Maytag MHW8630 floods laundry room on Clean Washer cycle

[ghowell6]

I've got a bit of a conundrum with my mother's new Maytag washer. Model MHW8630HW

It has the optimal dose detergent drawer, and automatically dispenses detergent during all the wash cycles. She has it set to the lowest concentration setting, as she uses All detergent without perfumes or dyes. It is an HE listed detergent.

She ran the Clean Washer cycle last night (no Affresh tablets or bleach, just an empty drum), and woke up to a flooded laundry room this morning- the tub was full of suds. She's washed several successive loads of clothes this morning, and it appears to be working fine. My theory is that it over-sudsed and flooded out the vent on the back of the washer- however, I'm not over at her house, and wasn't able to watch it. They have pretty hard water, so most detergent doesn't easily suds or foam. I can't imagine there was a significant build-up in the washer that would have caused this.

Any thoughts? I'm going to check it out (and have her run another clean washer cycle) sometime this week.

I've had a couple of LG washers with the tub clean cycle, and while they can suds a bit from buildup, they've never over-sudsed and subsequently leaked like that.

 

[henene4]

Was my thought at first aswell.
Either she used something in the Clean Washer cycle that wasn't copatible or there were major residues in the machine.

If I'm not mistaken, the clean cycle uses faster drum rotation ("Spin-Washing") to "scrub" the tub clean.
That leads to higher sudsing if ddetergent or certain bleaches are used.

 

[mark_wpduet]

Hmmm

I wonder if the precision dispense or whatever it's called is actually dispensing into the clean washer cycle. I mean, surely not but I can't think of any other explanation. The water is hard which inhibits suds already...I agree with you if it's on the lowest detergent setting already, surely there wouldn't be enough build up to cause the clean washer cycle to suds so high that it comes out the vent. It does fill with lots of water and spins rapidly for a long time both directions....which does generate some suds....It definitely sounds to be like something got added

 

[DADoES]

 
Run the cycle with Affresh added.  It never generates suds when I've used it, maybe it includes a suppressant.  Tide Washer Cleaner does generate suds, much suds the times I've tried it.

 

[cleanteamofny]

If Clorox bleach was used, make sure it's the regular bleach and not the Splash-Less. The Splash-Less formula may foam up.

 

[maranoman]

Lowest Setting is not 2X

Be aware that on this model, the default detergent concentration setting (2X) is actually the highest concentration of detergent. The higher the setting, the lower the amount of detergent used. This can be confusing as most consumers would assume that the lower the number, the lower the detergent concentration. Below is a snip from the Use and Care Guide. See the chart and the description above it, where it is noted: "If you have excess suds, try using a higher concentration number."

 

[ghowell6]

Concentration settings are NOT intuitive

So, her detergent setting was set to the lowest concentration (maximum for the dispense) as Jeff said. She buys a 141oz container that's good for 94 loads according to the bottle- so, for the logic it states 1.5oz per load. I could change the concentration to 3X and see if it affects the wash performance (from 2X) but it hasn't had any other issues with over-sudsing before. It might help with buildup, but she tells me that she runs the cycle every time it prompts her, and she's good about leaving the door ajar so the machine will air out.

Still, I don't see how it could have sudsed up when the drum was empty, unless the dispenser was malfunctioning. I've ordered some Affresh for her. She uses plain bleach (not the splashless) with her whites sometimes, but doesn't put it in the washer for the clean cycle.

I went over last night and looked at it- No obvious signs of leaking from the back vent, but there was a fair amount of buildup on the door glass of the inside of the washer. I sprayed some vinegar water on it, and wiped it down, and cleaned out the detergent drawer.

She's supposed to have me over for dinner this week, and we'll run the clean washer cycle again (with some Affresh) and see what happens. Hopefully there will be a happy resolution on this- Otherwise, I'm going to have her start a warranty claim on it.

I pulled her old Kenmore apart several times to replace the door gasket and water pump- when the inverter board went bad on it, she decided to buy a new machine. They only had a Samsung, and this Maytag in stock. I thought this was the better option between the two. Hopefully I wasn't wrong in my purchase advice.

I personally wouldn't buy a washing machine with the optimal dose dispenser- the Load and Go seems like a better system on the Whirlpool models, and it gives you easy access to the pump filter. On this machine, you have to tip it back and reach under the frame to access it.

 

[DADoES]

 
It's questionable to me whether the Clean Washer cycle does anything useful without adding an appropriate product to handle any laundry soil residue, mineral scale, etc. that may be present.  My sister's Samsung advises it's not necessary to add anything but she does add STPP and chlorine bleach or Affresh, and it has an onboard heater that heats the cleaning cycle to 130°F.

 

[yogitunes]

it always amazes me for a "Clean Washer" cycle....

it uses HOT water, either from tap, or if a heater is present it will boost the temp...

yet these machine insist on dubbing down wash temps, or people washing in cold water....

why not just wash in HOT/WARM temps from the start, and forget the Clean Cycle....

plus if its a TL HE machine, it fills the tub all the way up with HOT water.....now remind me, where is my energy efficiency from these machines?...I would rather use that hot water for an actual load of clothes...but thats me!

my Neptunes dont have a Clean Washer cycle....have not found a reason to need or use one...

 

[mark_wpduet]

It's true...

...If you wash in hot water (and not constant cold washes)
...Don't overload machine
...Don't use too much or too little product
...Bleach with whites
...Leave machine door cracked and wipe rubber/glass down occasionally

You won't need the clean washer cycle. My old generation duet has a hidden clean washer cycle and it's very cool to watch, but I rarely use it.

Still....it would BUG me if something doesn't work the way it's supposed to and I would want to get to the bottom of it.