Rust in my Speed Queen washer?

[Marky_Mark]

Hi guys

 

My 10-year-old washer recently sat unused for about 3 weeks.  When I returned and opened the lid, it was one-third full of yellow water, shown in photo #1.

 

I spun out the water and the agitator was left with a coating (photo #2), which easily wiped off with just my finger.

 

I took a sample of that water, shown in photo #3.

 

I then let the machine soak and wash with hot water and CLR.  This turned the water very yellow/brown, photo #4.

 

It seems to be fine now, for the time being.  But what's going on here?

 

[launderess]

Am no expert but...

Usually when a washing machine fills when "off" it points to a defective or clogged inlet valve. Either screens or other part of valve is clogged with grit/sediment preventing diaphragm from seating properly (thus slow filling even when no electric current is going through valve causing it to open or close), or valve itself otherwise is failing.

After cleaning out washer if it was left sitting did water again begin to fill tub?

Water in machine seems to have been full of sediment which settled out while machine wasn't in use, hence the coating along bottom of tub and agitator that was easily removed.

Were there any issues with water mains to your home or pipes recently? Usually when water is shut off, pressure is low or something it allows sediment from parts of system to flow out.

Is water in your area normally clear or does it have elevated iron or other mineral content. Am blessed with very soft water here, but have seen washing machines and dishwashers with tubs that have been turned shades of brown due to iron and other minerals in water.

 

[qsd-dan]

Time for a new water valve.

 

I guess this is proof that a stainless steel inner tub is kinda worthless if the outer tub is steel (in this case, porcelain coated steel).

 

In a perfect world, the best combination would be stainless inner and outer tubs but with todays short lifespans, it isn't really worth the hassle even if they would be completely recyclable.

 

[john76]

Is it possible your hot water heater might be need to be replaced?

 

[ea56]

If it was the water heater the hot water would be coming out of the faucet rust colored too.

It has to be a bad fill valve that is allowing water to slowly enter the tub even while the machine is off. Its a good thing that the flow wasn’t faster or it would have overflowed and caused a flood and lots of damage.

I ALWAYS turn off both faucets to the washer when I’m done washing. Our washer is on the second floor and we’ve had neighbors that have had the fill valves fail or the hoses break and they suffered major damage to the ceiling below.

As far as the rust, it seems that a ten year old washing machines porcelain lined inner tub should have been able to contain this water for several days without rusting. Perhaps the plastic inner tubs aren’t such a bad idea after all, at least they don’t rust?

Eddie[this post was last edited: 2/24/2023-10:46]

 

[cfz2882]

iron pipes/ice slugs

if you have iron pipes and freezing temps at location of pipes,an ice slug can travel in the pipes and rub off rust and deposits-check screens at the inlet valve.

 

[nmassman44]

This happened a few times to me when the City was purging water mains in my area. Luckily they would warn everyone a few days before the main flushing and they would tell everyone not to run laundry because of the discolored water. I usually would let a couple of days pass before i would even think about getting laundry done and I would purge the water lines in the house and run a cycle with nothing in it to make sure any sediment was gone. I also would check he water inlet screens for the washer to make sure they were clear.
I will have to say that the main flushing occurred every year back in Mass , here not so much.

 

[Marky_Mark]

Thanks for the replies

The water's presence could certainly be explained by a faulty inlet valve (an easy fix) but my greater concern is what (if anything) can be done about the rust, if it is the case that the machine is rusting.

 

Picking up on a few other points raised:

This is Palm Springs, so the only place you'll ever find ice is in the cocktails

Water here is always clear and has a very low iron content.  And I have a whole-house water softener.

Yes, Launderess, I did very recently have a leak between the water meter and the shut-off valve, so the the ground was dug up and a section of pipe replaced.  I did bypass the softener and I flushed the lines before using water, but sediment could still have been introduced and could have got stuck in the inlet valve.  It hasn't happened again.  The machine is dry with no evidence of dripping. 

 

Mark

 

 

[moon1234]

Check the washing machine trap for paper clips, coins or other items that rust when they sit in water since the trap is ALWAYS full of water.

That amount of sediment is quite a lot. Do you have a lot of iron in your water and have iron consuming bacteria? Is this city water or well water. Well water on the farm does that ALL the time if it sites for more than a day or two. The natural bacteria in the water consume the iron oxides in the water and turn it rusty brown.

We used to dump a gallon of bleach down the well pipe and let it site for a day and then run the garden hose for a couple hours to clear the bleach. This fixed the problem for a couple months until the bacteria came back.

Eventually the house got an "Iron Curtain" that filters the mineral out and chlorine treats the water to kill the bacteria. That stopped the problem permenantly in the house. Didn't do anything for water that is untreated and goes out to the barn, greenhouse and sprinklers. Every hose, EVERY hose, is stained orange red on both ends and it looks just like that.

 

[combo52]

Rust in the outer tub of a top loading Speed Queen

Hi Mark, I imagine the outer tub is fairly rusty in this machine, this can occur if people often soaked clothing overnight in water with a lot of bleach in it.

It probably won’t cause any problem. If you just don’t let water sit in it for extended periods of time.

There is no trap in this machine that could be filled with paper, clips, bobby pins, etc., in fact, bobby pins and paper clips will not even get into the outer top of this machine.

If it’s a product defect in the finish the outer tub has a lifetime warranty if you have re-registered the machine however it’s a big job to install one.

This is one of the reasons I stay with the Speed Queen front load washers that have it real stainless steel outer tub .

John.

 

[ea56]

“My 10-year-old washer recently sat unused for about 3 weeks. When I returned and opened the lid, it was one-third full of yellow water, shown in photo #1.”

This is from the OP. It would appear to me that the fill valve failed sometime during the 3 weeks of the machine not being used allowing water to enter the inner tub, sitting there for who knows how long and thats what lead to the rust in the outer tub, not leaving wet clothing washed with bleach sitting in the machine overnight, although I have no doubt that doing so wouldn’t be good for the prevention of rust either.

If the machine is still under warranty wouldn’t the repair/replacement of both the defective fill valve and the tub be covered?

Eddie

 

[combo52]

Rust in a speed, queen, top load, washer, outer tub

I should’ve said, limited lifetime warranty for the outer tub, but I think most people assumed that.

That means parts only, and why would an inlet valve be covered on a 10 year old machine that only had a three year full warranty?

John

 

[ea56]

My bad John, I had no idea how long the complete warranty would be on this machine, thats why I asked the question. If MAYBE only the outer tub part is covered under the limited warranty the repair of this machine will be very expensive for just the labor.

Maybe Mark can replace the inlet valve himself. I hope that the rusted areas of the outer tub won’t cause any future problems staining clothing.

Eddie

 

[Marky_Mark]

Thanks for all the replies.  I've owned this machine for 3 years, so I don't know what kind of life it lead for the first 7 years of its life.  I have occasionally soaked laundry overnight in the machine but only with detergent, not bleach.  Although I have left the machine soaking overnight with citric acid, thinking I was helping but perhaps I made it worse.

 

I can replace the inlet valve myself but I would not attempt a tub change.  

 

We shall see how it goes with this machine. Hopefully I won't get rust stains on my laundry!

 

Mark