LG Front Loader question-advice needed

[quincyman]

My two month old LG FL washer model WM3400CW is sudsing up on the first spin after the wash. And I do mean sudsing. It sounds like there is still water in the tub and suds fly everywhere. Not sure if it gets to full spin speed. Then stops and goes into the first rinse. A sudsy rinse that seems to drain and spin okay. Usually, second and third rinse seem to be fine. Today, doing a small normal wash it did the same thing only still sudsed up on second rinse and on the final spin there appeared to be small soap pieces occasionally flying around. I know this isn't normal.
Went to store but wasn't sure of what to buy, so I just added a cup to two cups of bleach to the tub and ran the TUB CLEAN cycle. Talk about soap suds? more than 3/4 of the way up the door. Drained and rinsed twice and appeared to be fine. Will do a wash in the morning to see how it goes.
Is this normal? I cleaned the drain filter out ahead of time and it was spotless. Any advice/comments or help will be appreciated.

 

[ea56]

When you say that you saw small pieces of soap flying around is it possible that somehow a bar of soap got thrown into the dirty laundry by mistake and then made its way into the washer? That would be my guess. If it was too much detergent you wouldn’t be seeing small pieces of soap.

I’ve read here that some members have added liquid fabric softener to get rid of excess suds. Perhaps try that instead of using bleach to clean out the washer.

Good Luck!

Eddie

 

[egress]

what soap do you use normally? this could have just been a case of using too much soap for the machine to handle and it built up overtime. im not entirely certain though. how often do you run the tub clean cycle?

 

[quincyman]

First, No to a bar of soap. What I should have said is that it looks like chunks or tiny bits of soap SUDS that fly around in the final rinse. Like not all the suds got rinsed out.

Second, we use Liquid Tide HE detergent and definitely not TOO much (I think). Never up to the full line. Usually half of that or even less.

Today was the first time I ran the TUB CLEAN cycle in the roughly 2 1/2 months we have had the machine.

I appreciate your responses.

 

[petek]

I have the WM3700, essentially the very same machine other than a few more programs. I seldom fill the detergent cup even to the halfway mark, more like a quarter of the way and it cleans fine.

 

[quincyman]

I was planning on using less soap Pete as the machine uses so little water. Thanks for the confirmation.

 

[DADoES]

 
<blockquote>... I just added a cup to two cups of bleach to the tub and ran the TUB CLEAN cycle. Talk about soap suds? more than 3/4 of the way up the door.</blockquote> What kind of bleach?  Some chlorine bleach products can produce suds, such as the scented or splashless varieties.

What lines do the Tide dosage instructions reference?  The cap markings are often difficult to see and a small load / light-soil load may call for considerably less than half the cap.  Better to disregard the cap and measure by a tablespoon for accuracy and consistency.  Those dosage cups included with Pepto Bismol are useful.  Or a small measuring cup such as this.  Wipe the measuring device with an item of clothing in the load to catch all of it.

 

[lakewebsterkid]

Agreed

More than likely using too much detergent. Try adding an extra rinse to keep detergent residue out of your clothes and the machine. I will also go out on a limb and say to use the Towels cycle for bigger loads of clothes. Much better rinsing with that cycle.

Certainly pay more attention to dosing. Make sure it is a Tide HE Turbo product as well!

As DADoES mentioned, scented and splashless bleaches have surfactants added that suds up like crazy!

 

[quincyman]

The bleach was Clorox. I never heard of bleach sudsing before, but glad to know it. And yes, the markings on those caps are hard to see. I usually use the second one from the bottom. My partner? Probably uses more, but I can fix that. Going to only pour in up to the first one tomorrow. Thanks for the tips on a measuring cup and I like the idea of measuring using a tablespoon.

I like the towel cycle the best. Appears to use more water in the wash. Does super fast spin after wash and all rinses and yes, I feel it rinses better. More often than not, we always add an extra rinse. One time I even set it for two extra rinses.

All that aside, I was afraid something wrong with washer. I am new to electronic board machines and not sure if I like them. New LG dishwasher installed in May was replaced with a new one after two weeks as it started filling and draining and filling and draining.....so I am spooked with the new machines.

 

[nmassman44]

One thing...do not use the Towels cycle for loads other than towels ...the wash portion of that cycle is way too short and your wash load will not be as clean as lets say using Normal or Bright Whites. What you are seeing on the first spin is very normal. I have an LG 4000 washer and it does the same thing. I always add an extra rinse to make sure the load is well rinsed plus using a liquid softener helps as well for the final rinse. This washer should also spray rinse the load on each spin. If the suds is too much then the washer will go into a suds kill to flush them out of the drum and then get on with the cycle.
Another thought is that if you have mechanically softened water because here in Tampa Bay the water here is hard and dosage may be an issue. I find that if I dont use the water hardness treatment powder that I use with every load , I will not get any suds and the clothes come out rough feeling. With the Charlies Soap water hardness treatment I get suds and can cut back a bit on detergent.

 

[powerfin64]

I have WM4200

First, what you described is normal, this action is called Filtration. The new LG washing machines now have this included in various cycles.

Second, you are using WAAAAY too much detergent, use what has been said above and use Half of line one-MAX! Unless your laundry is REALLY dirty, then line 1 only.

Third, 2 cups of Clorox is Complete overkill! Use only washing machine cleaners-Affresh or Tide washing machine cleaner only, they are the best and designed to clean your machine properly. Use the tub clean cycle.

Forth, Keep a liquid softener on hand, for the accidental over sudsing incidents that could occur in the future. Liquid fabric softeners will knock down over sudsing very well, won't have to use a lot at a time either. I always add extra rinses(2-3) to my cycles. Add extra rinses to your laundry cycles, they make a difference.

 

[appnut]

Yes, the towels cycle is too short. As the instructions indicate, the suggestions for this cycle besides towels is jeans/denim.

 

[DADoES]

 
I ran a couple doses of Tide Washer Cleaner on a friend's Kenmore/LG frontloader a couple weeks ago when helping him from from an apartment to a house.  He never leaves the door ajar, and doesn't wash in cold water best as I can tell so the machine was a little smutzy and swampy but far from the worst I've seen.

Anyway, that stuff SUDSES UP LIKE CRAZY!

I used the designed tub clean cycle before the machine was moved from the apartment.  I didn't watch it closesly for how many times it rinses but there were suds remaining to the end.

Couple days later when the machine had been moved to the house, I ran a triple rinse.  Bit of suds at the beginning, clear by the end.  Then I ran another dose of the cleaner on the tub clean cycle.  CRAZY suds.  Another follow-up triple rinse, ended clear.

The package directions state that the Tide product should be run on the designated Normal cycle (set for hot) and isn't suitable for use on the specific tub-clean cycles.  I didn't catch that until before running the 2nd dose but I used Tub Clean anyway because 1) that's what it's for and 2) the machine's user manual says so.

 

[appnut]

Affresh is specifically made to be compatible with specified clean cycles. My last clean cycle I put 1/2 cup of no splash Clorox in the dispenser. I had lots of suds too, never had that with Affresh.

 

[quincyman]

Update

I did a normal sized wash this morning. All was fine. No sudsing what-so-ever. Was amazed. Hope it lasts.

 

[appnut]

Congratulations!!!

 

[quincyman]

Problem Discovered & Solved

Discovered recently that the sudsing/sudslock problem only happen when I added both OXI-CLEAN AND BLEACH to the machine. Each one alone is fine, but the two together really caused sudsing when machine tried to drain and spin.
Now all is well with the machine and I am a relieved happy camper.

 

[powerfin64]

question:

Why did you add OXI-CLEAN and BLEACH in the same load? what TYPE of liquid BLEACH are you using? (There is a difference in Liquid Bleach's)
I will use 1 or the other, as they are to use for different reasons/applications.

 

[mark_wpduet]

Be careful when buying bleach. It comes in different forms. What you would is plain bleach...Splash free or other kinds like HE performance can be thicker for easier pouring....but whatever is added it to will suds more than the plain old liquid bleach that's really watery...

Look for Clorox "Regular" bleach or store brand regular bleach...

the worst most weakest pathetic bleach I've ever used was LA's Totally Awesome dollar store bleach. It wasn't that it was horrible, it's just that it was so weak I went through it much faster than regular Clorox. Weird that the store brand Kroger bleach is not that bad at all. Clorox is the best....I buy small bottles of it because I use so little. I've used it in the clean washer cycle in the past and had no issues.