What to Do When a GE Washer Keeps Filling, Overflows or Leaks

Water that will not stop is a problem to take seriously

A washer fills, agitates or spins, drains and rinses. When the fill never ends, water can reach the top of the tub, spill onto the floor or run through a hose and out under the machine. Whether the sound you hear is a trickle that does not stop, or you walk in to find a puddle spreading, the response is the same: stop the water first, then work out why.

This article is about safety and sequence. Which valve to close, what to switch off, what you can look at from the outside and which parts stay untouched. If your washer finishes a cycle and leaves water in the drum, a different symptom, see water left in a GE washer drum instead.

Step one: stop the water

1. Close the supply valves. Behind the washer there are two faucets, one for hot and one for cold. Turn both fully off. This is the single most effective step, because the water that is running into the machine comes from them.
2. Cancel the cycle and switch off power. Press the power button or pull the plug if you can reach it safely. If there is standing water around the outlet or the cord, do not reach for it. Switch off the breaker for the laundry area instead, with dry hands and from a dry spot.
3. Do not open a front-load door against a full drum. If water is above the door opening, it will pour out when the door opens. Leave the door closed until the level has dropped.
4. Protect the floor. Towels, a wet vac if you own one, and a pan or bucket under any leak point. Water in a Bay Area condo or apartment travels to the unit below faster than most people expect, so let your building manager know if any has left your unit.

Do not tilt or push the washer to look underneath while it is full. Wait for the water to drain or be removed.

What the display may say

On 2017 and newer electronic-control GE washers, certain conditions are reported on the display. The GE Washer FE code means water has reached a critical level, and GE’s advice is to turn off water and power to the washer and call for service. That is exactly the sequence above, and it is a signal to stop using the machine rather than to try again.

Related codes tell a different story. The GE Washer H2O SUPPLY / IE code means water is not entering the washer, which is the opposite problem, usually from closed valves or a pressure sensor issue. The GE Washer dE code says the lid is open, and the GE Washer UE code says the load is unbalanced. Those two are not overflow codes, but they appear in the same flurry of messages when a cycle goes wrong, so note exactly what you see and in what order.

The GE Washer CAnCELEd code shows that a cycle was cancelled, sometimes by the washer itself after certain errors, followed by a four-minute lockout. If a cycle stopped itself because of an error, resist restarting it repeatedly. Each restart brings in more water if the problem is still there.

Checks you can do from the outside, after the water is off

Is it filling or leaking?

These are two different problems. A washer that keeps taking in water fills too high, and the water level is visible in a front-load door or the top of a top-load tub. A washer that leaks has water outside the cabinet even though the tub level is normal. The location of the puddle helps: at the back points to the hoses and valves, at the front toward the door seal or detergent drawer, and underneath toward the pump, the drain connection or the tub.

Look at the hoses

Without moving the machine more than necessary, look at both supply hoses. Check the connection at the wall faucet and at the washer for drips, and look for cracks, bulges or rust on the fittings. Feel for dampness along the rubber. Hand-tight is the correct snugness for most hose couplings. A wrench can crush the washer inside the coupling.

Look at the drain hose

The drain hose goes from the back of the washer up to a standpipe or laundry sink. It should be pushed in a modest distance rather than sealed into the pipe, and it should rise above the water level in the tub to avoid siphoning. If it is pushed all the way down or fits tight, water can flow out of the tub by siphon while the machine is filling, so a washer that seems to fill endlessly may in fact be draining as fast as it fills. It is worth ruling out first when a washer in an older basement or garage laundry setup seems to fill endlessly.

Check the detergent drawer and door seal

On a front loader, run a hand along the door gasket and the drawer opening for dampness. Too much detergent makes foam that can push out of the drawer. Use the amount the manual specifies for high-efficiency detergent, and do not pour in extra for large loads.

Check the level

A washer that rocks or leans pushes water to places it is not meant to go. If it is visibly off level, note it, but do not shift it while there is water inside.

Reading what you found

What stays off limits

Several things are tempting and are better left alone. Do not open back or lower panels to look at valves while the unit may still be plugged in. Do not jam the lid switch or the door lock to keep a cycle going. Do not test electrical parts with the power on, and do not try to bypass a water-level control. These are safety devices, and some of the parts you would be poking at sit next to live wiring and standing water.

Also avoid running the washer empty just to see what happens. If the cause is a stuck inlet valve, another test cycle only puts more water on the floor. Leave the supply valves closed until the cause is known.

Why a technician visit is worth it here

Finding out why a washer overfills depends on measurement. A technician checks the inlet valves, the water-level sensing, the control, the hoses and the pump path in a logical order, then writes down what needs to change in an estimate. Nothing gets repaired until you approve. The GE Washer Repair page describes the process.

When you call, it helps to know the model. The washers on this site include front loaders like the GE GFW550SPRRS and GE GFW850SSNWW and top loaders like the GE GTW540ASPWS, and the way water behaves differs between the two. For help with the wording, how to describe a GE washer problem so the first visit is productive lists what to note, and GE Washers explains the types.

After the repair: keeping it from repeating

• Close the supply valves when you travel for more than a few days, or when the laundry is in a spot where a leak would go unnoticed.
• Replace old rubber supply hoses with braided ones if yours are cracked or brittle; check the manual for how tight to go.
• Keep a small pan or mat and a floor drain clear if the laundry is in a garage, closet or basement.
• Do not overload the washer, and measure detergent.
• Listen occasionally. A washer that is quiet when it should be running, or running when it should be idle, is telling you something.

Frequently asked questions