Washing machine - sud city! Why won't the soap suds drain???

[waywardguy]

Just got a new machine (Sears Kenmore) at a house I just bought, but even a minimal amount of soap won't seem to drain. The pipe going to the septic system is a little high (about 6 1/2 feet from the floor) - could that be the problem?

Appreciate any thoughts...

-Dave

 

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Just got a new machine (Sears Kenmore) at a house I just bought, but even a minimal amount of soap won't seem to drain. The pipe going to the septic system is a little high (about 6 1/2 feet from the floor) - could that be the problem?

Appreciate any thoughts...

-Dave

Can you be a bit more specific? What do you mean the soap won't drain? the soap is mixed with the water. Then you drain the water. Do you mean the soapy water won't drain? Of the water drains and leaves suds behind?

 

[waywardguy]

Sorry. Yes, the water drains, but soapy clothes and the inside of the machine (sides) still has suds. On this particular load, I washed very few things and used very little detergent (liquid)... So, I don't believe it was "overstuffed" with clothes, nor do I believe I used too much detergent...

Any thoughts?
Thx,
-D

 

[frank-in-toronto]

Does the wash basket completely drain of water before it starts the spin cycle? If not, that's what's causing all the suds. I've seen this design flaw in many washers.

do you have one of those E models that uses less soap?
they also use soap that has less suds. if you're using the wrong soap, bingo.
....thehick

 

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Is your water very soft? If so, cut the soap down even more. Are you using a low sudings detergent? Some are better than others in that respect. You are using laundry detergent, not dishwashing right?

I don' thave proof of this, bus supposedly the detergent makers use different formula for regions of harder water than thosw ieht naturally soft water. If you have a hard water formula and have a softener, that would make lots of suds. I hardly see any during the wash cyle in our machine.

 

[Tony Hwang]

do you have one of those E models that uses less soap?
they also use soap that has less suds. if you're using the wrong soap, bingo.
...thehick

Hi,
Sounds like another case of RTFM, LOL.
Tony

 

[Curly Sue]

Just got a new machine (Sears Kenmore) at a house I just bought, but even a minimal amount of soap won't seem to drain. The pipe going to the septic system is a little high (about 6 1/2 feet from the floor) - could that be the problem?

Appreciate any thoughts...

-Dave

If it's new, it's under warranty. Call the company! They should be able to help you troubleshoot (there's nothing about this in the manual, right?).

Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

 

[SQLit]

Sorry. Yes, the water drains, but soapy clothes and the inside of the machine (sides) still has suds. On this particular load, I washed very few things and used very little detergent (liquid)... So, I don't believe it was "overstuffed" with clothes, nor do I believe I used too much detergent...

Does the house have a water softener? If so wash the clothes with out any soap until the suds stop.

Then reduce by half the amount of clothes washing detergent your using.

 

[Rudy]

I'd cut the pipe down to less than the height of the washer if its feasible. The pump may not drive all the soapy water 6+feet uphill, Allowing it to run back down back into the machine once the pumping action stops. Then try half the soap indicated on the measuring cup device

 

[Olaf]

Just got a new machine (Sears Kenmore) at a house I just bought, but even a minimal amount of soap won't seem to drain. The pipe going to the septic system is a little high (about 6 1/2 feet from the floor) - could that be the problem?

Appreciate any thoughts...

-Dave

I recently had this problem after moving to a house with a softener. My washer pumps water to about 4 feet above the washer top to get the water up out of the basement and does just fine. It's about 8 to 8.5 feet from the floor.

You just need to use less soap. No matter how you crack it: if you have too much suds, then you have too much soap.

If you need to knock the suds down pour in a capful or two of liquid fabric softener.

Also, many washers today will start spinning the load when ever the lid has been opened and closed (or the machine has been turned off and back on) during the drain cycle... even if it's full of water. This is hard on the motor and transmission and makes even more suds.

I learned to use an extremely small amount of detergent in the laundry (especially with the towels and washcloths), there's a trick to getting just the right amount so you get some suds, but not too much. It is amazing how long a jug of detergent will last.

You can peek in a few minutes before the end of the wash cycle and pour in some fabric softener to knock the suds down if necessary.