washing machine leaking when filling

Hi - I have a Hotpoint WMA52 and it's just flooded the cellar. The water it's filling with is backing up into the soap drawer and spilling out. I had the top off and squeezed the hose between the soap drawer and the drum, this seems to have made some difference but when I turn the pressure up it still overflows. It drains the water quite happily (pump OK). The prewash light is flashing when it has filled up anyway.
Should there be a float switch and is that knackered?
Should I be able to see water in the drum to a depth of up to the door bottom when it's filled - cos I can.
What next, I usually fix stuff myself but know little of washing machines!
Thanks

  Quoted Text Here  
If it spilling out of the soap drawer before the whole machine is full to the same height then simple logic tells you it isn't a float switch at fault. It's a (partial) blockage in the pipe between the soap drawer and drum.
  Quoted Text Here  
Yes, or there wouldn't be anything for Mrs Bartolozzi's clothes to go "slooshy sloshy slooshy sloshy" in and get all those dirty shirties clean.

"It's a (partial) blockage in the pipe between the soap drawer and
  Quoted Text Here  
that's what I thought but I can't feel one, and can feel right to where it joins the drum. The pipe is very flexible, I can make it meet in the middle. I've never had a washing machine to bits and can imagine all sorts of bizarre syphonic madness that would confuse common sense.
I can't see how to get at the pipe further - would I have to take the door off and seals, or take the soap wotsit right out?
I'm sure there's a good reason for it but it would be nice if the sides came off!

  Quoted Text Here  
I think something similar happened to us once. The pipe between the soap drawer and the drum had become completely clogged with soap powder. It was a devil of a job to get it shifted - I think the pipe was almost impossible to remove and clean out. Since then we have either put the powder directly in the drum or used liquid detergent.
Keith

On Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:01:52 -0800 (PST), snipped-for-privacy@hunterpipes.co.uk wrote:
  Quoted Text Here  
Have you tried pushing something long and flexible down through the pipe Sam? (if the hose between the soap tray and the drum is large enough, maybe a bit of garden hose?)
  Quoted Text Here  
Nope, it's all pretty logical, well all apart from any logic that is. ;-)
  Quoted Text Here  
Yes, and in fact exactly what I did this very afternoon on a new_to_us machine. In this case the soap draw swung out as a quadrant and then unclipped to gain access to underneath it. It was 'packed' to up under the bottom of the 'draw' with a solid wodge of fairly hard soap powder. I lifted most of it up as a chunk and carefully (wooden spatula) scraped up any of the remaining bits, followed with a wet rag to mop up the rest. I then turned the machine on and ensured the water flowed through the area, washing away any remaining debris.
All the best ..
T i m

On 2008-01-23 18:15:49 +0000, snipped-for-privacy@hunterpipes.co.uk said:
  Quoted Text Here  
Does it fill eventually to the correct level and then stop filling?
If so, then the level switch is OK. These are usually a diaphragm pressure switch which looks like a flat, normally metal object quite high up in the machine and connected using normally a transparent plastic tube to the drum or a hose low down etc. The principle is that water goes up the transparent tube, compresses air in it and operates the switch to turn off the water filling. Some switches have more than one switch and hence level. The clear tube can become blocked with detergent at the bottom and the switch will work erratically or not at all resulting in too much water or too little. Sometimes the switches themselves fail.
More likely with what you describe is that the tube from the detergent dispenser has become clogged with congealed detergent. This happens because most washes are warm these days and some gets left behind. There is often a smell from it in the machine. You can remove it mechanically by inserting a soft tube down the inside of said tube - don't use anything hard or you may puncture it. If there is a hot water supply, then try to introduce hot water down there as well. You can soften and remove more by running the machine at its 90 degree setting once every couple of weeks for a while.

snipped-for-privacy@hunterpipes.co.uk wrote:
  Quoted Text Here  
If you have the top off, take out the pipe 'twixt drawer and drum completely and clear it manually - it's likely to be encrusted with powder. If possible, feed a length of wire through it, then tie a small rag to one end of the wire and pull it through. Failing that, make a new pipe using hosepipe or similar

I poured a kettle of boiling water down the soap drawer and then ran a boil wash program. This seems to have done the trick, fingers crossed.
We never wash above 40 and often at 30 but in future will run a hot wash every now and then, and do the kettle trick when necc, as I don't think a boil wash would get hot water through the inlet hose.
Thanks everyone.

On Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:28:46 -0800 (PST), snipped-for-privacy@hunterpipes.co.uk wrote:
  Quoted Text Here  
Have you not managed to pull the draw right out then Sam?
I did it yesterday on the AEG (just to check), the draw slides out to it's stops then an extra tug pulls it right out. Same with the Ariston even though it's a completely different format.
I think this is generally the way they work so you can clean them (and under them) out once in a while.
Not to say they ALL pull out of course! ;-)
All the best ..
T i m

  Quoted Text Here  
Surprising the gunge you find under the soap tray .Try pulling it out until it will go no further then tug or lift and tug .

T i m wrote:
  Quoted Text Here  
Ours has a little button thing you press. RTFM.
Andy

  Quoted Text Here  
If the drawer to drum pipe is definately clear, then the flow into the machine may be to great.
Try running some hot water into the soap drawer to disolve and flush any congealed soap. If the flow is too great, you can get restrictor washers to fit on the CW feed pipe.
  Quoted Text Here  
No!
It turns the water on until it senses the correct level in the drum, then turns it off. The over flowing is a separate matter entirely - either not draing to the drum fast enough, or water going in too fast.
  Quoted Text Here  
If you want to wash things, it needs to fill with water to a level. The correct level is usually around the bottom of the window.