Have Googled somewhat for the answer to this, and it seems to be 90/10 split (90% likely backfill / 10% likely bad valve(s) in machine). Considering the outlet hose 'curved bit' hooks into the plumbing at a height of about 3ft (about 6in short of the top of the machine), that seems to rule out backfill issues - or does it? Seemed the main (only?) backfill cause was height (or hose crimping etc). Does anyone know?
This happened once before, maybe two years ago, then again yesterday (i.e come home to find water on the floor & the drum 1/3 full). Although, there have been many small (an inch or two wide) puddles just under one corner of the machine over this time.
It has to be the inlet valve letting by for the amount of water you are describing - for it to have come from the drain, where would it have come from, the pipes cant hold that much water!
On Fri, 25 Jun 2010 11:35:37 +0100, NT wrote (in article ):
Hard to tell. Couldn't open machine otherwise it would have gone all over floor. Tried the 'sniff' test after I'd drained it, but wasn't sure (my sense of smell is useless). Through the (admittedly slightly dirty) door window it looked relatively clean, and I put very little water down the kitchen sink. However, the shower is just behind the wall, and feeds into the same pipes (within 3 or 4 feet). Could the shower water somehow back up the washing machine outlet?
On Fri, 25 Jun 2010 11:49:07 +0100, Toby wrote (in article ):
It did. The water had filled (well, 1/3) the drum & also leaked out from somewhere (maybe the same place as the 'regular' very small puddles I see as above). Opening the door would have let the flood out. It had still managed to find it's way to the back wall & between broken floorboards there. It was much worse last time as the drum was much fuller and I opened it without thinking after finding the floor awash!
On Fri, 25 Jun 2010 12:02:07 +0100, NT wrote (in article ):
I've turned off the two taps where the inlet hoses are attached to the bathroom sink pipes. Presumably now if the same thing happens it'll show it's the backfill. However, I am mindfull this has only happened twice in 4+ years (so it happening/not happening is no guarantee of cause), and also - at the moment anyway as I'm off to work - I can't wait with bucket/towels in hand "just in case". I'll probably remove the drainage hose, stick it in a bucket and give it a try on Sunday when I can observe.
If it was the filler valve, more interesting is the question of why and how it *stopped* leaking. The valves are normally assisted in keeping shut by the water pressure, but if the valve seat is worn or the solenoid is sometimes getting stuck: why would it then stop? Maybe ther is a combined problem of a wearing valve/diaphragm/solenoid and intermittent too low/high water pressure. You say the machine was 'off' : was this as in never having been on, or as in 'has stopped while full'? In the second case at least, the filler valve is not likely the problem. There you have an *intermittent* fault: which points to an electrical problem...
Careful step by step study of your set up will no doubt lead you to the cause.
Assuming this had happened during a wash cycle, and therefore you don't have a broken and permanently leaking valve: that leaves the water level monitoring device, which is a rather clever air pressure measuring system, and if any of its tubes get blocked - as is likely in any old machine, esp in a hard water area, and if you are a bit liberal with the soap powder - the machine may over-fill. It is also possible if this is an intermittent fault that the contacts in the diaphragm switch that is operated by the, possibly blocked, pressure tubes are on the way out. As your machine did eventually stop filling then I assume this would be a contacts problem.
Every home should have:
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it tells you simply how to check and fix this fault.
Cheap as chips (much cheaper!) and everything you need to know to fix the vast majority of faults, as they have not changed much over the years. Cannot recommend any DIY manual that is more useful. (There are actually quite a few versions of this manual around and they can usually be got for next to nothing.)
There are a suprising number of rubber tubes in a washing machine, and if you have had it for any length of time a number of them will be getting full of crud. When you have the m/c apart to change or clean the level switch or filler valve, take the time to clean out all the pipework, and pumps as well: they all come apart quite easily, once you have cracked the initial puzzle of how the case comes apart. (Many bits you can get at from above or below though.)
the usual explanation given for intermittent valve leak is grit caught in the valve.
But that still leaves the puzzle of why it had stopped filling by the time he got back? (Worth checking that the filter at the valve inlet has not been broken or left out though - perhaps there is some crud getting stirred up in the pipes from time to time.) That would leave, either a pressure variation in the supply - water hammer? -, or back filling from the outflow: which, if it's normally open ended like all those I've had, does not seem very likely either. One would have to see the set up and engage in some heavy duty head scratching I think! Interesting, but not much help to the OP I'm afraid :-(
Looking at the question on unblocking drains, reminds me of another possibility, but it would depend on your m/c's outflow pipe being plumbed in rather than just dangled as all the ones I've dealt with have been. Our washing machine blocks up our - rather small bore - waste pipes with an evil mix of soap powder, fat, and carbonate/phosphate, that has to be cleaned out regularly. When it does need doing, the water backs up, and all the sinks gurgle back up the line, as they are then the only outlet for displaced air when sinks further down the line are emptied. *If* your m/c has similarly blocked up the pipes, and *if* its outlet is plumbed in, rather than loose, then, when someone empties a bath say, further up the line, it could back up right into your washing machine.
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