Washing machine not filling up with enough water

[PrincessGrownUp]

I was wondering if anyone experienced the same thing. In the summer we bought a new top loader with no agitator. It automatically senses the amount of clothing to fill it up with water. My clothes are not getting clean. Since I can see through the top, I see that it's not filling up with enough water. The troubleshooting part in the manual says to check that water handle on the wall is open all the way, and it is. Does anyone know if there is a way to override it, so it can fill with more water? It's a samsung. I put it on 'soak' and it only filled up half the way.

 

[supersnoop]

If you bought it in the summer, it should still be under warranty. Call Samsung and have them troubleshoot it or send someone out to diagnose it.

 

[eeyore81]

We got rid of our washer that was only a couple of years old because of this. Apparently the new washers conserve water. Our clothes never came out clean. I did some research and ended up buying a top loading GE with an agitator. It also has a deep fill function. I wish it filled all the way like my old washer, but it was the best option I could find in a new washer.

 

[Eliza32]

Try a front loader, then everything turns through the water even if it fills less.

 

[Gracie09]

Make sure you are filling it right. Ours you have to leave a hole in the middle (where the agitator would be if there was one). If you don't the water doesn't filled correctly

 

[Ali]

how do you leave a hole in the middle?

 

[North of Mouse]

I was wondering if anyone experienced the same thing. In the summer we bought a new top loader with no agitator. It automatically senses the amount of clothing to fill it up with water. My clothes are not getting clean. Since I can see through the top, I see that it's not filling up with enough water. The troubleshooting part in the manual says to check that water handle on the wall is open all the way, and it is. Does anyone know if there is a way to override it, so it can fill with more water? It's a samsung. I put it on 'soak' and it only filled up half the way.

I have a Samsung front loader that has the same type sensor for water levels and it cleans the clothes perfectly - is very conservative with water. I would have a service person from Samsung come out and show them that your clothes are not getting clean - no excuse for that! Good luck!

Try a front loader, then everything turns through the water even if it fills less.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Try looking on you tube for a solution. Last summer mine was on the fritz and found out on you tube how to fix it. Sears wanted $300 to fix it I fixed it for $48.00!

 

[disney55]

I found that the bedding selection fills all the way. I just wash everything on that setting. Try that.

 

[pigletto]

I was looking online and reading reviews for washers recently. This appears to be very common with the new top loaders that don't have an agitator. I wish I could give you a fix.. mostly I just read "Don't buy this machine because..." . It's great to conserve water, but there really should be an option to add the water level you want.

 

[PrincessGrownUp]

Make sure you are filling it right. Ours you have to leave a hole in the middle (where the agitator would be if there was one). If you don't the water doesn't filled correctly

I can't do this because after I put the clothes in then turn it on, it spins the dry clothes (I'm guessing to weigh it and to make sure it's balanced). Then it fills with water.

 

[PrincessGrownUp]

I found that the bedding selection fills all the way. I just wash everything on that setting. Try that.

I'll try this, thanks. Unfortunately the bedding selection is 1.5 hours long. I hate this washer!

 

[cvjw]

When we bought a new washer and dryer a couple of years ago, the guy at Lowe's told us to stay away from the "new" top loaders for this very reason. New government regulations limit the number of gallons of water that can be used in washers these days, so he said to avoid the top loaders and buy a front loader.

With a top loader, he said either your clothes would not get clean if you filled the washer with the normal amount of clothes, or you would spend forever washing if you washed only very small loads at a time.

I also miss my old timey washer. You could pile a huge load of clothes in there and they always got clean. My front loader cleans my clothes really well, but it is a PITA to use. Have to put the right load of clothes in it, or it gets hung up in the spin cycle and won't go any further.

 

[seashoreCM]

The troubleshooting part in the manual says to check that water handle on the wall is open all the way, and it is. Does anyone know if there is a way to override it, so it can fill with more water?

There may be an internal misadjustment that needs a serviceman to fix.

If you need to, or if you are able to, alter the amount of water used by the washing machine by manipulating the handle or faucets on the wall then the machine is defective or is of an inherently bad design.

Machines that let water in only for a predetermined time and were therefore sensitive to the setting of the handle on the wall have been made and sold going back for more than 70 years. That design was inherently bad then and is inherently bad now.

A properly designed and properly running machine will admit the same amount of water before agitating regardless of any misadjustment of the handle on the wall. If you forgot to turn on the handle then the machine should wait forever to fill.

For a top loader with center agitator, the clothes should be completely submerged during agitation. Now it is true that for the first minute, the clothes may be above the water line but once soaked with water the clothes should go down below the water line.

Is there a knob n your machine to let you adjust the water level manually?

Not enough water in the machine will put extra wear and tear on the clothes.
.

 

[Gracie09]

how do you leave a hole in the middle?

You put the clothes around the outside like you would if there was an agitator.
Op read the manual either online or the book that came with your unit. There should be a problem shooting section.

 

[North of Mouse]

I also miss my old timey washer. You could pile a huge load of clothes in there and they always got clean. My front loader cleans my clothes really well, but it is a PITA to use. Have to put the right load of clothes in it, or it gets hung up in the spin cycle and won't go any further.

Don't know what brand of FL you have, but my Samsung does not get out of balance. If it senses a balance issue, will just stop and toss the clothes a few times, then go on with its spin - love that they spin so dry!

 

[cvjw]

Don't know what brand of FL you have, but my Samsung does not get out of balance. If it senses a balance issue, will just stop and toss the clothes a few times, then go on with its spin - love that they spin so dry!

Fancy red LG set. If I have too many towels, or a large item in the wash, it will stop and try to rebalance during the spin cycle, but it never can. It will just stop and give me an error message. I have had the LG people out, and they say it is operating normally and to refer to my owner's manual for tips on how to load my washer I don't want to have to refer to my owner's manual for loading tips - I just want to load it like I did my old top loader!!

 

[Tink-n-MrIncredible]

My TL is two years old and I have the same issue. I also find it is worse with very dark or black color clothing. I hate the new washers, my clothes always seem to come out dirtier than when they went in.

 

[leebee]

Clothing cleanliness is directly related to the amount of water they are exposed to. The more water, for longer times, gives cleaner clothes. (and I wish I could reference link this but I can't- the article was in one of DH's environmental science journals with subscription-access only). While water temp and soap make a difference, the biggest factor in having clean clothes is ample water in contact with the clothes. I am always thankful that we have been able to keep our 20 year old Whirlpool washer running because I detest the new, water-limited washers, and always hear my friends complaining about theirs. DH has done some repairs on Ol' Bessie, as he refers to the washer (thankfully the repair info is online), but I dread the day when Bessie finally poops out.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

Clothing cleanliness is directly related to the amount of water they are exposed to. The more water, for longer times, gives cleaner clothes. (and I wish I could reference link this but I can't- the article was in one of DH's environmental science journals with subscription-access only). While water temp and soap make a difference, the biggest factor in having clean clothes is ample water in contact with the clothes. I am always thankful that we have been able to keep our 20 year old Whirlpool washer running because I detest the new, water-limited washers, and always hear my friends complaining about theirs. DH has done some repairs on Ol' Bessie, as he refers to the washer (thankfully the repair info is online), but I dread the day when Bessie finally poops out.

I'm in the same boat - we have a Kenmore washing machine that is almost 18 years old. I went through a phase where I thought we should pony up and get a new one - until I read the reviews online (especially about the water level problem in newer machines). I have decided we are going to use this machine until it drops and then worry about a new one (maybe by then they will have figured out a good 'solution'). Good luck OP I hope you can figure out a way to make your machine work properly