Janet,
it does sound as if you are getting some suds from previous detergent buildup. I am using the Sears HE Ultra Stain Fighting formula and I don't really see any suds even when using 2 TBS of it for a full, lightly soiled load.

I have had a case or two of oversudsing from using liquid HE Tide Total Care even though I was using a lot less than the recommended amount. I am not using it on my clothes anymore. I use it in really small amounts on towels and bedding.

I think most powders create less suds and are easier to rinse out than liquids. Don't get discouraged, it is most likely not the Sears detergent that is causing your suds problem. You might want to do a "clean washer" cycle or two with dishwasher detergent or bleach to clean out the outer tub of your washer.

Good luck!

Hi. I'm not sure I can actually help, but... I am fairly new to the FL world, so I'm still learning. I also use Sears powdered laundry det. & have noticed that different loads call for WAY different amounts of det.

On my large loads of towels, I always use the sanitary cycle and add Oxy Clean. The longer washing time on this cycle definitly produces more suds. On the delicate cycle, I suppose it's the higher amount of water that produces more suds. I haven't noticed any left over after the 1st rinse however. I haven't ever used Tide so I can't add any comments about that, but I do know that my towels didn't have soap residue left in them from my old TL. I tried running them through a cycle w/ no det. and the water was clear... (Many ppl here have said they had many suds after switching from a TL or different det.)

Like I said, I'm still learning about the amounts of det. to use, so maybe that's all your problem is... Maybe you just need less of the new detergent. I've heard that if your water is hard or soft makes a huge difference.

Not sure any of this helped, but something to maybe think about.

~McHudd

Janet, does the Sears Advanced Formula HE powder detergent come in a box? The only Sears HE powder detergents I've seen come in a bucket:

Stain-Fighting formula, orange lid
Detergent w/Oxi-Clean, blue lid
Detergent w/fabric softener, pink lid

Can you link the detergent you bought? I'm not sure I've seen it before.

The detergent I bought is not on Sears website, but here is what it says on the bucket:
Sears Advanced Formula Plus
Free of Dyes & Perfumes
There is the he symbol on the bucket which does 125 loads.
It has a blue lid.
It does say it's a low sudsing formula, but ever since I started using it, I have lots of suds left over in the drain and have to run a second and sometimes a third cycle to get rid of the suds.
I also use vinegar in the softener bin.

I could take a picture of it, LOL.

Janet

Janet, you've piqued my interest, LOL. The only HE Sears detergent I've seen w/ a blue lid is the Oxi-Clean formula. Is this only available in stores?

I haven't been able to find ANY of the HE detergent at their website lately.

> search of detergent at their website lately:

all are HE except the box

Laundry Detergent at Sears link

Thanks for the link, regus; I saved it. I had been typing 'laundry detergent' in the Search box, but it always came up with only the baby detergent - nothing else.

I had said, "The only Sears HE powder detergents I've seen come in a bucket."

I know the HE detergent comes in liquid form, too.

I was wanting the Oxi-Clean formula, but none of the three Sears closest to me had it in stock.

This detergent I bought was the only formula they had besides the Ultra Plus Stain Fighting Formula in the box.

Here's the picture of it.
{{!gwi}}

Janet

Thanks for the pic, Janet - great job. I wonder why I've never seen this before, not at the website nor at any Sears store.

As for suds, I can only tell you that I've used the Stain-Fighting Formula and the Formula w/Oxi-Clean - both are powder and both are labeled HE - and I haven't had any problem with suds.

Have you thought of calling Sears about it?

Mara do you still have a bucket of the Sears Oxi-Clean formula? If so, could you check the ingredient and compare them with the ones I'm listing from my bucket?

Ingredients:
Cleaning Surfacant
Enzyme stain removers
Water softener
Washer protectant agents
Fabric brightener
Soil suspending agent
Color protection ingredient
Contains NO phosphates other than trace or incidental amounts.

I never even thought about calling the number on the bucket, but if I keep having issues, I might try it.

I just keep thinking maybe it is removing the old built up residue that's in the clothes from my days of using Liq Tide HE. Even though when I was using the Liq Tide, I never had this much suds left over. It's really puzzling :-/

Janet

Your machine is also full of build-up. I tried Charlies Soap a couple years back and it says to do the machine cleaning with a few rags and 2 scoops of CS to rid the machine of any build-up. I did this and you WOULD NOT BELIEVE how many suds was in there. You couldn't even hear it turning when it was washing so I opened it and there was a tub FULL of suds. I let it finish then ran it again with more and after that I was good to go. I also was using Tide and have a Neptune. I would put a quart of vinegar in the washer and run it on a hot normal wash and see if that would help. Also select the 4th rinse. On the Neptunes they do a "tumble flush" on the 3rd rinse to help "clean" the tub of suds, this is where it speeds up the tumbling one way for a minute or so. This will also flush suds out of the clothes so I would try using the 4th rinse and see if the suds are out of the boot when the cycle finishes. It will just take time. You should go to the CSoap website and read about the tests that have been done on the build-up of Tide liquid. If nothing else get you a small pack of CS and just do a machine cleaning with it.

Sparky I have done the machine clean thing using first about a half cup of powdered All dishwasher detergent using the Hot water temp setting. There wasn't a lot of sudsing and then I also used a product called Washer Magic.
Actually I was quite surprised that there wasn't a lot of sudsing. But I'm wondering, since this Sears detergent has a "washer protectant agent" in it, if that isn't also removing build up that the other products didn't?

I have been using the extra rinse everytime and even run 2 or 3 complete cycles after the initial washing using no additional detergent and use vinegar in the FS dispenser.

I still don't understand why I wasn't getting this amount of suds when I was using the Liq Tide. And I know I was probably using too much, but there was never this amount of suds left in the rinse drain afterwards.

I checked CS website, but couldn't find where they talk about the tests on Liq Tide. Could you direct me to it?

I would like to try CS, but we have very hard water here and I've read that CS will not give satisfactory results in hard water. If I can find it in a store that I'm going to be nearby soon, I might pick up a small size of it, just to give it a try to see what the rave is all about, lol.

I really like this Sears detergent, but I just wish I knew what all the sudsing is about. If I knew it's just cleaning all the build up out of my clothing, I can live with that knowing in time my clothes will be residue free, but I don't want to continue to have wash and rewash every load 2-3 times to get things rinsed forever.

Janet

Wow! I didn't think they made that "free" version of Sears detergent anymore. I haven't seen it in forever. Just FYI - the non-free formulations have a VERY light scent. For me, it's as good as unscented.

I did see a boxed HE variety at my local Sears the last time I was there. I believe it was blue or green, but wouldn't bet much money on it.

Janet, here's the list of ingredients on the Oxi-Clean bucket:

Ingredients:
Cleaning Surfacant
Enzyme stain removers
All fabric bleach (non chlorine)
Water softener
Washer protection agents
Fabric brightener
Soil suspending agent
Color protection ingredient and perfume
Contains NO phosphates other than trace or incidental amounts

I highlighted in bold the only ingredients which are different.

After looking at the webpage regus linked, it looks like all the HE detergents (maybe all of them) have the words ADVANCED FORMULA above the name of the formula.

We do not have sensitive-skin issues here, but friends who do have them tell me they have no problems with Sears laundry detergent. It seems I read something to that effect in the reviews at the Sears website, too.

Hi Janet,

Been following your messages here and I want to let you know that I had the same troubles when first starting to use the Sears detergent. I have the Ultra Stain Fighting Formula in the orange lid. When I first started with this detergent, I, too had a lot of soap left in the clothes after the final rinse. (my machine has has an extra rinse that gives me a total of 4 rinses) For years I used liquid detergent at the laundrymat and then when I got my front loader I was so aggravated at all the soap that was left over. It was the buildup in my clothes prior to this. I only use 1-2 tbsp of detergent now, no suds and I hang my clothes out every time. They are as soft taking them off the line as they are coming out of the dryer. I have very soft water and I use just a splash of FS. It takes time but it will happen.

Mara thanks for the ingredient list. So Oxi-Clean is really just an All Fabric Bleach? Like maybe Clorox 2? Or is it something that's different in the actual chemical make-up?

Renee,
Thanks for your input too. That is basically what I was needing to hear and what I was suspecting, but I never realized that by changing detergents one could release so much leftover suds from another detergent.

I have been using only 1 Tbsp or 1 tsp depending on the load size and amount of dirt on the items and we have very hard water here.

My machine has 4 rinses too when I use the extra rinse feature, which I have been doing. I have not been using FS, just vinegar. Some things I line dry, others I put in the dryer.

I am really liking the Sears detergent and plan to continue using it. My clothes don't have the terrible sour smell that Liq Tide was leaving on them, they actually smell fresh :-)

I'll be checking other Sears stores whenever I get a chance and would like to try the Oxi-Clean formula or the Stain Fighting Formula. This bucket was priced at $15.99, but rang up at $11.99, so I really like the price and with the small amount I'm using it will probably last me a long, long time.

Sure beats the price of Liq Tide HE and my clothes will be better off too!

Thanks again everyone for your help.
Janet

Janet,
You're welcome for the input. I have learned so much from this forum about laundry and washing machine care that I just want to return the favor.

About the Sears with Oxi-Clean. I was at a Sears store a couple months back and was looking for the small size (50 scoops) container of the detergent with Oxi-Clean, the blue bucket. I didn't want to buy the huge one, just a small one. They only had the regular stain fighting formula in the 50 scoop container. The worker there told me that she uses Sears detergent also, however, she buys the oxi-clean itself or the store brand name like Walmart or Sun and uses a scoop in with her regular Sears detergent. She says it's the same thing. And, she gets the choice if she wants to use the "powdered bleach" or not on certain clothing. I've been doing the same thing with excellent results. Just wanted to pass that little tidbit on.

Go to the CS website and click on Research-then click on Hypoallergenic and it will tell you about the test and Tide liquids rinsing and build-up.

I would try using a little FS. That would be better than all those extra cycles. I use Downy Free and the way I do it is I have 2 bottles. I pour 1 cup of Downy in the bottle then fill it to the top with water. This way you dont have build-up plus you get over 4 bottles of softener from one bottle(52 use size).

The fabric softener might help, but I wouldn't use it on towels - it decreases their absorbency. To rinse towels really well, I use vinegar in the f/s dispenser - usually about 1/3 c. They come out very soft and fluffy.

Janet, I don't know if the non-chlorine bleach in Sears Ultra HE Oxi-Clean formula is the same thing as Clorox 2, or not. Someone at Sears might know.

Sears laundry detergent is so inexpensive, I can't imagine that any other brand is any cheaper - yet it cleans really well.

Here is picture of how much suds are still left after a complete cycle using only a level measuring teaspoon of Sears powder detergent, vinegar in the fs dispenser and using the extra rinse feature (4 rinses). This was a load of jeans, 5 adult pairs.
{{!gwi}}

I usually then have to run another rinse cycle (2 more rinses) before there is hardly any suds left.

Is this just really the left over suds in the clothing from using Liq Tide in the past? We have hard water here, so I can't believe just a teaspoon of the Sears would suds this much alone.

Janet

WOW!
Can't answer about the sears... but I've never had that much suds in my wash cycle, yet alone after rinsing... even with the all liquid that I was using when I first fot my machine!

I was wondering if what you're seeing on the floor is suds left over from the draining of the wash phase of the cycle that are simply re-appearing due to a partially clogged or slow drain.

Here's a test you could try: let the machine drain normally into the drain after the wash cycle, but for all the subsequent rinses let it drain into a clean plastic garbage can. After each rinse you could assess how clean that particular portion of rinse cycle was, and then dump it out before the next rinse drained.

You mentioned you had hard water and generally hard water doesn't produce over-sudsing, in fact it's usally quite the opposite.

HTH

Molly~

Jeans and towels out of all the wash we do in a front loader are the hardest to control suds. Just keep using 1 level tablespoon and use the extra rinse option always. You will be able to tell by the feel of the jeans if they are completely rinsed. Don't let a little suds left in the washer bother you when washing these items. We just have become too clean of a society and laundry detergent dosage amount recommendations think we are the filthiest people.

That looks like the problem I was having with my Whirlpool Duet 9200, I replaced it with a Speed Queen FL, now I dont have that suds problem anymore. I actually put 1 Tbl of reg gain in with 6 jeans 5 tshirts NO SUDS! and they didnt smell like soap either.

I wish I could help you, I know what you are going thru.
I hope that you can find a solution.

GOOD LUCK!!!

I am having a similar problem, and I do think it is the Tide Liquid. I stopped using it about a month ago, and I am finally able to use a whole 2 tsp of detergent on a full load without having to spend the rest of the day rinsing the suds out. My thinnest laundry (i.e. sheets) shed the build up the quickest. My towels are still an issue. Do your sheets produce as much of a suds problem as your other laundry? If not, it's probably not the Sears.

To be sure it's not the Sears you could do the suds test that is described in the Laundry forum FAQ (I think) and put 1/4 tsp detergent into a tight sealing container with about a cup of warm water, shake it up, and see what level of suds is produced. I think the original poster found that for him, anywhere up to 2 inches of suds above the water or so was OK for his machine.

Anyway, I sympathize. I am so tired of warring with suds, and so annoyed with myself for so heavily overdosing the laundry with super adhesive Tide. I don't know why the Tide itself didn't produce such suds problems. I guess rather than removing whatever residue was in the clothes each time they were washed, it just added more on. Which would explain why it takes so long to get rid of, I guess - lots and lots of layers to be removed.

Good luck! I think you'll see the suds get less and less each time things are washed, and rinsed, and rinsed, and rinsed....

My washer drains into this sunken floor drain that used to be an old shower stall. It isn't clogged. In fact after the wash cycle and each subsequent rinse I used a bucket of water to rinse down the suds so I could see what the next rinse would produce.

Another thought I had was that there is build up in the washer hose and PVC pipe that goes to this drain and that is where the excess sudsing was coming from. But I have found, like cawila said, that thinner items, like sheets and underwear & t-shirts do not produce as much excess suds.
It seems like only the thick, heavy items cause this much suds. So I do believe it is that the Liq Tide was not rinsing thoroughly from the thicker items and just building up with each wash.

It's a bit reassuring to know I'm not alone in this dilemma and it seems most others having this same problem were former Liq Tide users. Hopefully with each subsequent wash the suds problem with dissipate.

Happy Rinsing, lol.
Janet

Where what I can suggest to help prevent that from happening. If you have local 99 cent only store "white/purple building" in cleaning asile they sell a product called TSP Water Softener - This helps to break down all the suds

Why not just let the washer make the detergent dosing decisions for you? That's apparently what GE is proposing with its new Profile frontload washer.

Here is a link that might be useful: GE Profile Frontload Washer

Rosabearr I don't think we have a 99¢ store here, at least I've never seen one. But are you talking about the TSP cleaner like in the link I gave below? Scroll down a bit.
I didn't know it was a water softener. I have seen these products in the hardware store.

Chipshot I saw this set at an appliance store recently and I do believe GE is in cahoots with Tide, as on the tank that holds the detergent was a large TIDE sticker and DOWNY on the fs tank and even if it dispenses the amount recommended by Tide, we all know it's way too much.
Also it would put a stop to being able to use powdered detergent.
The dryer also preheats according to the wash load size so it's warm and ready for you to transfer the clothes. If only it would transfer them for you and then fold them when they're done, lol.

Janet

Here is a link that might be useful: TSP

Janet, I've had similar concerns about the GE washer with the pre-loaded dispenser(s). I don't use the same detergent for every type of laundry I wash, so I wouldn't be able to use it anyway.

Since the problem comes from overdosing, why compound the issue by adding more? Plus towels and washcloths likely have a soap buildup from use, not just from washing.

Try washing the clothes without adding any detergent until they rinse clean. If there's the buildup suspected, you certainly don't need more detergent in there. That shouldn't take long, but if it does, you're saving money on detergent from previous investments. Then I'd clean the machine and start dosing correctly and avoid the problem in the future.

I have trouble when people blame the detergent for putting too much in the machine! LOL And let's be real. The old Neptunes like most top loaders are easy to overdose since you don't have the glass door to watch what's going on.

I DO think the recommended amounts on Tide and for that matter, most detergents are WAY excessive. I use very little in my machine (about 2/3 the way to line 1 on a large capacity TL) and my clothes rinse clean using Tide free/sensitive in both 1x and 2x formulas.

We sometimes use OxiClean or Sears Detergent w/ OxiClean.

I leave an empty plastic "ice cream bucket" weighed down with a brick, in the utility tub right under the washer drain hose.

Even after the washer has finished it's cycle, I can always see a sample of the "final rinse" water.

No need to empty it, it'll get flushed out with the next wash load.

You can use up to 1 cup of vinegar (not for silk) in the F/S dispenser to help eliminate the soapy residue build-up.

link: ReaderÂs Digest vinegar in the washing machine

link: Will Original Pine-Sol® Brand Cleaner help to clean greasy work clothes?

link: Pine-Sol® MSDS info

WOW!! That pic w/all the suds is amazing. I have had a fl going on two years now and I still cannot get used to no suds at all in the cycle! I rotate Gain HE and the Sears ultra (blue lid). I do use FS too. Never ever have any suds. When the machine does it's jet spray on the clothes...no suds. I have even opened the door during a cycle and move the clothes looking for suds...nada! Very bizarre with all the comments about suds. Hope everything works out for you.

Janet, that amount of suds at the end of the wash cycle is truly amazing. I don't think I've seen that amount of suds during the wash cycle since I got the HE TL Bravos.

regus_patoff, thanks again for the great links; I particularly appreciate the one about vinegar and have saved it in my Favorites.

I knew a gal who washed her husband's hunting clothes in Pine-Sol (not sure how much). She said it cleaned them really well. Then she would hang them outside to dry. This way, there was no detergent smell on them to alert wild animals, only a pine smell (he primarily hunted in pine forests). The astonishing thing about that to me was that he had sensitive skin, couldn't tolerate many 'normal' detergents, yet he said the Pine-Sol never bothered him.

When I first got my FL I knew that there was most likely at least a lil build up from the reg detergents I use to use. What I did was I washed everything with plain white distilled vinegar a couple of times.

Coincidentally, the nice man at Charlies also told me to do the very same thing before using the Charlies so the Charles would be more effective when using it. Makes sense, why waste the Charlies on stripping the clothes of build up when vinegar will do it too and it saves your Charlies for actually cleaning.

I used 1/2 cup of white vinegar per load. The vinegar doesn't harm colors or fabrics and is great for removing soap/detergent/hard water build up on just about anything.

Thanks for that tip Happymom.
The other day I got out some pajamas I hadn't worn during the warm summer months. They had been washed in
Liq Tide HE before putting them away for the summer.
WoW! Did they stink! As soon as I put them on I could smell a sour, musty smell on them.
The next day I took all of pajamas I had in that drawer and rewashed them in my Sears HE Perfume Free formula. I used only a teaspoon and I got suds galore out of them, even after 4 rinses.

I know I'll have to de-gunk a lot of my winter clothes, like sweatshirts, so I'll use your tip on running them through a cycle with vinegar first.

Today I used some Whirlout. I put 1/2 cup into the washer drum and ran a long hot cycle. Some suds came out in the first spin, but they quickly dissipated, and after that each rinse was suds free.
That tells me the problem is in my clothes and not my washer, thank goodness, but it'll still be a long process getting all the built up Liq Tide out of everything I've washed in it for the past 5 years.

Janet