The Washer Can Be Your Friend - Or It Can Be Your Enemy Through a Faulty Inlet Hot-Water Valve

Here is something that can save your basement from flooding caused by scalding hot water from your washing machine.

When your washer continues to stream out hot water inside even though the cycle ended and the washer point indicator (usually red) in the cycle knob is set to "off", and you try to pull the plug to stop this unnecessary water flow only to have it still continue, especially if it is hot water - you have a faulty inlet water valve leading to the washer, and it needs to be replaced. Otherwise, the unstoppable water will overflow the wash tub (usually after 1 1/2 hours) and will spill over to the basement, creating flood damage close to what you get when a sewer backup happens after an extremely heavy rainstorm. Even worse, touching that hot water - depending on hot the water is - can lead to serious scalding or burning.

Sometimes, you can stop the bleeding temporarily by moving the knob on the washer to any of the "spin" cycles - this usually stops the unwanted water flow temporarily, but after the spin cycle is over and it is set to off, regrettably, the water flows again without stopping.

You can stop the whole process altogether by going to the main water shutoff valve and set it to off. It will stop the water but you probably know that this means....you will have no water flow to the whole area at all. You cannot flush the toilet, do the dishes, take a shower or bath or even water your plants outside. So the only option is to, if you know how to replace the valve, do it yourself.

However, if you do not know how to fix this type of washer problem, let a professional repairman do the job before things go from bad to worse.

Hope all of this helps. Thanks.