Suds with GE front loader

[AnitaA]

Hi
I bought a GE front loader on July4. The first month worked great. Then I noticed suds along the edge of the door at the end of a load. I thought I had added too much detergent and washed the clothes again. Since that time, each load takes all day. I have to run the clothes 4 to 5 cycles before no suds appear inside the rim of the door. I contacted GE who suggested I ensure the machine is level. It is level. A repair man did come and stated nothing was wrong with the machine. He checked a few things but did not actually run a load. I have consistently used Tide HE liquid with this machine and am now adding about a tablespoon of detergent with extra large loads. I called Customer Service yesterday and was reminded that I chose this machine and that suds are normal at the end of a load. I finally got them to reschedule another service call. I am really dissatisfied. Any suggestions? I wondered if the machine checks moisture level and doesn't add enough water in repeat washings because the clothes are already wet. Thank you.

[Jake]

Hi,

First thing to do is start the washer on cold/cold with no clothes it. Then when its done filling with cold water pause the washer and open the door to feel the water, it should be cold water, if the water is hot, then they put your fill hoses on in reverse.

Let us know what you find.

Jake

[AnitaA]

Hi,

First thing to do is start the washer on cold/cold with no clothes it. Then when its done filling with cold water pause the washer and open the door to feel the water, it should be cold water, if the water is hot, then they put your fill hoses on in reverse.

Let us know what you find.

Jake

Hi Jake
I've never done this before so I hope I'm replying correctly. I thought of the water hoses initially and had my husband check. They did have the red line hose going from the cold and the blue line hose going from the hot, but the hoses were attaching the appropriate areas to one another. I was so bummed when it didn't help. Part of my frustration is that I have spent the past 6 weeks believing I am doing something wrong. Now GE is treating me as though I am some desperate housewife with time on her hands and decided to start bugging them. I also ran a load of laundry with no detergent added and had a suds problem with that. Definitely at some point the detergent was not properly rinsed from the clothes, whether my old unit or the new one. The mystery is the first month I owned this machine, I never noticed the suds. If the last minute of the machine actually lasted one minute, rather than up to 10, I would not have noticed suds spinning away from the clothes. I found myself standing in front of the machine waiting for it to finish and noticed the problem then. Thanks so much for your assistance.

AnitaA

[Jake]

Unfortunately, I really don't know what the problem could be.

When I have a customer say their machine is over sudsing, I advise them to use half of the detergent they are using now, try powder HE detergent, use cold wash and rinse as much as possible.

Here is a link from Frigidaire to look at as well:
http://www.frigidaire.com/support/FAQ-Washer.asp#12 (http://www.frigidaire.com/support/FAQ-Washer.asp#12)

Jake

[AnitaA]

Hi Jake
I checked the website as you directed. I do pretreat my clothes with Clorox 2 and the water the repairman drained was blue tinted. We do not have soft water and I do not use the oxygen products. I am using less than half the recommended detergent Tide HE suggests. At one point I was rinsing the clothes in the kitchen sink before rewashing. I rinsed a lot of residue from those clothes. After speaking to friends with front load washers from other brands, I believe the detergent is not rinsed as thoroughly and most people do not notice it or care. Per the instruction manual, I wipe the inside of the door dry after each use and notice the suds then. We've even run the machine on the rinse cycle without clothing and had suds. I really hate this feature and am disappointed I may have to keep a machine that I spent a lot of money on. The second repairman is scheduled to visit on Tuesday, so maybe we can work something out. Thanks again for your assistance.

Anita

[Jake]

Ok Anita, let us know if the second tech. is able to shed some light on this issue.

Jake

[AnitaA]

Jake
The second repairman arrived today. The seal around the door opening is warped. It allows water and/or suds to accumulate in a puddle at the bottom. Most likely soap residue remains on clothes when washed. Because the suds are accumulating, I'm being reminded some residue exists, which bothers me. This also explains why the problem didn't exist the first month of use. He doesn't know why the seal warped, but I am the second customer with this problem. He had another one last week. He seemed very knowledgeable and GE seems concerned about solving my problem. He has ordered a replacement seal for me. If GE doesn't improve this part, I anticipate the problem again in the future. Thanks again for your assistance.

AnitaA

[Jake]

Thanks AnitaA for letting us know what the second tech. said.:)

Hope they have upgraded that seal.

Jake

[AnitaA]

Hi Jake
I wanted to update you with my suds' problem. The technician arrived on October 17 to replace the seal. He was the first technician who had looked at my machine on Sept 19 and declared nothing was wrong. He looked at the machine and said the rubber seal is normal and does not need to be replaced. I had to explain to him that the second technician had diagnosed the rubber seal problem on October 10, not me. The second technician was not available last week due to vacation. I felt uncomfortable insisting he replace the seal when he tells me it doesn't need replacing. The seal was not replaced and he took the part with him. He agreed to run a load. I chose towels that consistently have problems with suds. He chose the "speed wash" cycle which automatically sets to extra light soil and he didn't want to change this setting due to the additional minutes. He also stopped the machine when 1 minute was left. Of course, no suds remained. I believe because the rpm never got high in that last minute. I've checked the clothes during the wash cycle and rinse cycle. No suds appear on the clothes during these cycles. The suds appear inside the door seal following a high speed spin. The suds are white and sticky. He told me the suds are probably from the water agitation. I disagree. How do I know if the suds contain detergent residue? I believe the machine is not adding enough water during the rinse cycle to properly rinse the detergent from the clothes. I guess I will have to learn to live with it. A friend suggested I try Purex detergent, which I plan to do. While we waited for the cycle to run, he taught me about my machine. The only question he could not explain was how the machine knows what size the load is. He said no weight sensors exist. I understood the machine could tell when towels, sheets, denim, etc was added and the load size. Thanks again for your assistance.

AnitaA

[Jake]

If your still not satisfied with your washer, and the suds still seem to be an issue, call back to get that 2nd tech. to install your new boot seal. The 2nd tech. said he had seen this issue once before, and the 1st. has probably never seen it happen before.

Jake