Fabric softener is not being used in my Aquarius WMA56s.

Fabric softener is dispensed by syphon. If the softener is not dispensing there might be a blockage in the water inlet. There is usually a twin solenoid the lets water I to the machine. One to the detergent and one to the conditioner. The water path is most likely blocked with water "debris". Try cleaning the tray and housing completely then have another go

Manually: If you're adding fabric conditioner by hand, be sure not to add it during the wash cycle. The washcycle will clean away much of the softener, so add it during the rinse cycle. Also, try to avoid direct contact with fabrics to avoid stains; instead, pour Downy into the deeper pockets of water.

How to Use Fabric Softener Without Dispenser ' Downy

where do you put fabric softener in the washing machine Google Search

Sounds like it's clogged up try pulling it out and rinsing through the syphone hole with hot water.

jrez's answer is for toploaders... you said you have a drawer, so it's a front loader.

The softener is usually taken up by a syphon. This can be removed from the drawer assembly for cleaning, when they clog they can't syphon.
While the machine is taking water for the last rinse, some of the incoming water is sent via the softener compartment. As softener is thick, without a syphon the softener would just sit in the bottom of the compartment and the fresh water would just skim off the top.

SO: Check the drawer after the final rinse.. if the softener compartment is full to the brim, the syphon is blocked. OR .. if there's just the same amount of softener as when you started the cycle, you have a filling problem instead.
Filling problem can be for two reasons: early machines had one water valve, and a flap which squirted water into the various compartments, operated by a linkage from the timer - this linkage can break, the spring can fall off, all mechanical. Later machines use a separate water valve, and this can fail shut.

Hi,

It is not that unusual to find some plain water remaining- has the softener gone OK?

If not here is just a quick POSSIBLE (1st) solution if you have not tried it already-

Completely slide out the drawer - normally made possible by pressing down the plastic flap at the backend of the softener part of the drawer - as it is normally in the middle.

You may find 'gunge' made up of washing powder (if you use powder of course!) and softener combined in the tube that the softener should syphon into. Wash out with plenty of water!
I do this to ours fairly frequently.

Hope this helps.

Hello, W/D here.

There are a couple of reasons why the fabric softener will not dispense. If everything else dispenses properly (detergent and bleach), then I would suspect a bit of plugging. If the softener remains in the dispenser, the water valve above the tray may be sticking. You'll have to get the top up to check it. If there is water in the tray, or some water/softener, then you'll need to look at the overflow cap. Here's how that works: Your dispensing trays for bleach and softener have a raised tube built into them, and each is covered with a loose fitting cap. When water is let into the tray, the level rises under the cap until it overflows, creating a syphon. The softener is literally pulled from the tray, and chased by the water. When the water stops, the tray level continues to drop, until air gets into the cap, breaking the syphon. The cap can be removed and cleaned. Sometimes the tray has to be removed first. Theres a catch towards the rear of the tray.
Best regards, W/D

try cleaning the dispencer first, it has a small syphon assembly in it whcih can get blocked with concentrated fabric softiner and sometimes powder.

clean the caps sometimes they get clogged and cannot syphone

Remove soap drawer from washer, and remove all accessories,and thoroughly clean all parts, particularly the conditioner parts, make sure the syphon tube is clear by poking through it .
Clean interior of soap drawer compartment with a stiff nylon brush or similar.
Plz rate my solution.
Thanks.

Hi, we have a hotpoint aquarius - the "fan" compartment on the left is for fabric conditioner, the blue thing is to save you measuring it out in the bottle cap. Number I is for prewash detergent (only if you're doing a prewash) and number II is the main detergent compartment, the one you would usually use. Hope this helps?
Jen