Why Does My Top-Load Washer Fill With More Water Than Usual?

If you have a top-load washer, even though the drainage holes go far up the tub, the washer typically doesn’t fill water up to those holes even on the largest loads. Alternatively, when a washer fills over those holes, the water will overflow the appliance. Yet, what happens if the in-between is happening. Your washer fills more than usual, but it is not actually overflowing. Still, because there is more water, it is causing some messy splashing while running the wash.

When a washer overfills, typically the pressure switch is to blame. However, if your washer didn’t fill to the point of overflowing, then that already proves your pressure switch is still working. If it were faulty, the water flow just wouldn’t stop on its own.

If there is more water than normal in your washer, but it isn’t overfilling, you will want to look to the control board. This issue doesn’t necessarily mean the control board is faulty, however. It may mean your control board has simply fallen out of calibration. Washers use a specific amount of water for each load, and if it falls out of calibration, it can misread the amount.

All top-load washers will have a calibration mode but activating it will vary. You will want to locate and consult the owner’s manual for your washer to find out how to run calibration mode. Simply running a recalibration should fix this very specific issue all on its own.

While this is not the most common issue, it is the small issues like this that can be so very frustrating even if the fix is easy. If you are having a washer problem and Google just isn’t helping you sort it out, or the fix is a bit beyond your comfort zone, contacting a professional service is definitely something to consider.