Agitator fins keep breaking on Speedqueen top loader.

Cleaning under a top load washer agitator

If you’re using proper washing techniques, it’s unlikely there’s anything under the agitator. Yes, we’ve all seen horribly abused misused washers that had gunk under them.

Keep in mind there is no such thing as detergent. Buildup detergent will dissolve as easily as a teaspoon of sugar in a hot cup tea. What people often refer to as detergent buildup is mineral deposits from lack of detergent and hard water.

It’s also possible to get some buildup of fabric softener residue again from poor washing procedures if you’re using Fabric softener, it’s imperative to use plenty of detergent and warmer or hot water. The next time clothing is washed. We find you cannot use fabric softener if you’re doing all cold water washing and not have a problem eventually, both with the buildup in the machine and your clothing itself becomes skanky..

John L

combo52 said:

Cleaning under a top load washer agitator

If you’re using proper washing techniques, it’s unlikely there’s anything under the agitator. Yes, we’ve all seen horribly abused misused washers that had gunk under them.

Keep in mind there is no such thing as detergent. Buildup detergent will dissolve as easily as a teaspoon of sugar in a hot cup tea. What people often refer to as detergent buildup is mineral deposits from lack of detergent and hard water.

It’s also possible to get some buildup of fabric softener residue again from poor washing procedures if you’re using Fabric softener, it’s imperative to use plenty of detergent and warmer or hot water. The next time clothing is washed. We find you cannot use fabric softener if you’re doing all cold water washing and not have a problem eventually, both with the buildup in the machine and your clothing itself becomes skanky..

John L

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This is exactly why I recently modified my Maytag to provide a warm spray and rinse!
I've noticed a difference in my clothes.

phillymatt53 said:

This is exactly why I recently modified my Maytag to provide a warm spray and rinse!
I've noticed a difference in my clothes.

Click to expand...

What difference have you noticed?

Chetlaham said:

What difference have you noticed?

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Well Chet, my shirts seem softer, and less "clingy" if I sweat.
My towels are more absorbent.
I havn't done jeans yet, but I can imagine.

phillymatt53 said:

Well Chet, my shirts seem softer, and less "clingy" if I sweat.
My towels are more absorbent.
I havn't done jeans yet, but I can imagine.

Click to expand...

Warm rinsing relaxes the fibers and gets more detergent out.

I've noticed that too, towels come out of the dryer softer when rinsed in warm.

All the washers I imagine rinse with warm water on the Heavy duty, Towels, Whites, Normal, knits and woolens cycle.

I think the 74 Kenmore is not so great a rinser. Unfortunately I believe it's because of that self cleaning filter aerating the water.Towels are the worst even with a 2nd rinse. The water will look clear at the beginning of agitation but about a minute in you see all the foam starting to come up once the load has rolled over a couple of times. Even the 85 belt drive Whirlpool had cleaner rinsing, but that had the self cleaning passive type filter. Surprisingly, I find the vmw agitator types have cleaner rinsing than any of the older machines I had/have. Then again the newer machines have faster spinning, so that must be what's contributing.

agiflow said:

I think the 74 Kenmore is not so great a rinser. Unfortunately I believe it's because of that self cleaning filter aerating the water.Towels are the worst even with a 2nd rinse. The water will look clear at the beginning of agitation but about a minute in you see all the foam starting to come up once the load has rolled over a couple of times. Even the 85 belt drive Whirlpool had cleaner rinsing, but that had the self cleaning passive type filter. Surprisingly, I find the vmw agitator types have cleaner rinsing than any of the older machines I had/have. Then again the newer machines have faster spinning, so that must be what's contributing.

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Reason time isn't enough. On most belt drives the rinse agitation is only 2 minutes. They need at least 4 minutes; 5 or 6 would be ideal.


Cold water rinsing keeps fibers contracted so there is less of it coming out into the rinse water. With less coming out into the water there are fewer suds creating the misconception that rinsing in cold is better when it is actually worse.

Chetlaham said:

Reason time isn't enough. On most belt drives the rinse agitation is only 2 minutes. They need at least 4 minutes; 5 or 6 would be ideal.


Cold water rinsing keeps fibers contracted so there is less of it coming out into the rinse water. With less coming out into the water there are fewer suds creating the misconception that rinsing in cold is better when it is actually worse.

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When I now select my "Warm" rinse, I noticed less sudsing, almost none, and the water pumping out is clearer than before when I was forced to use the cold water.

phillymatt53 said:

When I now select my "Warm" rinse, I noticed less sudsing, almost none, and the water pumping out is clearer than before when I was forced to use the cold water.

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Is the spray rinse warm too?

Warm water increases the GPM out of the mixing valve to approximately double. So where your machine previously had a 60 second cold spray rinse; on warm it is now the equivalent of 120 seconds of cold spray rinsing plus the advantage of relaxed fibers on top of that. By the time the machine stops to fill for a deep rinse the clothes are essentially rinsed out completely.

It is for these reasons I feel that top load washers can just skip deep rinsing altogether in lieu of a few sprays. With warm water both complimenting and maximizing the detergent extraction process great water saving can be realized.

Chetlaham said:

Is the spray rinse warm too?

Warm water increases the GPM out of the mixing valve to approximately double. So where your machine previously had a 60 second cold spray rinse; on warm it is now the equivalent of 120 seconds of cold spray rinsing plus the advantage of relaxed fibers on top of that. By the time the machine stops to fill for a deep rinse the clothes are essentially rinsed out completely.

It is for these reasons I feel that top load washers can just skip deep rinsing altogether in lieu of a few sprays. With warm water both complimenting and maximizing the detergent extraction process great water saving can be realized.

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Yes, I mentioned in another thread that my machine now, when the Warm Rinse button is pushed, it gives a warm spray rinse, along with the deep fill warm rinse.

phillymatt53 said:

Yes, I mentioned in another thread that my machine now, when the Warm Rinse button is pushed, it gives a warm spray rinse, along with the deep fill warm rinse.

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Alright, for the record and that I want to confirm my suspicions with certainty.

The warm spray might might explain it all. Have you timed the fill from empty to extra large on hot, warm and cold? I am curious how much water is being invested into the spray rinse.

I've found that for any given load about half the water used for a deep rinse will almost always make a satisfactory spray rinse. For example, if a single deep rinse takes 18 gallons of water, a spray rinse of 9 gallons will get the job done comparably to an 18 gallon deep rinse.

The math also works out really well for delicate and casual garments. Say that it takes 4 minutes to fill an 18 gallon tub to full for a deep rinse on warm. If we do two 60 second warm spray rinses that equals 9 gallons, exactly half the water of a deep rinse for a cotton/denim load. Now, if we switch to cold for delicate and PP items, it typically takes 6 minutes for the tub to fill to full on cold for a deep rinse. Those two same 60 second spray rinses now give 6 gallons of water or 1/3 the water of a deep rinse. Considering that delicate fabrics are thinner and hold less residual carry-over, the 6 gallon total sprays are typically satisfactory.

Chetlaham said:

Alright, for the record and that I want to confirm my suspicions with certainty.

The warm spray might might explain it all. Have you timed the fill from empty to extra large on hot, warm and cold? I am curious how much water is being invested into the spray rinse.

Click to expand...

I know the spray rinse is 60 seconds long, which is the timer motor switching increments.
And the total rinse's and wash filling goes as follows, taken from the original Owners Manual:

Regular and delicate cycle....
Small - 20 gal
Medium - 27 gal
Large - 34 gal
Extra large - 40 gal

The Perm Press cycle uses about 8 -17 gal more than above, depending on load size.

phillymatt53 said:

I know the spray rinse is 60 seconds long, which is the timer motor switching increments.
And the total rinse's and wash filling goes as follows, taken from the original Owners Manual:

Regular and delicate cycle....
Small - 20 gal
Medium - 27 gal
Large - 34 gal
Extra large - 40 gal

The Perm Press cycle uses about 8 -17 gal more than above, depending on load size.

Click to expand...

Question- would it be possible to time the fills to full if and when you have the time? No rush, but I'm curious what is being used in the spray rinse. Maytag had a way of getting water into he tub that it maximized spray rinsing.

combo52 said:

Cleaning under a top load washer agitator

If you’re using proper washing techniques, it’s unlikely there’s anything under the agitator. Yes, we’ve all seen horribly abused misused washers that had gunk under them.

Keep in mind there is no such thing as detergent. Buildup detergent will dissolve as easily as a teaspoon of sugar in a hot cup tea. What people often refer to as detergent buildup is mineral deposits from lack of detergent and hard water.

It’s also possible to get some buildup of fabric softener residue again from poor washing procedures if you’re using Fabric softener, it’s imperative to use plenty of detergent and warmer or hot water. The next time clothing is washed. We find you cannot use fabric softener if you’re doing all cold water washing and not have a problem eventually, both with the buildup in the machine and your clothing itself becomes skanky..

John L

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Thanks but can you explain how to remove a SQ TC5 agitator?

jrap330 said:

A different issue, since many repairmen on this site state issue with detergent or softener buildup, I was trying to remove my agitator and check. How do you remove it. I just tried to pull it off

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What's the model #?

To remove the agitator in a modern Speed Queen top load washer you just pull it up. It takes a lot of force be careful when it breaks loose that you don’t hit yourself in the face or head with it.

It doesn’t hurt to fill the tub halfway with hot water and let it sit for 15 minutes drain the water out and then quickly try to remove the agitator. It may come out a little easier.