Westy Combo Suds tragedy!

[gansky1]

I spent most of the morning washing and decided to use the 55 Westinghouse Combo WD-2 and Kirkland Signature detergent which is labeled as HE compatible. Well, you can see the results with a load of towels. This is after it drained the wash water, or tried to!.

 

[gansky1]

And the first rinse...

 

[gansky1]

Second rinse...

 

[gansky1]

I finally gave up and after the final 180 RPM spin (yeah, really 180 RPM!) I took them to the 58 Frigidaire for two more rinses. Adding Downy didn't work, allowing them to rest and the suds fall apart worked until I turned the machine back on. I should have followed the sticker by the door that instructs the owner to use only AD, Dash or Vim for best results. Should I send these pics to Costco and complain?

 

[supersuds]

Yes!

The product is unusable as labeled, and you should at least get a refund.

Besides, they should not be selling this as an HE product. Whether their supplier screwed up or they did, it needs to be rectified because thousands of other consumers will have the same problem.

 

[westyslantfront]

Hi Greg. I find that Tide HE liquid is the best for low sudsing combined with good cleaning ability. When I use Mexican detergent (Viva) which can foam quite a bit, I add carpet defoamer which I get at the chemical store in town. It kills all the suds immediately.

Ross

 

[frigilux]

Greg, you've mentioned you have mechanically softened water, as do I; I find Tide HE to be too sudsy---not necessarily in the wash, but it is tenacious throughout the rinse cycles.

I'm tellin' ya: SA8, or if you're really feel like blowing the bank account, UK Persil (both powedered) are the way to go for cleaner rinses in front-loaders.

By the way, hell of a suds cake, there, bud!

 

[frigilux]

What would have happened had the machine gone into the dry cycle? That's always been my fear with combos, especially with the old GE's that had no window. Can you imagine all those suds baking into the clothes and the machine itself?

 

[mickeyd]

Love how that sudser works with the door open

;'D

 

[appnut]

I can't imagine you even THINKING about putting towels in there, much less doing it!!

 

[pturo]

Low Sudsing Tip

I know that this is not environmentally correct, but back when they banned Phosphates in laundry detergent, my mother used to supplement the laundry wash with 1/4 cup Cascade powder(dishwasher detergent is still allowed to have phospates) on hard to clean laundry and to kill suds, she hated suds. Phosphates clean without suds and soften the water.

Maybe if you only used it occassionally, it could clean towels, which really suds up, and not require such rinsing wasting water.

 

[70series]

Wow, so much for low sudsing huh?

I agree you should complain, and perhaps get a refund from Costco. It was advertised as low sudsing, and you used it carefully according to it's intended purpose, resulting in a sudsy mess. By all means, if that is what you want to do, go for it.

Good Luck,
James

 

[angus]

You could invoke the Uniform Commercial Code and get them for something that was "unmerchantable for its intended use"...

 

[easyspindry]

Sears Ultra Plus

I've used Sears Ultra Plus powder detergent for 30 years. Low sudsing. Works great in top loader or front loader. Cleans well. Smells fresh.

Jerry Gay

 

[~sudsshane]

Hi Greg~

Buy a box of Fab "Rain Forest" Powder and call it a day. I personally don't care for the Kirkland Powder Detergent. Yes, you should most definately send those pics in and ask for a refund!

 

[swestoyz]

So there is actually articles of clothing in there?

ITCHY!

Ben

 

[bleacho]

they'll refund you

they refund anything. surprised about the suds, though.. ive used the liquid kirkland HE and it works great in my frontloader.. also, this detergent is rated one of the best in the comsumer mags.

 

[paulg]

Washer vomit

If you make the knobs into eyes, it looks like your machine is vomiting. I suppose it is.

 

[gansky1]

Here are the instructions on the box, notice it tells you to use MORE detergent for HE machines. I'm not too worried about a refund, it works just fine in a top-loader and although I hadn't tried it in a front-load washer, the Calypso was very unhappy with this formula and I figured this would happen in the Westy. I have lots of HE detergents around here from all over the world but what surprised me was that the suds didn't dissipate after the wash - they were pretty stubborn, even after a proper spin and rinse in the Unimatic. Oh well, the front of the machine is clean, as is the floor around it so it wasn't a total tragedy!

 

[sudsmaster]

Yah, I complained about the Kirkland "HE Compatible" line of laundry detergents when they first came out a couple of years ago. Not only are they too high sudsing to be suitable for HE washers, but they also have ass-backwards dosing instructions. Someone up there in Kirkland, Washington didn't do their homework.

Sears Ultra HE is a good choice - and their Oxyclean boosted product is even lower sudsing than their other formulations.

Not real fond of Tide HE here - too much OBA's, it tends to make dark colors look faded. The Sears product have a lot less OBA's (confirmed by Consumer Reports).

For bath towels, I like Safeway Select HE free liquid. Low sudsing, and leaves towels relatively soft. Another good choice for bath towels is regular Persil powder. Also leaves towels relatively soft.