WASHING APPLIANCE WITH IMPROVED DETERMINATION OF INLET VALVE FAULT CONDITIONS

A washing appliance (100) is provided. The washing appliance comprises: a tub (110) configured to house items to be washed; an inlet valve (120) configured to be operated in an open condition for causing washing fluid to be loaded into the tub (110) and in a closed condition for preventing washing fluid to be fed to the appliance (100); a circulation pump (130) configured to circulate the washing fluid in the tub (110) during a washing cycle at a corresponding flow rate; a control unit (105) configured to determine an operative state of the circulation pump (130) between a saturation state indicative that sufficient washing fluid is present in the tub (110) to prevent air from being drawn out by the circulation pump (130), and a starvation state indicative that insufficient washing fluid is present in the tub (110) to prevent air from being drawn out by the circulation pump (130). The control unit (105) is further configured to carry out the following operations a) - e): a) cause the inlet valve (120) to switch from the closed condition to the open condition; b) load washing fluid into the tub (110) through the inlet valve (120) while the circulation pump (130) operates to reach a first target flow rate; c) cause the inlet valve (120) to switch from the open condition to the closed condition when a saturation state is determined and the circulation pump (130) is operating at the first target flow rate; d) after the inlet valve (120) switched from the open condition to the closed condition, cause the circulation pump (130) to operate at a second target flow rate higher than said first target flow rate; e) if a starvation state of the circulation pump (130) is determined while the circulation pump (130) is operating at said second target flow rate, determine that the inlet valve (120) is not affected by leakages when in the closed condition.