Direct answer: a washing machine that will not stop filling has usually got an inlet valve stuck open or a pressure switch that cannot tell how full the drum is. A machine that will not take water at all has usually got a failed inlet valve, a scaled inlet mesh filter, or a tap or pressure problem. Both are normally standard repairs inside €149–€249 all-in in Dublin. Call-out is €79, credited in full against the repair, with a fixed written price before work starts. Safe next step for overfilling: power off and tap off, now. For no-fill, run the checks below first.
The Symptoms, In Your Words
"The water is rising past the door line and it just keeps coming." "It fills even when it's switched off." That is overfill. Urgency: Stop Now — turn the tap behind the machine off and switch the power off. Water past the door seal means a flood the moment the door is opened.
The other direction sounds like this: "The drum is dry, the machine is humming, and no water comes in." "It starts, clicks, then just sits there." Urgency: This Week — nothing is being damaged, but the machine is unusable until it is sorted.
What Usually Causes It
Inlet valve stuck open or failed closed. The inlet valve is an electrically operated tap inside the machine. Stuck open, it fills whether the machine asks or not — even switched off, which is why the tap matters. Failed closed, or with a burnt-out solenoid, no water enters at all.
Pressure switch and blocked pressure hose. The pressure switch is how the machine knows how full it is. A hose blocked with sludge or detergent residue, or a switch that has failed, means the machine never gets the "full enough" signal — so it keeps filling. The same fault can also stop filling early.
Syphoning. If the drain hose is pushed too far down the standpipe, water syphons straight out as fast as it comes in. The machine fills endlessly trying to reach a level it can never hold, and it looks like a filling fault when it is really a plumbing one.
A split inlet hose. A perished inlet hose leaks at the back while filling, so pressure drops and fill times stretch — and you get a puddle behind the machine into the bargain. See also our leaking page.
Low pressure, a partly closed tap, or a scaled mesh filter. The little mesh filter where the inlet hose meets the machine catches grit — and in hard-water areas it scales up until barely a trickle passes. A tap that was turned down for other plumbing work and never fully reopened does the same thing.
Safe Checks To Try First
- For overfill: power off and tap off first. Before anything else. Then let the machine sit — do not open the door against a drum filled past the seal.
- Check the tap is fully open. The isolation tap behind the machine should be fully on. A quarter-closed tap starves the fill.
- Check the inlet mesh filter. Tap off, unscrew the inlet hose at the machine end, and rinse the small mesh inside the valve inlet. Scaled or gritty mesh is a free fix.
- Check the drain hose height. The hose should loop up to roughly the height of the machine top before dropping to the standpipe, and should not be rammed far down it — that is what causes syphoning.
Why We See This So Much In Dublin
Limescale does most of it. Homes normally supplied by Leixlip at around 200 mg/L — Lucan, Blanchardstown, Finglas and the K67, K78 and D11 areas — and by Bog of the Ring at around 336 mg/L, normally supplied to Swords, Balbriggan and Rush, scale inlet mesh filters and valve seats steadily, so valves dribble past or meshes choke. Older plumbing does the rest: 70.7% of Dublin homes were built before 2001, and ageing taps, hoses and standpipes in those houses are exactly where syphoning and split hoses turn up.
What The Fix Involves, And What It Costs
We test the valve solenoids, blow through and inspect the pressure hose, check the switch readings against a measured water level, and look at the hose run for syphoning. Inlet valve and pressure switch replacements both sit inside the standard band:
| Repair | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Inlet valve replacement | Within €149–€249 |
| Pressure switch / pressure hose | Within €149–€249 |
| Drain pump (if the drum will not empty after overfill) | €149–€199 |
| Door seal or hose | €149–€229 |
Prices checked November 2026. Most repairs are €149–€249 all-in. You get a fixed written price before work starts, no second call-out charge if a part has to be ordered, and a 1-year workmanship warranty. If the machine is not worth fixing, you pay only the €79 call-out and get the verdict in writing. Full figures: cost guide.
Codes And Pages That Go With This Fault
No-fill usually shows a water-supply code: Samsung 4C or LG IE. If the overfill has left water where it should not be, see leaking. Ready? Book a repair or call 645 465-6305 — and if it is overfilling right now, tap off first, then call.
