It's not possible to state with any degree of precision that this load size or that needs X-specific dosage of detergent, there are too many individual factors that come into play, among which are water hardness, soil level in the load (which is a different thing than load size), and even what kind of items are in the load, and what type of detergent.

You may get advised to use no more than 2 tablespoons of detergent for any size load ... or no more than one teaspoon. That sort of advice just doesn't work.

There's absolutely no way one teaspoon would work for ANY of my laundry loads. Two tablespoons is suitable for some of them but four tablespoons (1/4 measured cup) may not be enough for the largest/soil-iest that I run.

One of the triggers for proper dosage is if the wash water feels slippery between the fingers ... but that gets tricky with softened water because very little detergent is needed to get the slipperiness but that may not provide a sufficient concentration of enzymes and other cleaning agents to deal with stains.

Some will say that too much detergent leads to residue, mold, and odor. Not necessarily. Too little detergent has the same effect because laundry soils aren't kept "dissolved" and sequestered in the water to be flushed away, instead sticking to internal machine parts. Think what happens when a sink-full of dirty dishwater (with the detergent concentration diluted by grease and perhaps some rinse water run in) is left to sit for a while ... grease and scum collects atop and at the water line.

Regards to balancing ... the machine must be able to distribute the mass of the load around the drum. A given load should contain more than one item of similar weight so the machine can tumble/separate them for balancing. Don't wash one bath towel with a set of sheets, for example. The load you described above is OK. The jeans and sweatshirts (presumably) are of similar weight.

It's not unusual that the dynamics of a load may generate more oscillation at a particular (slower) RPM and settle-out at higher speeds. The machine will (should) trigger an unbalanced load fault if it needs help. They're typically more sensitive to balance for the final spin which revs-up to higher speeds than the interim rinse spins. Some machines will skip an interim spin if it can't balance within two or three distribution attempts.

Pausing and physically rearranging the load doesn't typically help much with a frontloader being that it will repeat the distribution routine upon restart and "upset" the rearrangement that was done. However, it can be helpful in some instances to remove one (or more) items if the machine is having trouble getting balance established. I ran a very large load of bath towels, socks, kitchen linens and such as a test in a frontloader that I refurbed some years ago. It tried a good six or eight times to balance for the final spin ... at which point I removed ONE large bath towel, and zoooom, it went right on its way.

Thank you for all the info! We definitely have hard water, so I need to consider that. I'm going to reduce the amount of detergent a bit to see if I can avoid ever getting that Suds code. It takes awhile for the machine to fix that!

I'm also going to record the knocking noise when it does it. I just want to make sure it's normal.

The slipperiness test may work when you're using a powder detergent but I've never had luck with that method using a liquid or pod-type detergent as you need to add a lot of liquid or several pods to get that slippery feeling.

HE liquid detergents are very concentrated, so I stand by my earlier advice of using a maximum of 2 tablespoons of detergent or one pod per load in a front load washer. And you should note the "MAX" fill line on the dispenser cup is the maximum amount the cup can hold and not an indicator of how much detergent you should use.

LG has some guidance:

https://www.lg.com/ca_en/support/product-help/CT20098067-20150630113087-others

Here is some more advice and another recommendation (based on their conversation directly with LG) to use a maximum of two tablespoons per load:

https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-washer-and-dryer/#use-less-detergent-and-other-tips-for-your-modern-washer

Dadoes did a good job explaining balancing dynamics. Your washer knows when the load is too out of balance and will go through a redistribution routine. Don't be alarmed if it makes some banging noises while it tries to figure out if the load is a balanced or not. And it tends to vibrate more during lower RPMs at the beginning or end of a spin cycle.

"... you need to add a lot of liquid or several pods to get that slippery feeling."

That's kinda because liquids don't handle mineral content in water as nicely as powders.

Great tips, Littlegreeny. Thank you for the links... those are very helpful. It's so different for me to use less detergent, but it makes sense. I'm a lot more comfortable with this now that I know how well front loaders actually clean. Nice that the LG is the top pick in the article!

Faith, I learned something tonight. I didn't know front loaders could get unbalanced.

dadoes, thank you! ( You may get advised to use no more than 2 tablespoons of detergent for any size load ... or no more than one teaspoon. That sort of advice just doesn't work.)

Monicakm_gw, it was news to me, also.

I've now gone down a rabbit hole (with Littlegreeny's article) while I wait for one more load to finish before I go to bed.

oh, the dreaded www rabbit holes = information overload!

How much powder detergent is recommended in a front load machine?

If the over sudsing happens again in your machine just dump a little fabric softener down the detergent dispenser followed by a cup of water to flush it down into the drum. It will kill the suds and your washer will continue on with the cycle.

Faith, I'd try 2 tablespoons first and see if you get satisfactory results but you might be able to add up to 4 tablespoons. My experience with powders is they tend to rinse out better.

What brand are you going to try?

Oversudsing issues are common, especially in FL machines. Certain detergents are better at handling this, like Tide HE Turbo Liquids. I have moderately hard water and use 1T of STPP per load. Generally, I use line 2 on the cap with a full load, line 1 can be used with a smaller load. However, if there is more soiling Line 3 is used without an issue. With the Tide plus Downy powder, I generally use 4T for a full load without issues. The statement about water slickness is true between liquids and powders.

Tide Pods produce entirely too many suds after the recent formulation. These suds don't rinse out well at all. I try to avoid them at all costs. I personally find that Liquids rinse out better than powers. Typically for the best rinsing with powders, I find a warm rinse is required.

Out of balance issues are actually VERY common in FL machines. However, their complex suspension designs make it so that you are less aware that it is happening. Sometimes you will hear it, and it may not sound pleasant, but I highly doubt any major damage was done. My Duet has had numerous out of balance loads in the past 10 years and continues to run just fine. In order to combat the issue, just try and wash a combo of like sized items as you mentioned earlier. A load of t-shirts with one heavy sweatshirt may have issues balancing. A majority of our balancing issues are a result of long sleeve shirts and pants getting tangled up.

Littlegreeny, I'm tempted to try the Tide with Bleach powder. Our daughter heard me (over the weekend) talking about why we can't use Tide and she told me that when she slept at our relative's house, they forgot to wash the sheets in the free and clear detergent and, while her brother itched all night, she did not. So she may not be sensitive, anymore. And her brother (our oldest) is off at college now. He uses free and clear detergent, but I don't think he rinses the machines before doing his clothing, so he also sounds less sensitive... especially since he itched, but didn't get hives when he slept in those sheets. We have been using free and clear detergent since they were babies (due to eczema). We tried Tide when they were maybe 4 and 6 years old and that's when they broke out in head-to-toe hives. We haven't tried since. Our daughter said she also wore the relative's clothing (because she thought it was a cute outfit) and it was washed in Tide. So I'm thinking she won't have a problem if we wash our stuff in Tide and hers in Free & Clear (although she thinks we should try washing hers in it, too). Apparently, our daughter has been using all sorts of stuff at the relative's house that she wasn't able to use before (different lotions, soaps, makeup, etc). We have gone so many years using free and clear EVERYTHING... detergent, no fabric softeners, sensitive skin soap/shampoo... they were so sensitive, even other people's perfume bothered them, so my husband and I decided everyone should use free & clear. It's only been recently that my husband and I have been able to wear cologne/perfume, but we still use free and clear everything else. I feel like a kid in a candy store thinking maybe we can use something different. I bought some Dove Winter Care soap, yesterday, and it smells so pretty! I wish she would have told me this before now!

Doreycrouse, thank you for all the info. I've been paying attention to the machine and it appears the balancing issues happens when I wash sweatshirts. It doesn't happen for towels, blankets, or other types of clothing. It gets pretty loud when it happens. I am washing even numbers of sweatshirts, too. I don't get it.

Faith, try it on a few loads and see how it goes. Nice thing about your LG is it’s very easy to add an extra rinse for safe measure.

These reports of youngsters catching skin irritation from Tide is interesting. Way back in the day our family MD advised my mother to bathe us in Tide detergent (powder at the time) to ease summer skin rashes.

Dadoes, I'm guessing the cause of the rashes makes a difference on the treatment advised.