Samsung Series 5 Auto dose washing machine: dispensing draw always full of water

[MattM123]

Hi all,

We have a Samsung Series 5+ auto dose washing machine, purchased in January 2022.

The issue we're having is that that the washing machine is taking all the detergent and softener and filling the draw with water which doesn't drain at the end of the wash.

This only started happening in the past month or so.

The draw is spotless, as is the cavity it slides into. We clean it regularly to avoid build up and mould. The machine is level.

It's 2 months out of warranty.

I've read a lot about auto dose draws that refuse to take the liquids, but ours seems to have the opposite problem in that it drains it and leaves the draw full of water after each wash.

We've turned off the auto dispenser and are using pods in the drum, but the draw still fills with water. The drain pipe at the front of the cavity (bottom left) is also full of water.

Any suggestions?

[mattt-arnolddd]

Check the drain pipe: Since the front drain pipe in the cavity is also full, there might be a clog there. You can try cleaning it out with a small brush or pipe cleaner.

Reset the auto-dose system: Consult your user manual to see if there's a way to reset the auto-dose function. This might help it recalibrate and dispense correctly.

[andy_in_ireland]

the auto-dose dispenser drawer is covered by a plastic white flexible lid covering both the detergent compartment and the fabric softener compartment with just the 2 lids to fill with the liquid - even if the water jets at the top of the dispenser drawer  housing were somehow out of alignment/ blocked jets I am struggling to think how the water would even be able to enter the compartments if the large white lid is on and covering the compartments?

[MattM123]

It's very strange, but that's exactly what happens. 

That's the draw I have, and the middle section is free of water, but the two compartments sealed with the screw tops have water sloshing around inside after a wash.

[andy_in_ireland]

yes i see what you are saying. - very strange. logically you could see why water shouldnt be getting in there unless there was some leak/hole in that lid cover itself. Then what could be happening is the jets of water coming from the top of the drawer housing and leaking through the lid and into the compartments. 

Even the rubber hoses coming from the water solenoid should not even enter the compartments , because all that routes to is just the jets at the top of the drawer housing. The pumps just pump the detergent into the housing then the jets of water from the top of the housing just washes the correct dosed detergent (or fabric softener) down the mixture of water and detergent into a great big black  rubber hose attached to the top of the drum tank and straight into the drum of the washing machine. 

I wonder how the water is getting into the compartment with the lid on top then? - if not a leak then only other suggestion I can think of is that maybe your cold water mains pressure going into your washing machine is too high? - have you got a tap on the water inlet pipe where your washing machine is plumbed into? - can you try turning that down, thus adjusting the pressure of the water going into your washing machine and see if they still fill up with water? 
Might be just that , that is causing it. 

[MattM123]

Our home has low mains water pressure, years ago we added a small pump on the cold main but it's limited to 1.4bar, which isn't even enough to power two showers. We had the pump installed before the washing machine, and the machine has been fine for 2 years.

It's a bit of a head scratcher.

[andy_in_ireland]

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@MattM123 wrote:

Our home has low mains water pressure, years ago we added a small pump on the cold main but it's limited to 1.4bar, which isn't even enough to power two showers. We had the pump installed before the washing machine, and the machine has been fine for 2 years.

It's a bit of a head scratcher.

---

yes , strange. - if you do find out what it is in the end i would love to know what the issue was.

[mattt-arnolddd]

@andy_in_ireland , you raised some interesting points about the water pressure and the possibility of a leak in the lid. I hadn't considered that the water jets might be misaligned or that there could be a crack or hole allowing water to seep into the compartments.

@MattM123 , your setup with the pump and the low water pressure certainly adds another layer of complexity. Given that the problem is recent, it might still be worth inspecting the lid for any tiny cracks or misalignment. Sometimes, even a small defect can cause unexpected issues.

[MattM123]

Hi all,

So, an engineer has just left and the issue is the pump as seems to be a common issue with this model.

After speaking with my wife (no judgements here, she likes to do the washing 'her way'; so it's done properly presumably) the symptoms were:

- machine reporting conditioner low, even though it was full
- occassionally the conditioner side of the auto dose draw filled with water

then

- Conditioner always completely taken
- Conditioner side always full of water.

The detergent side has always been fine.

A quick 20 minute visit to switch out the pump, and we hope that is that. Pump cost £40, call out £100. Not brilliant, but not terrible.