Washing machine takes too long and uses too much water

This thread was marked as solved. Here's a summary of the problem and the fix, generated from the discussion below.

Long wash times and suspected high water use on budget washing machine

The problem

The washing machine was reported to use a lot of water, leave laundry wet or damp, and sometimes run for around 2.5 hours despite being sold as eco-friendly.

Likely cause

The accepted reply suggested the main fault to rule out was siphoning caused by an incorrectly fitted drain hose, which could make the machine repeatedly fill and drain, increasing both water use and cycle time. Long programme times were also described as normal on economy cycles, so not all of the timing issue was necessarily a fault.

What fixed it

Check whether the drain hose is installed incorrectly and causing siphoning. Specifically, the accepted advice was to look for a pattern of filling, stopping, then filling again as evidence that water may be draining away during the cycle. No confirmed repair or adjustment was posted after this advice.

Checks to try

• Observed whether the machine repeatedly filled, stopped, and filled again
• Checked for possible siphoning from an incorrectly fitted drain hose