My First Neptune Adventure-- The Smelly Washer
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Well if that doesnt convince you about detergent powder with
I agree completely with Mike on this! For what ever the reason, I just don't care for liquid detergent. Yes I have tried it, but still use and prefer powder.
Fordtech, AWESOME JOB of cleaning it all up, but better yet documenting your efforts! That was in pretty disgusting condition inside. It's too bad EVERYONE who insists on using ONLY cold water and liquid detergent can't be made aware by viewing this thread!
What detergent do you use (brand, flavor)?
BTW... Welcome to Automaticwasher.org! You will enjoy it here! Hopefully you will visit and contribute often!
Kevin
I agree completely with Mike on this! For what ever the reason, I just don't care for liquid detergent. Yes I have tried it, but still use and prefer powder.
Fordtech, AWESOME JOB of cleaning it all up, but better yet documenting your efforts! That was in pretty disgusting condition inside. It's too bad EVERYONE who insists on using ONLY cold water and liquid detergent can't be made aware by viewing this thread!
What detergent do you use (brand, flavor)?
BTW... Welcome to Automaticwasher.org! You will enjoy it here! Hopefully you will visit and contribute often!
Kevin
supremewhirlpol
Well-known member
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- Mar 25, 2009
- Messages
- 2,134
fordtech:
Good job, keep sharing the knowledge->it must be documented!
Good job, keep sharing the knowledge->it must be documented!
Thanks for the welcome Kevin! I put all this up on the old Samauri Appliance website years ago but all the old pages went away so I figured I would share it again with a site that may be more likely to survive. Im glad to share my experiences best I can, though the appliance techs have a lot more of them than I do.
Since I have had nothing but great results using at least one hot wash per week, powdered detergent, and bleach on whites and also have a 7500 now with onboard heater I have to strongly support not using liquid detergents also.
I personally used Persil powder for 2 years in very small dosages blended with STPP. Then I tried Sears Ultra Plus HE detergent powder and found it works very well for a fraction of Persil and have been using it for the past 3 years. Ive tried Tide HE powder too but its substantially more expensive than the Sears detergent. I love the smell of Persil though, it has that old OXYDOL smell I remember as a youngster.
supremewhirlpol, Ive seen your threads and I know I look to learn more with your experience on the Neptune.
My overall plan is make mine last another 15 years, with a complete overhaul at 10 years, 5 years from now on the washer. I just did a complete overhaul on the dryer that I have yet to make a thread about. The upgrade thread to the 7500 is only half the story on the dryer. The dryer hit 10 years old and it got a major workover internally.
Since I have had nothing but great results using at least one hot wash per week, powdered detergent, and bleach on whites and also have a 7500 now with onboard heater I have to strongly support not using liquid detergents also.
I personally used Persil powder for 2 years in very small dosages blended with STPP. Then I tried Sears Ultra Plus HE detergent powder and found it works very well for a fraction of Persil and have been using it for the past 3 years. Ive tried Tide HE powder too but its substantially more expensive than the Sears detergent. I love the smell of Persil though, it has that old OXYDOL smell I remember as a youngster.
supremewhirlpol, Ive seen your threads and I know I look to learn more with your experience on the Neptune.
My overall plan is make mine last another 15 years, with a complete overhaul at 10 years, 5 years from now on the washer. I just did a complete overhaul on the dryer that I have yet to make a thread about. The upgrade thread to the 7500 is only half the story on the dryer. The dryer hit 10 years old and it got a major workover internally.
dirtybuck
Well-known member
The laundromat that I frequent has quite a few Neptune's for customer use. I wish they would do the same as you did, Ford.
How long did the entire procedure take?
(Kevin: What FLAVOR detergent did he use? LOL! I've never tasted any sort of detergent before...must be an interesting try. But for me, I'll go with SCENT instead.)
How long did the entire procedure take?
(Kevin: What FLAVOR detergent did he use? LOL! I've never tasted any sort of detergent before...must be an interesting try. But for me, I'll go with SCENT instead.)
Good job !!
OMG !! Now I can see what you people mean with mold problems and smelly washers.
It was always strange for me (european) to understand why so many people in America have such problems with stinky front loaders. So the problem is cold water, liquid detergent, fabric softener buildup and closed door. One more think could be maybe that in America you have so soft water and for this reason is even harder to rinse out the detergent.
you have done a great job, now the machine is like new again
Ingemar
OMG !! Now I can see what you people mean with mold problems and smelly washers.
It was always strange for me (european) to understand why so many people in America have such problems with stinky front loaders. So the problem is cold water, liquid detergent, fabric softener buildup and closed door. One more think could be maybe that in America you have so soft water and for this reason is even harder to rinse out the detergent.
you have done a great job, now the machine is like new again
Ingemar
Thanks Ingemar. Actually I have pretty hard water here. We Americans are just used to dumping too much of everything into the old top loader and we were told to use cold water to conserve energy, so my wife went to the extreme and NEVER used anything but. She was only trying to help the family budget but this was the unfortunate result... learning the hardway about the front loader technology.
GREAT SAVE OF AN AMERICAN WASHER
I an glad you took the time to save this machine and showed us how this is done. The buildup you removed is dirt, oils and fabric softener residue. This is not caused by using to much detergent but rather too little cupeled with cold water which won't remove the before mentioned soils. I tell all my customers with low water use washers to ALWAYS use HOT water when washing regular laundry and to be sure to use enough high quality detergent and you will have no reason to have smelly washers or have to use an cleaning products in the washer. Even with an electric water heater you probably won't spend $20 per year on water heating, thats the beauty of these washers is that they use VERY LITTLE HOT WATER. I do agree that I prefer powered detergents and I do recommend LCB at least once per week be used and only cold rinses to keep bacteria down. But again a great save of a worthy machine, remember the new four Rs REDUCE REUSE REBUILD RECYCLE.
I an glad you took the time to save this machine and showed us how this is done. The buildup you removed is dirt, oils and fabric softener residue. This is not caused by using to much detergent but rather too little cupeled with cold water which won't remove the before mentioned soils. I tell all my customers with low water use washers to ALWAYS use HOT water when washing regular laundry and to be sure to use enough high quality detergent and you will have no reason to have smelly washers or have to use an cleaning products in the washer. Even with an electric water heater you probably won't spend $20 per year on water heating, thats the beauty of these washers is that they use VERY LITTLE HOT WATER. I do agree that I prefer powered detergents and I do recommend LCB at least once per week be used and only cold rinses to keep bacteria down. But again a great save of a worthy machine, remember the new four Rs REDUCE REUSE REBUILD RECYCLE.
You would be shocked how many of these great machines have been stripped for parts or just junked. I have seen thousands of the used parts on Ebay. There was a glut of new parts out there dirt cheap for a few years too and people just chose to destroy great machines.
I think with so many finding similar problems now with virtually every machine sold in America that there have to be some whom regret this and the end of the real Maytag.
I think with so many finding similar problems now with virtually every machine sold in America that there have to be some whom regret this and the end of the real Maytag.
cfz2882
Well-known member
wax motor trouble on mine.
when i started troubleshooting the mah3000 i bought for $25 in
non-working condition,i quickly found it had the classic
"wax motor" problem-cause was the resistor disc clipped to the
side of the wax chamber had it's conductive faces about 1/16"
apart with no insulation around the edge-they get a little
damp and"flash over"blowing out the little triac on the board
along with the resistor..
I took a wax motor from the dispenser,carefully took it apart
and insulated the edge of the disc with a tiny bit of "glyptal"
insulating paint.Put that wax motor in the door lock,did the
same repair to the other dispenser wax motor,fixed the
original door wax motor(ground off a bit of metalizing where
the flashover occured,insulated)put that one in the dispenser
bought some triacs from didgikey and replaced the blown one.
After the electrical repairs fixed a plugged pressure switch
hose and the neptune was back in commission!
A little drop of insulating paint for the wax motor probably
would have saved a lot of these from an early grave...
when i started troubleshooting the mah3000 i bought for $25 in
non-working condition,i quickly found it had the classic
"wax motor" problem-cause was the resistor disc clipped to the
side of the wax chamber had it's conductive faces about 1/16"
apart with no insulation around the edge-they get a little
damp and"flash over"blowing out the little triac on the board
along with the resistor..
I took a wax motor from the dispenser,carefully took it apart
and insulated the edge of the disc with a tiny bit of "glyptal"
insulating paint.Put that wax motor in the door lock,did the
same repair to the other dispenser wax motor,fixed the
original door wax motor(ground off a bit of metalizing where
the flashover occured,insulated)put that one in the dispenser
bought some triacs from didgikey and replaced the blown one.
After the electrical repairs fixed a plugged pressure switch
hose and the neptune was back in commission!
A little drop of insulating paint for the wax motor probably
would have saved a lot of these from an early grave...
Yes they were a common issue on early models. They have an electronic solenoid to replace the door latch and an all new dispenser with solenoid water valve and that has eliminated most problems with the control board. There is a new motor and controller as well. Zero electrical problems here and both my newer machines have the touchscreen digital panel so that is a good thing. They made other improvements to reduce smelly washer as well, but the tide was too high of people who couldnt wait to sue Maytag into oblivion so Maytag did stupid stuff like adding that miserable top load Neptune and the Korean made Neptune with the glass doors, both of which were crappy. They had the Neptune rear panel washers nearly perfect by early turn of the century but it was simply too late and too many CORPORATE decisions that were poor at best and the class action suit put the nail in the coffin.
3beltwesty
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2010
- Messages
- 1,057
Re people in America have such problems with stinky front lo
My dad got his first Frontload washer in 1947 and second one in 1976. Both were Westinghouses. The detergent recommended with each was All in powder form. The 1976 machine still works.
In growing up with American made FL washers I NEVER remember ANY issues with mold at all. In Indiana and Michigan the FL Washer was in a damp basement.
This whole FL mold thing came about in America in the mid to late 1990's when America rediscovered the FL washer. These new type FL washers did not look at Westinghouse's FL boot design that goes back to right before WW2.
The idiots basically were so stupid they did not look at a 1/2 century old American FL boot design that worked. This behavior is common with newbie cocky engineers and designers who know everything. They designed in a boot that collected water.
Many of us who grew up with older American FL washers find it real odd that a design 1/2 century later has mold and smell issues. A friend who had a Maytag Neptune in the late 1990's was always complaining about the horrible smell and how bad FL washer are; having to clean the boot out with chlorox.
The smell was so bad one had to hold ones nose in their laundry room.
In past eras many of us left the FL washers door open; or not latched so the boot would last longer. FL repair guys recommended this in the 1950's.
There are folks like my neighbor who got nickeled and dimed to death with repairs bills on the Maytag FL Neptune and thus went back to TL washers and junked the FL. The rash of moldy boots; wax motors; Solenoid, R11 and Q6 issues were so high that Maytag gave my neighbor a 550 buck off coupon to buy a Maytag TL machine. Sending the machine to its grave was an economic decision; the FL had too many repair costs.
My dad got his first Frontload washer in 1947 and second one in 1976. Both were Westinghouses. The detergent recommended with each was All in powder form. The 1976 machine still works.
In growing up with American made FL washers I NEVER remember ANY issues with mold at all. In Indiana and Michigan the FL Washer was in a damp basement.
This whole FL mold thing came about in America in the mid to late 1990's when America rediscovered the FL washer. These new type FL washers did not look at Westinghouse's FL boot design that goes back to right before WW2.
The idiots basically were so stupid they did not look at a 1/2 century old American FL boot design that worked. This behavior is common with newbie cocky engineers and designers who know everything. They designed in a boot that collected water.
Many of us who grew up with older American FL washers find it real odd that a design 1/2 century later has mold and smell issues. A friend who had a Maytag Neptune in the late 1990's was always complaining about the horrible smell and how bad FL washer are; having to clean the boot out with chlorox.
The smell was so bad one had to hold ones nose in their laundry room.
In past eras many of us left the FL washers door open; or not latched so the boot would last longer. FL repair guys recommended this in the 1950's.
There are folks like my neighbor who got nickeled and dimed to death with repairs bills on the Maytag FL Neptune and thus went back to TL washers and junked the FL. The rash of moldy boots; wax motors; Solenoid, R11 and Q6 issues were so high that Maytag gave my neighbor a 550 buck off coupon to buy a Maytag TL machine. Sending the machine to its grave was an economic decision; the FL had too many repair costs.
3beltwesty
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2010
- Messages
- 1,057
The neighbor who junked the FL smelly Neptune used powder he detergents. Thus the mold smell must have been a design issue with too much water collecting in the boot. After several newer type boots and leaving the door always open; the issues were more like R11/Q6's and wax motors and solenoids. They still complained of the moldy sewer smell but not as much. They actually placed a clothes line outside to air out stuff from the washer, wind and UV to remove smells.
Events like this caused many folks to drop newer American FL washers.
Events like this caused many folks to drop newer American FL washers.
If a heavy mold accumulation occured in the machine like mine, a boot replacement would not have been enough. It wasn't just liquid detergent, it was the amount of detergent combined with cold wash only. Anyway you know darned well that if the repairman came out and the tub was loaded like mine, he sure as heck didnt clean out the machine and it would still have an accumulation that stinks.
I didnt mention it but there were also a LOT of BAD techicians replacing loads of stuff that had no clue what they were doing. Those technicians were also running up the costs of the repairs and not fixing it right when they did work on it. Another major cause of Maytags fall was poor repair network. If all the Maytag dealers had sufficient staff to keep thier customers machines serviced by properly trained technicians much of the failures would not have occurred or would have been repaired per factory specifications.
Too many people got thier machines serviced by the lowest bid contractors working for extended warranty companies that sent out any old flakey technician who just guessed his way to do the repair.
Maytag was also at fault by not sending out qualified technicians, or checking behind the qualified ones to make sure they werent over selling the repair.
I cant tell you how many people on Ebay were selling new parts that the service tech ordered and said wasnt anything wrong with it.... never installed it.
Maytag paid for a lot of repairs that werent done or werent done properly.
There are a lot of good qualified technicians out there, but there are also a lot of folks who dont want to work on your machine if they have to put any real time and effort to it. They want a fast buck, fast in and out the door repairs. If they think it is going to take a lot of thier time they will scare you away with ridiculous repair prices and you just junk the machine as a result.
Now today Whirlpool owns the company and they are trying hard to kill every Neptune repair by charging outrageous prices for the parts alone.
The only way to win with Neptune today if fix it yourself and get the parts off Ebay for the most part.
I didnt mention it but there were also a LOT of BAD techicians replacing loads of stuff that had no clue what they were doing. Those technicians were also running up the costs of the repairs and not fixing it right when they did work on it. Another major cause of Maytags fall was poor repair network. If all the Maytag dealers had sufficient staff to keep thier customers machines serviced by properly trained technicians much of the failures would not have occurred or would have been repaired per factory specifications.
Too many people got thier machines serviced by the lowest bid contractors working for extended warranty companies that sent out any old flakey technician who just guessed his way to do the repair.
Maytag was also at fault by not sending out qualified technicians, or checking behind the qualified ones to make sure they werent over selling the repair.
I cant tell you how many people on Ebay were selling new parts that the service tech ordered and said wasnt anything wrong with it.... never installed it.
Maytag paid for a lot of repairs that werent done or werent done properly.
There are a lot of good qualified technicians out there, but there are also a lot of folks who dont want to work on your machine if they have to put any real time and effort to it. They want a fast buck, fast in and out the door repairs. If they think it is going to take a lot of thier time they will scare you away with ridiculous repair prices and you just junk the machine as a result.
Now today Whirlpool owns the company and they are trying hard to kill every Neptune repair by charging outrageous prices for the parts alone.
The only way to win with Neptune today if fix it yourself and get the parts off Ebay for the most part.
powerfin64
Well-known member
bad technicians
I had a experience with a not so qualified technican about a year ago.
Story- bought my first front loading washer, which was a Amana.
6 months after I got it, it started to leak from the front boot and the door was sagging a touch. Called amana, repair guy came out, and ordered parts. parts didn't come in, then very shortly after, amana replaced the washer with a new one of the same model, (due to didn't know when parts would be available.) 6 months later, same problems arose with the replaced washer, called amana, and they sent out someone from the same company, who sugguested replacing 2 items. parts were ordered and installed by the same guy. less than 2 months later, same problems AGAIN. Did the same process all over ,and got someone else from the same company to come out and look at it. Told him the whole story of everything, and he told me to, go to where I bought it, and tell them I want a different brand due to all the consistent problems, which I did do. Amana(whirlpool) wanted a different company to check it out. Now, this guy KNEW his stuff. told him the full story, and he pointed out right off the bat, that, This wasn't installed right by the last technician, and asked me if I wanted it fixed or just tell Whirlpool what he found. I didn't want it fixed.
After all that was done, I got a different brand front loading washer, which I am very happy with and haven't had any problems at all.
Rich
I had a experience with a not so qualified technican about a year ago.
Story- bought my first front loading washer, which was a Amana.
6 months after I got it, it started to leak from the front boot and the door was sagging a touch. Called amana, repair guy came out, and ordered parts. parts didn't come in, then very shortly after, amana replaced the washer with a new one of the same model, (due to didn't know when parts would be available.) 6 months later, same problems arose with the replaced washer, called amana, and they sent out someone from the same company, who sugguested replacing 2 items. parts were ordered and installed by the same guy. less than 2 months later, same problems AGAIN. Did the same process all over ,and got someone else from the same company to come out and look at it. Told him the whole story of everything, and he told me to, go to where I bought it, and tell them I want a different brand due to all the consistent problems, which I did do. Amana(whirlpool) wanted a different company to check it out. Now, this guy KNEW his stuff. told him the full story, and he pointed out right off the bat, that, This wasn't installed right by the last technician, and asked me if I wanted it fixed or just tell Whirlpool what he found. I didn't want it fixed.
After all that was done, I got a different brand front loading washer, which I am very happy with and haven't had any problems at all.
Rich
In addition to the onboard heater, another advantage of the 7500/6500 Neptunes is that they incorporate a rapid tumble sequence in the next to last rinse cycle. This helps to loosen any debris that has collected inside the outer drum and flush it down the drain.
I've had my 7500 set since 2001. There has never been a mold/odor problem. I rarely do cold washes - they are either warm or hot, with at least one hot wash per week. I've also never used chlorine bleach in them. STPP gets the duds very clean without needing bleach.
In the past year I have noticed some mold collecting under the detergent dispenser door and in the cavity. This is very light and a simple swipe with a sponge gets rid of it. Since there is no mold on the boot and no odor, I doubt this is heppening elsewhere inside the washer. FWIW, the Miele 1918 I keep in the unheated workshop also develops mold in the fabric softener compartment. It's less if I leave it open after washing. But I think the "environmenatally safe" fabric softener might have something to do with the mold development in both the Miele and Neptune, as well as the cold water only supply for the garaged Miele.
I've had my 7500 set since 2001. There has never been a mold/odor problem. I rarely do cold washes - they are either warm or hot, with at least one hot wash per week. I've also never used chlorine bleach in them. STPP gets the duds very clean without needing bleach.
In the past year I have noticed some mold collecting under the detergent dispenser door and in the cavity. This is very light and a simple swipe with a sponge gets rid of it. Since there is no mold on the boot and no odor, I doubt this is heppening elsewhere inside the washer. FWIW, the Miele 1918 I keep in the unheated workshop also develops mold in the fabric softener compartment. It's less if I leave it open after washing. But I think the "environmenatally safe" fabric softener might have something to do with the mold development in both the Miele and Neptune, as well as the cold water only supply for the garaged Miele.
Ive read many posts from you Sudsmaster over at the Garden Web about your 7500s and I know you have the most experience with them. I was thinking my old 4000 model did the rapid tumble with the later generation controller but maybe the 7500 was the first after all. Been too long to remember now.
Ive use STPP with Persil in the past but the combination got too expensive for me and at one time I couldnt even get any STPP. I wish I could get it locally, as I do really like the improvement in performance in harder water.
Ive use STPP with Persil in the past but the combination got too expensive for me and at one time I couldnt even get any STPP. I wish I could get it locally, as I do really like the improvement in performance in harder water.
