faulty washing machine, who pays the water rates

engine85

Had my first water bill on an apartment i moved into just 2 months ago to find i had used 65,000 litres of water. I spent the next few days trying to trace where i was using all this water to find that it is my washing machine, which is suppled and covered by my ladlord.
It is a brand new machine, but instead of filling with water, washing, then emptying, it appears to have a faulty valve and 'fills/drains' throughout the whole cycle using thousands of litres in a single cycle.
My water bill is obviously 4/5 times what it should have been, am i responsible ? ? ?

Gothicfairy

Depends on your contract with your landlord.

If they just rent the place to you and make no mention of maintenance or anything like that then it could well be you.
The water company will chase you anyway as the bill is in your name and it will be down to you to deal with either the landlord or try the company who made the washing machine.
If though the landlord does cover the appliances then I should think they will need to sort it out.

mossymoss

The water boards normally say that its not their problem if there is a leak. However, a similar thing happened to my mum who was on a meter. She phoned the water board explained that she was unaware etc and they did not charge her for the extra useage. Not guaranteeing it will work every time as it was only a good will gesture but worth the cost of a phone call? If not id phone your landlord/letting agent. Good luck

Cardew

It really is just not possible to use 'thousands of litres' in a cycle.

I doubt if any washing machine fills at more than 5 litres a minute.

Where does the water go? the only way is for the pump to operate to drain.

If there is a fault with the machine then as it is brand new you have a case under the guarantee, but you will have a hard job convincing the manufacturer that the machine has wasted that amount of water.

deanos

You say you just moved in recently, did you take an opening reading when you moved in this could be incorrect ?

engine85

Many Thanks for the replys,
I also thought it was impossible, i've spent the last 4 or 5 days watching the meter,
bath 80-90 litres
dishwasher 30-40 litres
shower 30-40
toilet just 3-6, 1 of those tiny modern ones.
washing machine . . . anywhere between 2000-3000 litres.
If i sit with my head next to the machine i can hear it emptying itself, so basically the whole cycle, anything from 2.5 to over 3 hours its just filling constantly as it comes out as fast as it goes in.
Basically like having a tap on almost full for 3 hours.
Anyway, my landlord has agreed to pay for the excessive bill.

Gothicfairy

Glad the Landlord has agreed..That is good news.

Did you get it in writing ? ( not that I am saying they will not keep their word etc but it might be worth trying to get something from them down on paper)

Honest_broker07

2000 litres !

I've just tried and with a cold tap full on It takes about 20 second to run 5 litres
or 4 seconds per litre
so 2000 litres = 8000 seconds or just over 2 hours at full throttle, but Most of our cycles are far less than that.

How high does the pump have to push the water into the drain.

If it doesn't the water could just be syphoning off.

Also I hate to say it but perhaps you need to check how much electricity it's using as it may be constantly heating, or drawing in hot water from your system

calebdylan

it is impossible to use 65 thousand litres of water in a couple of month their might be a mistake on your readings