Grease covering brand new Speed Queen washing machine tub.

[mbhokmah]

Just had a new speed queen washing machine installed model AWN542. So disappointed that the tub is full of grease. Already ruined some kitchen towels. Speed Queen wants me to buy a special product and clean off the grease. They say grease is not a defect and not under warranty!!! Very poor customer service. Luckily, the machine only ruined kitchen towels, and fortunately I did NOT try to wash expensive clothes. I have been told the grease is polishing compound that was mistakenly left on the stainless steel tub. Speed Queen should be cleaning the machine in the factory and NOT telling customers to clean up their mistake.
I hated my previous machine because it was HE with low water. I thought I'd be overjoyed with this speed queen. Maybe once the grease is removed it will be good. Can the grease be completely removed?? Will I always have to worry about grease getting on my clothes and linens?????

 

[frigilux]

Two user reviews of the AWN542 at Consumer Reports online complained of the same problem with grease. Both reviewers were told by Speed Queen customer service to clean the tub with Simple Green (an all-purpose household spray cleaner). While that removes the grease from the user-accessible side of the tub, it didn't solve the problem.

Here's the description from one of the reviews: "...the factory didn't clean the stainless steel tubs of grease before assembling the two-sided stainless drum, so grease keeps oozing into the tub. Talked to the factory. It's a known problem with no solution. They say to clean it with Simple Green, but the grease is inside the tub. There's no access because the two are welded together. Had the repairman take out the drum, but can't get to the grease due to the design. Tried using Q-Tips to clean each tub hole, but that didn't help because it's apparent the grease is coming from between the two walls."

He goes on to explain SQ sent him a new washer but it exhibited the same problem. The other review complaining of the same problem was told "the machine came from a bad batch at the factory."

Calling John (combo52): You know these machines well; can you explain what the problem might be? The reviewer's explanation is confusing to me. Are there really two layers of stainless steel with a gap between them or is the reviewer not providing a clear explanation of what he was told by SQ and his repairman?

(Aside: Only six of 90 user reviews at CR were negative. The vast majority praised the machine.)[this post was last edited: 3/29/2013-10:52]

 

[pulltostart]

Fortunately I did not have this problem with my SQ. You might try running an empty load (full water level), hot water, with degreaser. I suppose you might do this more than once; until you are comfortable with the results. Regardless of how many times you run the cycle, definitely clean the interior of the wash basket as previously instructed.

Good luck - these are good machines otherwise!

lawrence

 

[cammurray22]

Grease in The Speed Queen Tub

Hi, I work in the laundry department at the nursing home here in Savannah, Georgia. We deal with a lot of poop and grease, the only way to defeat all of that grease in your washing machine is by using a degreaser or using a enzyme detergent. The enzymes in this soap will kill the grease and poop.

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[yogitunes]

I was thinking of a hot water wash.....and either or, Dawn dish soap, which will suds a lot, but eat right thru grease....or somehing more heavy duty, Purple Cleaner, using a spray bottle saturate the tub and interior all over as much as possible, let set a while, and then a hot water wash...

the purple claeaner works great on scum and grease from a neglected machine, being an industrial cleaner, should prove effective for this..

let us know how you make out

 

[logixx]

I wonder, could one put the machine on a hot wash with degreaser and let it run through a spin-drain cycle with the drain hose pointing into the tub? The would send swirling hot cleaning solution all around the inside of the tubs - kinda like the LG WaveForce. Or would water leak through the tub ring?

Alex

 

[foraloysius]

I second Alex' suggestion. Detergent for the dishwasher might do the trick.

 

[mtn1584]

Try Pine-Sol with Hot wash, maybe even throw a few kettles of boiling water in for good measure!
Mike

PS great machine, I bought two, one for me, and one for my mother, love em, this is a quality control issue, at least it isn't mechanical!
Good luck
Mike

 

[gansky1]

Did you buy the machine from a local dealer? What do they tell you?

Personally, if I got any run-around on a brand new machine like this, I'd have this machine back on the dealer's loading dock the next day.

 

[qsd-dan]

Try a heavy dose of ammonia with a tub full of the hottest water possible.

 

[tolivac]

I think a greasy washer delivored to a customer is INEXCUSABLE!!!!Esp a brand such as Speed Queen-if you are paying for a premium brand as this-you should get "Top Hat" service and the machine should be ready to wash clothes after you get it.I would send it back!!!Speed Queen should not have sent out a machine in this condition!-SLOPPY!!I am having second thoughts of buying a SQ.

 

[angus]

I agree, I would go up the Alliance/Speed Queen customer service reporting chain until I got some help. Expecting the customer to cure a quality control defect is inexcusable and unacceptable. I would also enlist the dealer for help here. My other question is whether the use of such degreasing compounds would do anything to harm the machine. Don't know why I thought of that and it may have no validity...

The bigger issue here is that if Speed Queen is becoming so popular that quality control is slipping and customer service suffers, that spells disaster down the road and it won't be that long before their reputation is damaged beyond repair.

In my mind there is no other appropriate response from Speed Queen other than "we will replace the unit immediately and ensure that this problem does not exist on the replacement or any other unit". Shame on them for not stepping up and handling this.

I am about to purchase a new gas dryer since we just got gas service in our neighborhood and it makes me think twice about a Speed Queen.

That said, I am happy with my 7 year old washer and had good service from Alliance corporate when dealing with an incompetent and uncooperative local servicer.

I hope they will make this right.

 

[jetcone]

What a strange

story.

 

And why would they make the tub out of two layers? Anybody???

 

[SQueenJJ]

Quality Control issues with timers too

Speed Queen quality control when it comes to timers has already slipped. Of course I'm sure they buy them from a vendor. I'm hesitant to buy another Speed Queen myself. I was lucky that my dealer took mine back and refunded my money. After replacing the timer twice and the motor once in 7 months, when it tore up again, he took it back. He's had 4 machines in the last year have the same issue and when he talked to SQ they were aware of the issue, but he never really got an answer as to what they were doing to fix the issue. He said the tech rep commented that they were going to have to quit making the toploaders in a few years anyway-- that didn't set well with my dealer. He told them if they were going to cut back on quality they needed to quit selling them now and if these problems persisted, he would not be selling them anymore as he didn't want his reputation ruined.

I hope I just got a lemon and things are not going downhill. You can see more about this on my other post - SQ AWN412 Humming noise.

 

[funnut]

Gansky1 is right

See reply #8 above, the only correct solution for the problem. The defective machine should be returned to the dealer, then the dealer can handle Speed Queen. Otherwise, you probably will have grease problems forever with the washer.

Insist - repeat - insist that the washer be replaced and TEST it while the installer is still there. And if it were me, I would demand the replacement of the ruined towels. There is NO EXCUSE for customers bearing responsibility for inadequate QC at the factory. A greasy washer is a defective washer, period.

When my son wanted to buy an inexpensive washer and dryer recently I recommended a SQ set from a used appliance dealer. He and his wife have been really pleased with their machines. I've also recommended SQ to a dog groomer friend of mine who runs her business out of her home. But now I may have to retract my suggestion to her. She would CROAK if she got one of these greasy washers.

 

[mrb627]

Defect

I guess every manufacturer suffers from defects every once in a while.  

 

I would inquire with the store where you purchased the machine and see what they have to say.

 

Malcolm

 

[frigilux]

While it's small comfort to someone who is having problems with one of their machines, I'd say Speed Queen is better than most when it comes to overall quality. Peruse the user reviews at the site of your choice, and you'll find SQ (along with Miele) has a much smaller percentage of negative reviews than other brands.

Of the six negative reviews at Consumer Reports, one of them complained that suds kept backing up out of the drainpipe---hardly the washer's fault---and one was mildly critical, saying only that the reviewer thought his former washer (a modern front-loader) cleaned a little better and was gentler to fabrics.

As a staunch proponent of modern front-loaders, I can only say they damn well should clean a little better! There is a super-concentrated detergent solution at work (a full dose of detergent in very little water) during a wash period that is probably 2-3 times longer than the agitation period of a Speed Queen top-loader, where the same dose of detergent is diluted by nearly three times as much water.

Which machine will last longer, a Speed Queen or my 2010 Frigidaire front-loader? I'm very happy with the performance of my Frigilux in every way, but I'd have to cast my vote for SQ on that particular count.

 

[mickeyd]

The image

of a man kneeling on the floor cleaning grease out of the tub holes--WITH Q-TIPS-- on a BRAND NEW WASHER makes my hair stand up.

I'd call Channel 2 ON YOUR SIDE, and then take the machine right back to the dealer.

We are so screwed now with pure unregulated greed as the ruling ethos in American business. And now SPEED QUEEN, too? I'm throwing in my towel.

I'd be hurling feces if I were a chimpanzee.

I hope you get this resolved quickly.

 

[angus]

All the positive reviews in the world are not going to help the person who is having the problem and can't get any help. I had the same debate with a friend regarding a local "authorized Speed Queen sales/servicer. They misdiagnosed my issue which turned out to be a belt that needed replacement. Instead, the service man sprayed the idler pulley with WD 40 making the problem worse then insisted the machine wasn't reaching full spin speed because I was overdosing on detergent - the fact that I used Tide HE powder didn't seem to make any difference. When I refused that diagnosis, they turned to out and out defiance insisting that the issue was in my mind and there was nothing wrong with the machine. They then refused to come back and only agreed to refund the $$ they originally charged me for the "service".

Now that I think of it, I was not completely happy with Alliance. They did send me the new parts needed (including a new idler pulley since the original servicer ruined the one on the machine by spraying it) and connected me with another local servicer who was great. However, I insisted they do something with Ted's Appliance Service in Huntington, CT. I felt there was no reason they should be allowed to continue selling Speed Queen if that was the kind of service they provided. The Alliance rep agreed to follow up with me but I never heard from him again even after two additional attempts to contact him. Considering that this whole miserable event took almost three months to finally resolve during which I had to use the coin laundry weekly, I wasn't too happy. And forget about getting reimbursed for the cost and time wasted for all those weeks.

The point of this story is that my friend's brother seems to be a personal friend of "Ted" and his family and would never consider buying or servicing an appliance from anywhere else. They all rolled their eyes at my issue insisting that "crazy Anthony is being a pain again" and touting all their wonderful experiences with Ted's. They may well have had years of great service from Ted;s, but that didn't help me with my problem. So for everyone that never had an issue with SQ, it is exponentially more frustrating for those who do because of the reputation.