Washing machine drawer compartment being left full of water

CurlySue2017

In the washing machine drawer you have the three compartments, we have noticed recently that the middle one (where the softner goes) is still full of water after the machine has finished.
The machine seems to be working fine and the washing comes out fine, no residues on the clothes or anything like that, but I'm a little concerned as to what is causing the water to be held in there after the wash is done.
Does anyone have any suggestions please?  TIA

MattMattMattUK

CurlySue2017 said:

In the washing machine drawer you have the three compartments, we have noticed recently that the middle one (where the softner goes) is still full of water after the machine has finished.
The machine seems to be working fine and the washing comes out fine, no residues on the clothes or anything like that, but I'm a little concerned as to what is causing the water to be held in there after the wash is done.
Does anyone have any suggestions please?  TIA

It is a flush through, it is not designed to drain, it is designed for more water to be added and that washes the softener out into the drum. Sometimes they retain more water than normal when they get filled with gunk on the outflow so worth cleaning one or twice a month, but nothing to worry about in general.

DullGreyGuy

Softener is normally diluted and syphoned out of the draw. If it's just water left behind wouldn't be too worried if you use the machine regularly. If you only do laundry once a week or less you probably want to empty it out. Most the time it not taking it is because the pipe had gotten blocked so just take the draw out and check the pipe for buildup/blockage

Ayr_Rage

All the softener compartments in machines I have owned have a syphon which empties at least 95% of what's in there.

Take the whole drawer out, remove all the parts and give them a good clean, a cotton bud may be needed to reach inside the softener syphon.

Check for accumulated powder and softener at the back of the drawer compartment and make sure the water jets are clean, especially if you live in a hard water area.

Swipe

Yes my softener compartment does this every so often. Popping the drawer out and giving it a good clean fixes the problem every time. 

TELLIT01

If the drawer is left full of water, how is the OP supposed to add new softener to the drawer for the next wash?  As the OP has said that this has only started to happen recently I would suggest it isn't normal for that machine.

Section62

+1 for a blocked syphon, or possible the syphon 'cap' has come off.

Never seen a syphonless liquid dispenser drawer, so would be interested in a picture if that is what the OP has.

CurlySue2017

Thank you for all the comments, really helpful!

"If the drawer is left full of water, how is the OP supposed to add new softener to the drawer for the next wash?  As the OP has said that this has only started to happen recently I would suggest it isn't normal for that machine."

Sorry, I should have been clearer in the OP but to clear up this question - we open the drawer to add products for a new wash and the water from the last wash is still there.  But if we re-close the drawer and wait a few seconds then open it again, the water has gone and we can carry on as normal.

We do clean the drawer regularly but have never actually taken it out of the machine so we will give that a try.  As most comments seem to suggest this is nothing to worry about, it's not a huge deal, we were just concerned that it may be an issue that needed attention.     

Ayr_Rage

Removing the drawer is essential to get the syphon cleaned.

I remove the drawer and rinse it after every use, it's quite surprising how much of a sticky softener film remains.

Ectophile

It will vary between machines, but to pull the drawer out fully usually involves pressing down on the plastic of the fabric softener compartment, until the catch disengages.

If you pull out the drawer fully, then the siphon tube should be able to lift out, or it may hinge out.  It's probably blocked by gunge from the softener.  Give it a good clean with warm water and a stiff brush.

These days, I make a point of buying the runniest softeners I can find.  The gloopy ones keep blocking the siphon tube.

Vortigern

In my wm the fabric conditioner siphon consists of 2 concentric tubes, one attached to the base of the drawer, the other on a hinged flap at the top. After lifting off the top for cleaning it's possible to re-assemble it incorrectly such that the tubes are no longer concentric and the siphon no longer works. Could this have happened to the OP's wm?