Appliance Repair Blog

Yes it is true, to much detergent can not only shorten the life of your clothes washer, it can cost a pretty penny if you plan to get it fixed. Using the right kind and amount of laundry detergent can not only prolong the use of your washer, it can ensure your clothes are cleaner, and will save you some money at the same time. Got your attention? Lets take a look at laundry detergent.

Detergent is a rather generic term we use to describe the cleaning products we use in our washing machine. These detergents are made up of numerous ingredients each added to provide for a specific benefit to the wash. The key ingredient to any detergent is the surfactant. Surfactants are substance that helps break down the surface tension of water enabling water to wash clothing surfaces better. Building compounds are added to enhance the surfactant effect, by adjusting the pH level of the water. Detergents also contain other ingredients to help keep your colors looking bright and your clothes smelling fresh. Then we get to the additives that we are concerned with and those are the fillers. These are the ingredients that keep the detergent free flowing from the bottle, keep it from freezing in the garage during the winter, and the most important to us, the anti-foaming agents that prevent excessive sudsing during the agitation process. Why is this important? Let take a look at our washer.

The washing machine referred to in this post as one of the more modern, front load style, high efficiency unit that uses about 1/4th the water of a typical top load washer. When these units operate, they use a small amount of water to wash the same quantity or more of clothes. This means the same level of dirt that would normally be suspended in a large amount of water, must now be contained in a much small amount. This is where newer he labeled detergents come into play.

The he detergents are specifically designed for use in high efficiency washer because they contain active ingredients to capture and hold on to dirt particles and hold them in suspension in a much smaller amount of water. But more importantly, the he detergent has more anti-foaming ingredients that prevent excessive sudsing of the detergent during the wash process. Because front load washers use a small quantity of water, the sudsing must be maintained at a low level to protect the inner workings of the washer.

When large amounts of suds from the detergent begin to form during the wash cycle, components such as the tub bearing are exposed to moisture which they are not designed to do. Prolonged exposure can cause damage little by little until the final failure of the component. Once this occurs, the repair can become very expensive and time consuming, but entirely preventable. The simple answer is to use the correct detergent and the correct amount for your washer.

High efficiency washers need low sudsing he detergents to operate most efficiently and effectively. Using regular non-he detergents will cause large amounts of suds and will ultimately result in odors in your washer, intermittent leaking, or in the case of the photo above, a very expensive repair bill. Even to much he detergent can cause lasting problems so always follow the manufactures recommendations for the proper amount to use. If you still see excessive suds during the wash cycle, reduce the amount until you see low suds, and still get your clothes clean. Don’t end up like the owner of the washer in the photo above. I can fix it and make it all better. But it’s going to cost a lot of money. Do the right thing by your washer and use the correct detergent for the machine, and the right amount to allow it to get the job done.

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Model #GHW9400PW2, this front load washer was intermittently leaking according to the customer. Water seemed to leak during some cycles, but not during others and the source of the leak was not immediately obvious. Tired of stepping in water, the customer thought it was time for a professional.

All leaks are visible, and if you approach a leak with that in mind, you should be able to steer clear of superstition and guessing. If enough water is leaking from any appliance that it is noticeable on the floor, it too should be noticeable from wherever it is leaking from.

Front load washer are rather nice in that they have doors that seal, they use very little water (less to leak), and there are frankly few placed for water to leak from. After doing my normal washer leak inspection with a wash cycle started, I began to ask the customer questions about the frequency of the leaks, and what types of loads would they appear in conjunction with. Not noticing any real correlation, the customer was unsure until I asked if she had been seeing the ‘SUD’ error in the display. When the answer was yes, I knew what was going on.

Because of the limited amount of water used during a cycle in a front load washer, it is very important that the limited water be matched up with the correct amount and kind of laundry detergent. Special detergents identified by the ‘he’ on the label must be used on any high efficiency washer, in order to prevent increased sudsing of the wash water. Excessive suds can cause problems from higher than normal water use, to damaging seals and bearings, and to something as simple as intermittent leaking.

The customer was using a special detergent for her dyed fabric she used in here design work. This detergent would trip the ‘SUD’ error each time and the customer thought nothing about it until I mentioned it. Because the machine detected the excessive suds, it would run an extra rinse cycle or two, to help clear out the extra detergent from the fabric. But during the wash cycle, the suds became so massive they would start leaking out the vent in the rear of the unit. This vent is in place to prevent air pressure from building up during a wash cycle and blowing water out the door seal. After enough suds leaked from the vent, the water would pool up and migrate to the front of the unit because of the slope in the floor.

A quick discussion with the customer on how best to wash her dyed fabrics, and the proper use and quantity of detergents, ensured this problem was not going to happen again. And besides preventing water leaks, the seals and bearing will also benefit from this new found knowledge.

Everyone likes to save money, right? After all that is why you are going to repair your Maytag Neptune washer yourself.

Here is a very common Maytag Neptune front load washer part that you can save over $35.00 on.

22002989 Maytag Neptune Control Board Best Price

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What are you going to do with the extra money you saved repairing your own Maytag Neptune front load washer?

We get thousands of visitors at ApplianceJunk.com every week.

A few times a week people will PM or email us just to say thanks.

We really enjoy reading these types of messages as it’s what keeps us doing what we do best, helping others repair there appliances.

Here is one we picked at random that I would like to share with you today.

AJ,

I just wanted to let you know that i search the web this morning because my washer wasn’t spinning and i found out how to fix it on your website. I am a 34 year old girl and I was able to fix my motor coupler because of the helpful direction and pictures on your site. ok, so it took me 3 hours to do it, but i did it.

Thanks again!

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