Need To Increase the Water Level In Washing Machine

[retab12332]

Hi there, Model is GFW450SSMWW from GE brand. How do I increase the water level? It is pumping too little water. Is there a water valve or switch to increase the amount of water its pumping into the machine?

 

[Paperdoc]

I see the manual says the machine weights the clothing you have put in and adds the right amount of water for that load. How do you know what the water level SHOULD be? It certainly is NOT supposed to get full.

 

[retab12332]

I see the manual says the machine weights the clothing you have put in and adds the right amount of water for that load. How do you know what the water level SHOULD be? It certainly is NOT supposed to get full.

I know the machine is pre-programmed and all but stilll....it should not be this little water. At least, one should be able to SEE some water sloshing. Is there a way to program it?

 

[pcgeek11]

I see the manual says the machine weights the clothing you have put in and adds the right amount of water for that load. How do you know what the water level SHOULD be? It certainly is NOT supposed to get full.

Put something heavy in with the clothes until it fills with water. Then remove the heavy object.

Or buy a good washer that fills with water to the level you choose.. They do still make them.

 

[Steltek]

Unfortunately, you are the proud owner of a "high efficiency" appliance. Congratulations, and condolences.

It probably has a basic pressure switch to control the water level. A lot of them have an adjuster on them that can be used to adjust the pressure reading and make the water level lower or higher. I know nothing about that washer, though, so it would probably be something you'd want to ask a service person about. Otherwise, if you adjust it without knowing what you are doing, there might be....consequences.

 

[BoomerD]

When we first moved back to Washington state, we spent a few months in an apartment while we found a place to buy and did some renovations. The top-load washer in the apartment complex was very stingy with water, so I carried a 5 gallon bucket of water to add into every load after it had filled and started the cycle. Real PITA.

MOST newer programmable washers have codes that are used by service techs for diagnostics and can be used to add more water...the trick is finding the correct one for your machine. Keep in mind, front loader machines really aren't designed to run with water up above the bottom of door opening.

 

[Steltek]

One thing you can do, but it takes extra effort and will waste water with each load.

Load your clothes in the washer like normal, but do not add soap. Use the SPIN button to set for no spin. Fill the washer. As soon as it has the clothes wet, drain the washer. Then turn it off, back on, reset the SPIN function to normal, and run your normal cycle.

By doing this, the clothing will be wet before the cycle start and the wet clothing will weigh probably three times what they did dry. As a result, the washer will use more water when it fills to run for the full cycle.

EDIT:
Here is a link to a technical service manual for what is probably your model.

 

[Gardener]

I can't imagine getting my dirty work clothes clean without a significant amount of liquid to dissolve and dilute the dirt. Our old GE unit has full-sized cinderblock mounted in the base as ballast, came that way from the factory. The extra-large capacity wash uses 20 gallons of water for the wash cycle alone.

 

[bbhaag]

We purchased a new set of Maytags a couple of years ago when we moved into our new home and I absolutely hate the fact that the washing machine is a high efficiency model. It uses so little water on the normal wash cycle that sometimes the cloths in the middle of the drum don't even get wet....wtf Maytag how are our cloths even getting clean???

The only work around seems to be limiting the size of the load to something so small that the "efficiency" gains are negated because you need to do three times as many loads or use the bulky/sheets setting which actually fills the drum but comes with it's own set of drawbacks. I'll be honest it really sucks.

I also hate the fact that there is no agitator in the drum. I'm not sure which company first came up with this unholy idea but it fucking sucks. Anyway I'm getting off on a tangent now about modern washing machines so I'll call it there but even though our Maytag is only a couple of years old my wife and I have decided that it needs to go.

 

[pcgeek11]

We purchased a new set of Maytags a couple of years ago when we moved into our new home and I absolutely hate the fact that the washing machine is a high efficiency model. It uses so little water on the normal wash cycle that sometimes the cloths in the middle of the drum don't even get wet....wtf Maytag how are our cloths even getting clean???

The only work around seems to be limiting the size of the load to something so small that the "efficiency" gains are negated because you need to do three times as many loads or use the bulky/sheets setting which actually fills the drum but comes with it's own set of drawbacks. I'll be honest it really sucks.

I also hate the fact that there is no agitator in the drum. I'm not sure which company first came up with this unholy idea but it fucking sucks. Anyway I'm getting off on a tangent now about modern washing machines so I'll call it there but even though our Maytag is only a couple of years old my wife and I have decided that it needs to go.

Go here: https://speedqueen.com/products/home-products/top-load-washers/

Has a real dasher and you select the load and it actually fills with water.

 

[retab12332]

When we first moved back to Washington state, we spent a few months in an apartment while we found a place to buy and did some renovations. The top-load washer in the apartment complex was very stingy with water, so I carried a 5 gallon bucket of water to add into every load after it had filled and started the cycle. Real PITA.

MOST newer programmable washers have codes that are used by service techs for diagnostics and can be used to add more water...the trick is finding the correct one for your machine. Keep in mind, front loader machines really aren't designed to run with water up above the bottom of door opening.

Where and how can I find these codes to add more water?

 

[Steltek]

Go here: https://speedqueen.com/products/home-products/top-load-washers/

Has a real dasher and you select the load and it actually fills with water.

For now. If EPA goes back to the restrictive rules since Biden won, they may have to redesign them again (which was a major flop the last time they tried to do it).

Maytag also sells a similar commercial style washer model as well.

 

[retab12332]

One thing you can do, but it takes extra effort and will waste water with each load.

Load your clothes in the washer like normal, but do not add soap. Use the SPIN button to set for no spin. Fill the washer. As soon as it has the clothes wet, drain the washer. Then turn it off, back on, reset the SPIN function to normal, and run your normal cycle.

By doing this, the clothing will be wet before the cycle start and the wet clothing will weigh probably three times what they did dry. As a result, the washer will use more water when it fills to run for the full cycle.

EDIT:
Here is a link to a technical service manual for what is probably your model.

Thankyou for your link, May I ask, does it say anywhere that I can increase the water it pumps into the washing machine?

 

[bbhaag]

Thankyou for your link, May I ask, does it say anywhere that I can increase the water it pumps into the washing machine?

Not that I saw I was curious myself not because I have the same machine as you but If there was something there I would look for the manual for my Maytag. Just to see if it had a similar option. Now keep in mind I didn't thoroughly read all 70 pages I just skimmed through the parts I thought would be relevant. It also doesn't help that I'm a novice when it comes to washing machines and their inner workings so I wasn't exactly sure what to look for either so I may have missed it..

 

[Steltek]

There isn't anything in there regarding adjustment of water levels, unfortunately. Page 41 of the manual discusses water levels and the pressure switch. It appears this model uses an air chamber with an internal pressure sensor to monitor water levels - it doesn't indicate that the pressure sensor is adjustable.

Main reason I posted the link to the technician's service manual is that it gives you a lot of information related to working on your machine yourself. For instance, it tells you things like how to put the machine in service test mode, provides fault codes and possible causes, how to program the washer's electronic control board (important if you ever have to replace it yourself, as the same board is used in multiple models apparently), the location of various components, an electrical diagram, disassembly instructions for repair, etc.

Most of the time those manuals aren't supposed to be available to anyone except certified service technicians, so they are handy to have if you are lucky enough to come across one for your appliance. You don't necessarily have to have one to work on the appliance, but it makes working on it much easier when you have it.

 

[manly]

We purchased a new set of Maytags a couple of years ago when we moved into our new home and I absolutely hate the fact that the washing machine is a high efficiency model. It uses so little water on the normal wash cycle that sometimes the cloths in the middle of the drum don't even get wet....wtf Maytag how are our cloths even getting clean???

The only work around seems to be limiting the size of the load to something so small that the "efficiency" gains are negated because you need to do three times as many loads or use the bulky/sheets setting which actually fills the drum but comes with it's own set of drawbacks. I'll be honest it really sucks.

I also hate the fact that there is no agitator in the drum. I'm not sure which company first came up with this unholy idea but it fucking sucks. Anyway I'm getting off on a tangent now about modern washing machines so I'll call it there but even though our Maytag is only a couple of years old my wife and I have decided that it needs to go.

Recent Maytag top-loaders use an obscenely low amount of water. BoomerD has the right idea, just pour of a bucket of water into the machine. Besides the Speed Queen recommendation, you could look into quality front-loaders but apparently those are mostly built to fail.

https://www.hunker.com/12003231/what-causes-a-basket-spider-to-break-on-a-front-load-washer

 

[Scarpozzi]

For now. If EPA goes back to the restrictive rules since Biden won, they may have to redesign them again (which was a major flop the last time they tried to do it).

Maytag also sells a similar commercial style washer model as well.

I was trying to get one that had a water selection knob. Most of the front loaders are all HE and the few top loaders I saw with decent features had really bad reviews. I read at least 4-5 reviews where people were stating that the auto-selection seemed low and there was no way to make it increase.

The guy at Sears told me about this maybe in 2014 when I bought my Speedqueen. The guy said, "Blame NYC and Cali... They figure if they can save a few gallons of water per load in those population centers, they're making a huge impact.

I totally agree with the logic, but I don't live in either of those places. We have plenty of water here to support our population density. I actually use the water level selection knob frequently. It has Mini, Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large...and a bunch of water level...it's great!

 

[olds]

Mine has a setting called "Deep Wash" that adds more water. I've also been know to soak a bath towel and throw it in fer the weight.
I also always use the second rinse in case it doesn't add enough water and get all the soap out.

 

[BoomerD]

Mine has a setting called "Deep Wash" that adds more water. I've also been know to soak a bath towel and throw it in fer the weight.
I also always use the second rinse in case it doesn't add enough water and get all the soap out.

Our Samsung front loader has the second rinse option...unfortunately, it adds the softener during the first rinse...so it gets rinsed out during the second rinse.

 

[BoomerD]

I was trying to get one that had a water selection knob. Most of the front loaders are all HE and the few top loaders I saw with decent features had really bad reviews. I read at least 4-5 reviews where people were stating that the auto-selection seemed low and there was no way to make it increase.

The guy at Sears told me about this maybe in 2014 when I bought my Speedqueen. The guy said, "Blame NYC and Cali... They figure if they can save a few gallons of water per load in those population centers, they're making a huge impact.

I totally agree with the logic, but I don't live in either of those places. We have plenty of water here to support our population density. I actually use the water level selection knob frequently. It has Mini, Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large...and a bunch of water level...it's great!

I like Speed Queen's build quality, but when we were looking last year, I found that all the models have pretty small capacity. 3.4-3.5 cu/ft drum capacity. The 2020 models are 3.2 cu/ft.
My Sammy front loader is 5.0 and still barely handles some of our Cal-King bedding. (some of it still has to go to the big-boy machines at the laundromat)

 

[Scarpozzi]

I like Speed Queen's build quality, but when we were looking last year, I found that all the models have pretty small capacity. 3.4-3.5 cu/ft drum capacity. The 2020 models are 3.2 cu/ft.
My Sammy front loader is 5.0 and still barely handles some of our Cal-King bedding. (some of it still has to go to the big-boy machines at the laundromat)

I can fit our king and cali king bedding in fine. We have a feather comforter, but don't clean the insert. I think those are dry clean only anyway.

I think that's everyone's biggest concern is whether or not their laundry will fit in the smaller tubs. It's not been a problem for us. That poor machine does probably three loads a day on average.

 

[NutBucket]

Down is washed. The key is having a big enough washer and dryer. Our front loader is fine for a queen...pretty sure it would not handle a king.

While I don't disagree there is a lot more to fail on newer washers they do just fine in the cleaning department.