Suds draining in spin cycle and overflowing drain pipe

[aimeemarie12]

Help me troubleshoot, please! I have had a Speed Queen top load for about 6 months. Never had an issue. All of a sudden this week when the water has drained out and it is then spinning the rest of the water out I am getting what looks like pure suds coming out the drain hose, into the drain pipe. So much that it will overflow a bit. I have had my plumber out who has inspected everything and says it is not the plumbing.

I use and have always used with this machine, regular Tide. Mostly powder but a few bottles of liquid in there as well. NOW-if I use even 1-2 tablespoons of detergent I have the suds issue. If I run a load with only water, no detergent, clothes or not, no problems. Even an XL load (that is a lot of water!) drains just fine. No draining problem. The only other weird thing I can think of is a week ago or so my kids spilled bubbles on the deck and I wiped them up with a towel that I would have then washed. The other weird thing is that someone bumped the water heater dial up to the max temp which we just realized. This had to have happened in the last week. I turned it back down.

HELP!
THanks

 

[golittlesport]

HE

Not sure what could suddenly be causing the problem. Some detergents do foam up more the hotter the water.

You might try picking up a box or jug of high-efficiency (HE) detergent, which contains suds-suppressants, and see if that helps. You can use HE detergent in agitator washers with excellent results.

 

[mtn1584]

Same issue

I have had it happen with a Kenmore and my Speed Queen. Switch to a low sudsing detergent, it IS a plumbing issue, especially in the basement when the standpipe is higher than the machine. Don't worry it is NOT the washer.
Mike

 

[aimeemarie12]

By low sudsing do you mean HE?

 

[roscoe62]

@aimeemarie12

I believe it is HE detergent that golittlesport is refering.
You may also want to use one to two Teaspoons of liquid detergent to try compared to Tablespoons your are using now and see how your sudsing issue as well as the cleaning ability with the reduced amount works.

 

[aimeemarie12]

I went to the nearest Kmart and grabbed the small bottle of Purex. Formulated for both types of machines. Still have some suds from drain pipe.

 

[arbilab]

"Sounds like" what's happening is as long as there is mostly water in the pump (draining) everything goes fine but when there is mostly air it is whipping up a foam from the remnants of the bubble fluid. Foam won't go down a trap very well since it doesn't weigh much and more tends to float on the trap water.

The trick is going to be getting those bubble fluid additives out of the machine. Try a good dose of dishwasher detergent. NOT hand washing stuff like Dawn, that will make it worse. DWD has foam inhibitors and strong surfactants that may strip the bubble additives (polymers and who knows what) out of the washer's water system. Run the lowest water level and hot water, estimate how much DWD would be equivalent in your washer to how much water a DW uses, let it complete a full cycle.

Just a suggestion, I have no actual experience dissipating bubble fluid. Just plain old Dawn bubbles are hard enough to get rid of, and bubble fluid goes the extra mile to make foam when air is agitated into it.

 

[mtn1584]

PS..............
This also happens on my ex wife's LG front load washer....again the standpipe is higher than the washer. Use HE detergent if it really is a problem, also there is a piece that sits over the top of the standpipe to prevent this sort of thing from happening. It should have come with your washer. I am going to try to attach the link.
http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Hose-Adapter/40008101/1003497

Your drain hose goes into this part preventing suds overflow, maybe they did not install it, BUT it comes with the machine, Alliance should send it to you, if you didn't get it!

http://www.rcappliancepartsimages.com/dbImages/i/00002916/Hose-Adapter-40008101--00877397.jpg

 

[roger]

Do you have a septic tank which might be in need of attention?

If it's some sort of soapy buildup and nothing else helps, perhaps a hot cycle with some vinegar could dislodge it(often works on slow drains).

 

[aimeemarie12]

Tonight I ran a mini load on hot with a bunch of vinegar. There were quite a bit of suds---more than I think there should be in the wash cycle even. Drained fine no overflow of suds. In the rinse I noticed particles of what? Undissolved bubbles perhaps? I do not know. Repeated this whole process again with much less suds appearing in wash cycle. We'll see I guess. No septic.

 

[SQueenJJ]

It sounds like a plumbing issue to me. I had a problem with water backing up the standpipe but I did have a clog somewhere in the line. My plumber "snaked" out the drain quite a long way and that took care of the problem. It never hurts to clean out a washer drain line anytime. So much lint and suds can accumulate in them since washers don't have a true lint filter anymore.

 

[aimeemarie12]

I guess I disagree because it drains an xl load of water just fine. And the stand pipe is not higher than the washer. I dont think I have that black part but I will look into it!

 

[SQueenJJ]

Yes that does seem odd for sure that it would drain the tub of clean water fine. You're right, doesn't sound like plumbing. I can't figure this one out