Do all washing machines leak through the front door if loaded incorrectly?

DocQuincy

We got a “new” (ex-display unused) washer-dryer. I noticed a small amount of water leaking from front door during use. It was going full pelt and the door, while definitely locked, was moving in-and-out.

I Googled it and it seems that overloading and adding too much detergent are common culprits for this but aren't the doors completely watertight? We had put too much detergent in in this instance but how does this cause a leak if the door is watertight. Anyway, we did a couple more washes with the correct detergent and they were fine but it happened again today. The drum was about 75%-80% full. Could this have caused it?

It was a small amount of water, but still, I am concerned about this being a new machine and wondered if this is normal or should I contact the supplier as it is still well under warranty. I think I will contact them anyway but am just trying to learn a bit about it before I do so.

Our previous washing machine was a workhorse and we almost certainly loaded that incorrectly at times and never had a single problem with it and we got this one as it is the same make.

Thanks.

P.S. While we're on the subject of washing machines, does the rubber hose that supplies the water and the plastic hose that drains the water need replacing at given intervals?

EssexExile

It's been a while since I worked on machines but the rule of thumb was always fill the machine two thirds with washing, leave one third empty. Machines nowadays use so little water that I don't suppose the doors have to fit as well as they did when the water came halfway up the door.

Make sure the glass of the door is perfectly clean where it meets the rubber. Make sure the rubber isn't damaged, zips are good at taking chunks out of door rubbers as you load the machine.

You don't have to change hoses at regular intervals, most will last the life of the machine as long as they are left alone.

floppydisk1

 I'll have a stab in the dark - if that happened only once or twice - do not overload, if you can see water dripping during every wash it probably won't be caused by overloading. Most likely culprit is slightly damaged rubber seal , check seal carefully ( there might be some tiny cut or kink in it, hardly noticeable but enough for little amount of water to seep through) , if that's the case it's dead easy to replace. 

Rosa_Damascena

floppydisk1 said:

 I'll have a stab in the dark - if that happened only once or twice - do not overload, if you can see water dripping during every wash it probably won't be caused by overloading. Most likely culprit is slightly damaged rubber seal , check seal carefully ( there might be some tiny cut or kink in it, hardly noticeable but enough for little amount of water to seep through) , if that's the case it's dead easy to replace. 

Should the cost not be covered by the store given that it was defective from the outset? You wouldn't expect an ex-display model to have any of its functionality compromised, I thought in buying it's the cosmetics that you accept might not be perfect.

floppydisk1

Rosa_Damascena said:

floppydisk1 said:

 I'll have a stab in the dark - if that happened only once or twice - do not overload, if you can see water dripping during every wash it probably won't be caused by overloading. Most likely culprit is slightly damaged rubber seal , check seal carefully ( there might be some tiny cut or kink in it, hardly noticeable but enough for little amount of water to seep through) , if that's the case it's dead easy to replace. 

Should the cost not be covered by the store given that it was defective from the outset? You wouldn't expect an ex-display model to have any of its functionality compromised, I thought in buying it's the cosmetics that you accept might not be perfect.

In theory yes, in real world - if it's only a few drips bleeding -  it's so easy for a shop to get out of it, I'd buy a seal ( normally less than £ 10  and takes less than 5 min to change ) as I don't fancy weeks or more of haggling over who's responsibility it is. Shop can claim that machine has been used and it's wear and tear, or overloading - both down to user. Don't take me wrong, leaking machine that can and will flood the kitchen ( or anywhere else it stands ) - claim and chase it all the way , but as we live in real world and not in theory some things I prefer to deal with myself as it saves more hassle that way.

Emmia

I've never had a machine leak in the way you describe (not even drips), even with bigger loads - so I'd look at replacing the door seal as suggested. 

Jumblebumble

DocQuincy said:

We got a “new” (ex-display unused) washer-dryer. I noticed a small amount of water leaking from front door during use. It was going full pelt and the door, while definitely locked, was moving in-and-out.

I Googled it and it seems that overloading and adding too much detergent are common culprits for this but aren't the doors completely watertight? We had put too much detergent in in this instance but how does this cause a leak if the door is watertight. Anyway, we did a couple more washes with the correct detergent and they were fine but it happened again today. The drum was about 75%-80% full. Could this have caused it?

It was a small amount of water, but still, I am concerned about this being a new machine and wondered if this is normal or should I contact the supplier as it is still well under warranty. I think I will contact them anyway but am just trying to learn a bit about it before I do so.

Our previous washing machine was a workhorse and we almost certainly loaded that incorrectly at times and never had a single problem with it and we got this one as it is the same make.

Thanks.

P.S. While we're on the subject of washing machines, does the rubber hose that supplies the water and the plastic hose that drains the water need replacing at given intervals?

Leaking is abnormal and is indicative of a faulty seal
We have never had a leak in the front seal or replaced our pipes in 5 years but it is a Miele
It will do no harm to replace the input as a cheap one may start leaking after a few years
I would not bother with the waste as it is not under pressure

TELLIT01

I can understand overloading causing a problem due to the additional pressure on the door.  Too much detergent causing a leak seems highly improbable.

Rosa_Damascena

Jumblebumble said:

DocQuincy said:

We got a “new” (ex-display unused) washer-dryer. I noticed a small amount of water leaking from front door during use. It was going full pelt and the door, while definitely locked, was moving in-and-out.

I Googled it and it seems that overloading and adding too much detergent are common culprits for this but aren't the doors completely watertight? We had put too much detergent in in this instance but how does this cause a leak if the door is watertight. Anyway, we did a couple more washes with the correct detergent and they were fine but it happened again today. The drum was about 75%-80% full. Could this have caused it?

It was a small amount of water, but still, I am concerned about this being a new machine and wondered if this is normal or should I contact the supplier as it is still well under warranty. I think I will contact them anyway but am just trying to learn a bit about it before I do so.

Our previous washing machine was a workhorse and we almost certainly loaded that incorrectly at times and never had a single problem with it and we got this one as it is the same make.

Thanks.

P.S. While we're on the subject of washing machines, does the rubber hose that supplies the water and the plastic hose that drains the water need replacing at given intervals?

Leaking is abnormal and is indicative of a faulty seal
We have never had a leak in the front seal or replaced our pipes in 5 years but it is a Miele
It will do no harm to replace the input as a cheap one may start leaking after a few years
I would not bother with the waste as it is not under pressure

For Miele prices I would expect a lifetime guarantee.

UncleZen

Recently bought a bosch washer within a week, it was leaking! Guy came out  and said the big rubber seal was not fitted correctly, he replaced it, all good.....then it started leaking again. Turns out, on that occasion there was a sock trapped in the door seal. Moral? Load the machine properly!

DocQuincy

Thank you for so many replies.

I thought it was odd as, like I say, our previous machine was incredible. We ran it almost daily for over a decade, often with really full loads, and never had one single problems with it in all that time. We only got rid of it because we wanted one that had a dryer. We bought the same brand though in the hope we it would be just as good (Zanussi).

We have only had the machine for a few weeks and it came with a 12-month warranty. Although from eBay they were excellent to deal with and had hundreds of good reviews so I don't doubt they will be able to look into it. If they ask to send it back (they aren't local to us) rather than send a technician out and the fix is really cheap as @floppydisk1 said then I would likely pay for it myself since this would probably be better than being without the machine. 

I'll properly check the seal before contacting their support and see what happens. In case it helps future posters I'll let you know the outcome.

Thanks again everyone — and good to know regarding replacing the hoses.