Washing machine won't fill with water
You start a cycle and no water goes in. In the large majority of cases the problem is upstream of the appliance — a closed tap or a scaled-up inlet gauze — rather than a failed part inside it.
You can fix this yourself
No special tools or qualifications needed
About 32 min to work through
Free to £130
DIY: Up to £30 in parts
Before you start
Water: Turn the supply tap off before unscrewing the fill hose — it stays pressurised.
What causes it, most likely first
Supply tap closed or partly open
Most likelyAstonishingly common, and it frequently follows plumbing work, a holiday, or someone having been under the sink.
How to check: Trace the fill hose from the back of the machine to its tap and open it fully.
Blocked inlet filter gauze
Most likelyA fine mesh in the machine's inlet port catches grit and scale from the mains. In hard-water areas it chokes within a few years and throttles the flow below what the machine will accept.
How to check: With the tap off, unscrew the fill hose at the machine end and look into the port for a plastic-rimmed mesh.
Kinked or crushed fill hose
CommonFlattened where the machine was pushed back against the wall.
Low mains water pressure
OccasionalModern machines need a reasonable flow rate. On a low-pressure or shared supply they can time out with nothing actually broken.
Failed inlet solenoid valve
OccasionalThe valve that electrically opens to admit water fails closed. Only worth suspecting once the supply and gauze test good.
Inlet solenoid valve£12–£30 for the partDIY with careFaulty pressure switch
RareThe level sensor cannot see water arriving so the machine reports a fill failure while filling normally.
Pressure switch / level sensor£12–£32 for the partEngineer
What to check, in order
Check the tap is fully open
Follow each fill hose to its tap. Machines with hot and cold fills need both.
2 minProve the supply into a bucket
Turn the tap off, unscrew the hose at the tap end, aim it into a bucket and briefly open the tap. Strong flow means the supply is fine and the problem is downstream.
5 minBucketClean the inlet gauze
With the tap off, unscrew the hose at the machine end. Ease the mesh out of the inlet port with long-nose pliers, rinse it, soak it in vinegar or descaler if furred, and push it back squarely.
10 minLong-nose pliersStraighten the hose and reconnect
Check the full run for kinks. Reconnect both ends hand-tight — they are rubber-sealed and need no spanner. Open the tap and check for weeps.
5 minRun a rinse and listen
Start a rinse cycle. You should hear water entering within thirty seconds. If not, with a proven supply and clean gauze, the inlet valve is the likely culprit.
10 min
Need an engineer for this?
We list 83 washing machine repair businesses across the UK. Diagnostic callouts typically start around £55, and many will put that towards the repair if you go ahead.
- 01493 290698Appliance Maintenance LtdVerifiedGreat Yarmouth
- 0118 9420 145Reading
- 07766 426665DW AppliancesVerifiedAberdeen
Parts you might need
Typical UK prices for the part alone, before fitting. Worth knowing before you accept a quote — the part is often a small share of what a repair is priced at.
Inlet solenoid valve
The valve behind the machine that opens to let mains water in. Blocked inlet gauzes are a far more common cause than a dead valve.
£12–£30Pressure switch / level sensor
Reads how much water is in the tub via a thin air hose. Blocked hoses and split diaphragms make the machine over- or under-fill.
£12–£32
Worth repairing, or replace it?
At the top of this range the repair costs a significant share of a graded replacement, which typically starts around £200. Worth getting the quote first, then deciding — on a machine under about five years old a repair usually still wins.
Is there an error code on the display?
If your washing machine is showing a code, that will narrow the diagnosis a lot further than symptoms alone.
Look up your error code