recently replaced the pump diverter valve and I replaced the board and it still does this with the new board in it and second light from left is not lit when you start a cycle
Thank you so much. I just bout a portable washer and put the hose in the tub to drain. The washer was in an endless cycle of filling and draining at the same time and I had no clue what to do. I hung the drain hose on then shower head and it fixed the problem! Thank you!
Omg this fixed my issue! I have a LG Inverter Direct Drive 5.5kg top loader washing machine. I had the drain hose on the back of my washing machine super tight. The hose was just running along the floor and in to a drain pipe (because our laundry tub still needs to be fitted off). The washing machine would try to fill with water but drain out at the same time. I read this article, I lossened off the screw clamp on the back so it wasn’t super tight and raised the other end up higher than the back of the exit on the washing machine as stated. Done a tub clean and the washing machine is filling up and doing a cycle. Thank you, thank you!!!
Simple as that! I was about to go looking for replacement parts.
Thanks for the advise…worked by simply elevating the height of the drain pipe.