My First Neptune Adventure-- The Smelly Washer

[fordtech]

I am a Ford technician, not an appliance technician but I have learned a lot in the past years when my machines failed or I just wanted to do a super maintenance on them.

We had decided back in January of 2001 to retire our Maytag 712 washer and dryer (big mistake) after 17 years of flawless service. Of course our love for Maytag ran deep because of that pair and I just couldn't wait any longer for the Neptunes! And we loved those machines too!

Unfortunately like so many others we had no clue that it was so important to use these machines in a particular way to avoid smelly washer and soap scum buildup. The wife was used to using cold water only to conserve energy in the top loader with a healthy dose of liquid detergent and liquid fabric softener. HUGE MISTAKE!!

Our house began to smell really bad, clothes really bad, but we hadnt really noticed in the early term because we both smoked cigarettes and the house was often smoke filled. We both quit smoking and I found myself very sensitive to mold smells for some time after that and soon I found I could not stand the smells coming from the laundry!

So I had to investigate and was shocked by what I found. Again this was not due to the machine itself. This model 4000 had been already updated with the mold resistant boot with the drain, the door had the ventilation built in, etc. It was purely lack of understanding of how to do laundry in the modern front loader.

I have shared these pics on other sites but most of those are no longer avaliable so I thought I should share this with the fine members here and anyone else who happen to search this site for information.

First I would like to say this is a wonderful machine for maintenance access. Easy to dismantle with a few basic tools and you can download a manual for these off the net with no real effort at all. So I began my journey to find out why this machine smelled so bad. I removed the door and the bulkhead, and then all the clips and the front cover to the outer tub and there in lies the culprit...
Tons of soap scum buidup!! GROSS!

Here is the tub cover.... you couldnt even see the bristle seal!

 

[fordtech]

Another view

 

[fordtech]

Before basket removal

 

[fordtech]

Down in the sump.. OMG!

 

[fordtech]

And basket removed. Look at the buildup all around the spider too! Gross!

 

[fordtech]

But there IS HOPE FRIENDS! Just get down and dirty and clean this horrible mess up! And it will look like this in about an hour or so!

 

[fordtech]

Basket cleaned up

 

[fordtech]

Remember that horrible front cover with saturated brisle seal?

 

[fordtech]

Now this looks a lot healthier!

 

[fordtech]

And now once again a happy model 4000 Neptune is saved from an abusive front load lifestyle that changed radically and we have never had Neptune smells again!

 

[fordtech]

Now the moral of the story. USE hot water washes at least once per week! Stop using liquid detergent! Use detergent in moderation! Use bleach in your whites each week.

Some folks recommend leaving the door open, but I have never had to do that with either one of my Neptunes after following the above laundering habits for the past almost 6 years. The Neptunes have a wonderful ventilation system built into the door and that should not be necessary.

I hope you enjoyed this little adventure, and again dont be afraid of your Neptune, they are very simple to work on!

 

[georgect]

No spider corrosion?

What material or process did they use on the spider that kept it form corroding?

Wow...it sure does look great. I do love how much water that washer uses. It's like the perfect amount, not too stingy.

Is there a heater in there (I don't see one).

 

[whirlcool]

My cousin had one of these Neptunes. After about a year the whole house started to smell like a sewer. Yuck.

You did a great job cleaning up that machine. Better than new!

 

[chestermikeuk]

Wow

Well if that doesnt convince you about detergent powder with bleach and hot washes nothing will...

I expected to see the spider like the LG thread, I wonder if the crud actually protected it....or is it true to say that those machine spiders didnt rot??

Interesting drum/baffle/spider arrangement,with the baffles covering the screw mounts..

Thanks for enlightening us, Mike

 

[fordtech]

Thanks to all!
This early Neptune didnt have an onboard heater. My 7500 model does and the 6500 models did as well. I personally havent seen one of these corrode up like the one in the LG thread. I have seen the one in the Commercial Neptune that was all coated with heavy dried soap scum on it. I think all that I have ever heard about the spider on these is an occasional broken mount.
The insulators on the mounts do however help to prevent corrosion between two dissimilar metals.

I really do like the Neptunes! Too bad Maytag couldnt have had more time to get the act together. All I have see from Whirlpool is a concerted effort to keep people from repairing or restoring them by radically driving up the prices of repair parts. For example the outer tub was 198.00 from Maytag. Now the average price is 498.00!

 

[wringersteve]

Looks GREAT! We had one exactly like yours. We always used powder detergent and hot/warm washes and we never had the mold problem. Our big problem was with computer circuitry that kept failing. We loved the washer, but refused to take out a second mortgage on our home to pay for repairs. We went back to a top-loader and haven't looked back, except that my wife misses the delay start. Congratulations on a job well done!

 

[fordtech]

Thanks Steve! I hear you on the electronics problems on the early models. I replaced most of that stuff cheaper off parts from Ebay, like motor and controller for 50.00, upgraded the wax motor, upgraded control board. But in 2005 Sears had a NIB 7500 that I bought for half price that I replaced this particular machine with. Last I heard from the new owner is that it is still working fine though.

I have a couple more threads on the 7500 and how I upgraded my MDG4000 gas dryer to an MDG7500 coming soon!

 

[nmassman44]

I love the before and after...but my question is...what ventalation system?!? What you see at the top of the inner door is the vent for just that...the inner and outer door. The washer is a sealed system and thats one big reason why you have that mold buildup. After the wash is done for the day leave the door open to dry it out. That alone will make sure you dont have any mold issues plus using an HE detergent will make a huge difference. Tide HE Powder does a great job. Just try doing that simple tip will save you from doing a teardown again.
Oh and before I forget to ask...did you remove the baffles in the drum to clean out the mold in them?

 

[fordtech]

Yes all the baffles were removed. I have been using HE power detergents for a long time now. This tear down occured in Feb 2005 and there has been no reoccurance. The ventilation is for the boot area as that open area in the bottom hangs over the boot area. There is also a drain tube in the boot. I have never kept the door open and there has not been ANY odor in all these years since in either machine. The ventilation is not just for the door itself. The door is sealed but the machine can breath through the vent. Just take a close look and you will see the opening in the bottom of the door extends well into the machine past the door seal.

Now there is no active flow through ventilation at a stop but there is enough to prevent the boot from staying wet Which has been a source of problems in the past. The boot area is not sealed off from the rest of the machine. The hot washes and powder detergents have been the biggest overall reason for staying internally clean from my experience in the past 5 years of odor free use. Most of this experience is with my newer MAH7500 with all the improvements at that point in the production.