Speed Queen TC5 Anniversary and sudsing issue.

[william8]

My Speed Queen turned one year old today, got it delivered May 13th,2024.

Had absolutely 0 issues for the first 80 loads or so (approx.), but around the first of the year it suds over on a load my wife ran. Then at the beginning of April or so it did it two loads in a row, again, my wife did them. She rarely uses the machine, and she refuses to wear her glasses, so I assumed it was her using too much soap. I usually do all the laundry.

Then today I ran a load and it did it again. I've done exactly 135 loads since I bought it. Works out to 2.6 loads a week. I know it wasn't too much soap, and we have never switched brands, in fact I think it's the same box we had when we bought it.

It does it on the final spin, at the very end, after all the water has been pumped out And you can tell it's just pumping air, if that makes sense. It's not a lot, just a small puddle on my un-finished basement floor, but it is annoying me.

Any thoughts? I have the small plug they give you, but the extension adapter they gave me won't fit in it, and even if it did, I have a water softener and HVAC drain sharing the stand pipe, so impossible. Added a pic to show what I mean about the stand pipe and extra lines.

 

[combo52]

Suds backing out of the standpipe

Hi William, this is a very common problem. It’s compounded by the fact you have soft water but spin drain Speed Queen’s have had this problem for a long time.

You can let it dump into a laundry tub instead and just let the suds dissipate and go down the drain or you can plum it directly into the drain pipe and put a anti-siphon check valve in the drain hose at the top so it doesn’t suck dirty water back out of the drain system.

This is another reason why I wish they would go to a neutral drain and put an electric pump in this machine. We never have this problem with the TR machines.

John L

 

[william8]

Laundry tub isn't possible, the main drain out of the house is about 4 ft. off the floor of the basement, would require pump etc. No room anyways.

I just find it odd it was fine for 8 months.

Not sure what you mean by plumbing direct into the drain? It is direct into the only drain I have. Not doing anything against code, if you mean placing it after the trap. Pic of the plumbing and space.

 

[Marky_Mark]

Hi William. I’ve never had this happen with my 2014 SQ TL or any of my other machines for that matter, which all do deep-fill rinses. I have a water softener and I use plenty of top-rated detergent.

However I did experience suds oozing out of the standpipe and flowing down the wall when I was staying at a hotel in Honolulu a few years ago. The SQ TL washer there only had the “normal eco” cycle available, which only did the spray rinsing sequence and no deep-fill rinse. The sudsing problem happened every time during the final spin after the spray rinsing but never during the wash drain. So I wondered if it was a problem that would not occur if the machine did a deep rinse rather than only spray rinses.

Does this problem only occur on your machine when a spray rinse is used in lieu of a deep rinse?

You might be able to stuff a bit of sponge into the standpipe around the drain hose. This would allow air to pass through but should hopefully cause the suds to “condense” on the sponge and drip back down into the standpipe.

Photo I took in Hawaii:

Mark

 

[gelaundry4ever]

normal eco

Ugh, I'd stay away from that cycle. Any Speed Queen Washer with only a normal eco cycle must be avoided. Somebody should've programmed the washer to do a deep rinse. Period.

 

[william8]

Marky.

I don't use the eco cycle. Always use a full rinse cycle. That's what I meant when I said it's the final spin cycle. And when you can tell it's done putting out water, and just pumping air.

Ran two loads since, no issue, I suspect it will go a few more months, or more, before it happens again.

 

[Marky_Mark]

Hi William. Thanks for clarifying which cycle you use. It was ambiguous because what you wrote applies equally to deep-rinse cycles and also to the Normal-Eco cycle that I witnessed in Honolulu, which did an initial spin out after the wash, then stopped, then started the final spin cycle and the suds started oozing out towards the end of the final spin after all the water had been pumped out and it was essentially pumping air. The latter part being exactly as you described.

If you started this thread looking for suggestions as to how this problem may be alleviated, as was my assumption, then it would be great to hear how it goes if you try my proposed remedy.

Good luck and happy leak-free washing!
Mark

 

[william8]

Marky

Thanks. Yes, I was looking for suggestions. But also curious why it didn't do this for 8 months, and why only very rarely now.
Before I bought the machine, I had read of others who have this issue, but they seem to have it on every single load. When mine never did it at all for months, I figured I was all set.

I'll try to figure out a way to implement your suggestion, but with the drain hose and the other two hoses, there is very little space to put anything in there, and there will still be gaps between the hoses. I may have to rip a strip of thin fabric, and try to weave it between all them and wrap it somehow. I can't even fit my pinky in there now.

 

[Chetlaham]

I'm Sorry

Let me be the one to say that I am sorry your stand pipe is producing suds. I don't want you to get the idea that we forgot about you once you purchased your Speed Queen. I and others a very grateful that you choose Speed Queen and in my opinion believe you made the best investment. I'd hate for you to get less than the best out of your Speed Queen.   

 

 

My advice is to either use less detergent or switch to a different HE detergent.

 

 

What are you using now and how much?

 

 

 

 

 

[william8]

I'm using Gain powder, it is HE. I use less than the lowest mark on the cup (1), which they claim is for small loads. The markings are 1 to 5. The stand pipe didn't produce any suds, the drain hose did!

If detergent was the issue, why did it work fine for 8 months, and generally still works fine? These incidents were many loads apart.

 

[Chetlaham]

Something changed, either the detergent or the water became softer. Though to be fair, I am guessing, but from a scientific perspective something is now different.

 

 

Are you open to trying new detergents like Tide Professional?

 

 

the other option is as John stated, you can plumb it directly to the drain pipe and put an anti-siphon in. If done correctly it will meet the average plumbing codes.

 

[william8]

The detergent is still the box we had when we bought the machine. Nothing has changed. It's been at least 20 loads apart the three times it did it.

I'd try new detergents, but it would be at least a year before I knew it did anything.

Still confused about plumbing direct to drain?

You see my plumbing in the above pic (reply #2), it is directly in the drain. There must be an air-gap for all three of those hoses, check valves are not up to code for any of them. The water softener and AC pump have check vales at the appliance end, but still require an air gap. Yes I know people do it.
I also don't see anywhere else to plumb it to.

 

[william8]

Couple of pics in Operation

Just ran a load, no issues. But I took some pics. The first two are the wash cycle, you can see just a little suds around the edge, water barely milky, hard to see in pics. Second two are the rinse, water clear as can be, not a soap bubble to be found. Looks like far less soap than I see in you tube videos.

It has only happened on the final rinse spin, no idea where any soap suds would be coming from.

 

[fisherpaykel]

a couple suggestions

HI William, it looks like you could add on another 2-3 inches on standpipe if you had the pump out hose in a

straight vertical run-that might be enough to prevent the problem.

The white vertical pipe if a drain as well as the diagonal drain might be also draining something-kitchen sink
,
dishwasher, shower-at the same time causing too much water to prevent backup.?

The black capped y fitting on the 4 inch main drain could possibly be fitted with a new J or U bend trap if allowed and have a solo direct run to drain.

Maybe snake that horizontal run via the standpipe in case it is slightly clogged.

 

[william8]

Reply #13

I don't think I could add much to the pipe, it's about 6" from the joist. I wouldn't have room to get the washer hose in and out. Also a bunch of wiring up there, just out of view, running between all the joists. The hose still wouldn't be straight, since it comes straight out of the washer, there would still be a 90 degree bend, and two more inside the machine. What is the theory of that helping?

The diagonal run is the kitchen sink. It's not usually running when the washer is. And remember, I don't have any water backing up, just suds. After all the water has been pumped from the machine, and on the second spin. Which eliminates a clogged trap as well (although I did check it). You can clearly hear the water running freely down the bigger main drain.

Not sure what you mean by white vertical pipe, one is an AAV, the other is the main drain. The AAV should have never been installed. We had the drain field go bad, the first septic guy insisted it was fine, and since it was only the washer backing up at that time, it must need a vent! I explained that there was a vent (right at the top of the diagonal pipe, and we'd had no issues for 20 years, but I tried his idea anyways. Of course it didn't work, and the next guy we called said we needed a new field. He was right of course, the first guy dug a hole and said the field was dry, too bad he dug 40 feet from where the field actually is. Been meaning to unthread that AAV and cap it, just haven't got around to it

The black capped piece I believe must have been a mistake when the home was built, it's PVC threaded and cemented in place, and will never come off. It's also only 1.5", so smaller than the stand pipe.
I'd have to re-do the entire main drain to the septic tank to change or add anything. You can see than if I cut ANY piece from it, there wont be enough pipe left to put in a new fitting in. It's already three fittings back to back with about 1/4' and 1/2" between each. And it's too high up to get an 18" stand pipe and trap above it. 18" is minimum here, the current is 19" to give you an idea how high it would be.

As John said, it's a common issue with the TC5, so I don't think it's a plumbing issue. At least it's only happened a three times, and the suds just run down onto the cement, leaving a very small puddle between the washer and dryer.

Maybe I should have got a TR5? Would have saved me $100 as well.

 

[Chetlaham]

A plumber can get it to work- either via a direct plumb or a second stand-pipe. I doubt anything else would need to be re-done.

 

[william8]

How is a plumber going to make that work without replacing the main drain pipe? Now it's add a second stand pipe. There is no space between any fittings. If you cut a fitting, you need some pipe left to attach any new fitting to. And why wouldn't the second pipe suds over too?

While I appreciate the suggestions, I'm not spending thousands on plumbing, and pulling permits because I bought a new washing machine.

And again, a direct drain is against code. How do you direct plumb a corrugated washer hose? I wouldn't trust that in my home.

This plumbing has worked just fine for 51 years, including the 32 I've lived here.

 

[panasonicvac]

I had a similar problem on my LG front loader so I simply took an old worn out rag I was going to throw away anyways and sealed up the drain pipe. I was worried at first cause I thought it'd have a hard time draining with no airflow but haven't had any issues since then.

 

[william8]

Panasonicvac

Yes thanks, that was Mark Mark's suggestion. I replied in reply 7 that I would have to figure out a way to do that, can't really stuff anything in mine due to space, but it should be workable.

It came with one of these plugs, but the SQ hose extension end I needed to use won't fit, or the two other hoses. And I've read these don't always work either.