Monday, February 03, 2014

Washing Machine Of Doom! Er, Doom-ish -- Okay, "Slightly Annoying."

     I don't know what's going on exactly, some combination of soap-soaked washcloths, a routine change in the way our water company processes water and/or detergent buildup in the machine, but I have a load of towels and washcloths in the machine now on the sixth or seventh cycle without added soap, two of which have included a couple of cups of vinegar, and so far, there are soapsuds left after the last spin -- curiously persistent ones, at that.

     First World Problems, ey?

7 comments:

Sdv1949 said...

One guess: are you using HD detergent in a regular washer or vice versa?

One recommendation: the TSP you recommended for dishwashers works great for the laundry as well.

HTH

Roberta X said...

HD?

TimD said...

I think Sdv1949 may mean HE (high efficiency) detergent, but HE is known for sudsing(?) less.

Douglas2 said...

There is concentrated detergent, but the price difference is such that one usually know that they are using it.

An immediate solution is use of fabric softener -- in addition to its advertised properties, it also helps to rinse soap away.

One common cause of excessive sudsing in a clothes washer is restricted outflow. I'd visually check the outflow hose for kinks first, then figure out where the manufacturer has hidden that machine's lint filter (n.b.: Yes, washers have them too). Failing that, it's time to observe the outflow during a "drain" portion of the cycle, and if it is not full-throttle start ding some disassembly.

On my last incident of this sort with a Euro machine I found $1.67 in the hose leading to the machine's drain pump.

Sdv1949 said...

Yes. HE. Aaaaargh!

Paul said...

I would agree with Douglas2. I would think you are getting some leftover rather than an endless supply.

If your wash clothes have that much soap in them you will notice when you use them.

Roberta X said...

Ran it empty and didn't have suds. Towels do not smell of soap after drying. But they got three runs with vinegar and the "empty" run included a healthy slug of fabric softener.