Maytag Washer having suds backing up
Can anyone let me know what to do? I have a new maytag (toploader) washing machine that has been working fine for 5 months. Last week, I noticed suds backing up from the drain area (where the pipe empties water and suds into the wall). There are only suds spewing out, no water. I called Maytag and the service guy said my machine is fine and suggested me getting a roto rooter guy out to snake the drain. Did that the other day. The rotor rooter guy snaked about 15 feet and no "build up" came up. Also should mention my home is only 15 years old and I DO NOT HAVE A SEPTIC TANK. :( So I figured everything should be working fine now, but again, I'm getting suds spewing out all over. I don't use a lot of soap suds to begin with, as I always was told that there's no need to use a cup for a load. But I'm still getting this backup situation. I'm thinking of calling maytag in again and telling them that I've got the drain snaked so it must be a maytag problem, right? Is it possible that the mechanism in the machine is for some reason agitating too quickly to make the suds so "sudsy"? Any thoughts or comments to help me...
I was looking in this forum and...
And noticed quite a few others here had similar issues. From looking at past responses from some plumber guru's (hoping "road runner" and speedball1, might help! ) my question is about the drains and hoses in the washing machine.
First one of you guys mentioned in another post something about a "2x1 1/2 compression fitting" for the top of a stand pipe? Is the stand pipe the thing that is going into my wall? Is there something that can be simply snapped onto the drain pipe and prevent spillage of suds? I would think the drain pipe would not operate correctly if it were air sealed around it, as doesn't the air help make the flow of the suds and water go out the pipe? Someone also mentioned hoses might be the problem. Now the hoses bring the water into the machine, so am I understanding that maybe a hose with a smaller diameter (hot and cold hoses) would help my machine not to give out too much water and thus less suds?
By the way, I noticed too that in the regular cycle, I get suds all over the place (out the drain pipe and onto the floor), but on the delicate cycle I have no problems.
I'm a total chick alone in this situation, and like I said before I've already had the Maytag man out and my house (according to him no problems) and the roto rooter person (snaked and no problems). Should I now hire a professional plumber? If I should, can you all tell me what exactly to say is the problem so I don't need to give him a 4 paragraph thing (as in this case).
Also, why would the problem all of a sudden come up, as I have had no suds overflow problems since the purchase of this maytag... it's just been all of a sudden. I haven't changed operating habits, soap, or changed out parts, etc. so I just don't get it... Also worth noting is that I have no problems in my entire house as far as plumbing, backups,etc. and the house went thru' heavy inspection before buying it. :rolleyes:
Make and model is Maytag SAV3655A
The model of my maytag is SAV3655a. It has a "powerful 2 speed, 1/2 horsepower motor".
Yes... water flows no problem
I have tried just using the washer cycle with water only, and no problem the hot or cold water flows fine. When I add soap, that's where I get into trouble. The backup is always suds/soap. No water ever comes up, out of the drain pipe. About a handful of soap, comes up and stays on the top of the drain pipe. The problem is that small amount of soap, dribbles down my wall, and onto my floor and in the week that I've noticed it, I've already got water damage on my wood floors from the dribble. A tray on the floor would be ideal, but in all honesty the suds are sticking to the wall and dribbling down the wall, so I don't even think the bottom tray would help my floors! So should I demand Rotor ROoter to come out again? Is there a standard measurement to snake? i.e. 20 feet, 30 feet, etc. Should they be snaking any other line, other than the washer (I have had no other backups in my house). The line to the washer is alone and then hooks up with another line to my small bathroom and then to the city sewer. No problems with the bathroom at all.
Thanks for your help.
:rolleyes:
No luck still getting suds dripping on my wall/floor
Thought I was a true fixer upper, but no luck. There were not a lot of suds backed up this time around (with the drain hose tucked in the wall about 10inches), but there were still some suds seeping out of the wall and down to my floor.
I just don't know what to do. I mean I will pay someone big $$$$ to fix the stupid thing, but who do I call? I can call roto rooter (I paid them $150 to snake 12-15 feet of drain) and called my maytag repairman (no charge as the unit is less than one year old)... but who to call next? Should I just call my regular plumber? What is this all about venting the roof top vent? Would roto rooter do this? They didn't mention it to me in the first visit. Again, is what I have truly a "backup" if actual water isn't being backed up? :mad:
Speedball could you show a photo or website with photos
In another question to talked to a fellow about "compression fittings". And how you can place one on a washing machine drain pipe. When I was searching the internet for these fittings, all I could find were metal fittings for things like toilets and sinks. I'm assuming you are talking about a different kind of fitting, and was hoping to see a photo of what you are talking about or maybe a link to a website with a photo of what exactly you are referring to. I am thinking of heading down to the Ace hardware tomorrow to inquire about these fittings, but wanted to know exactly what they look like before heading there! Thanks (and I apologize for not knowing the exact terms of what I am talking about) :)
Roto Rooter was out today...
Different roto rooter guy, but he seemed to know what to do. I told him that we needed to snake down about 30 feet. He did. I inquired about the roof vent. I guess the roof vent requires a camera, and a different appointment. He said it was highly unlikely there was a block in the roof vent. Anyway, of course the washing machine DID NOT OVERFLOW WITH SUDS when he ran his test, but sure enough, on my first load of laundry, I'm getting suds backing up. I just installed the compression fitting. The one I purchased was from "Fernco Inc." in Davison, MI (bought it at home depot). I doubt this will do anything, as there are small holes ontop of the compression fitting, but running a wash right now and I'll let you all know if I get suds coming out of it.
Also, I have a question about the drain pipe from the machine. Does it matter how many inches the drain pipe goes up in height before coming down into the stand pipe? I'm trying to now have the drain pipe not attached to the white "u" clip on the back of my machine. Instead I have the pipe pressed against the wall going up about 8 inches above the machine and then down into the stand pipe... I'm wondering if this will allow for less suds action of any sort.
Anyway, I guess I need to schedule my visit with roto rooter again for the roof vent. By the way, should I call a regular plumber for that or roto rooter... any experiences with roto rooter? Are they the same as a plumber or do they just snake drains? I just want the siuation fixed. I'd be happy to pay $500 just so I don't have to deal with my floor getting warped from all the suds/water. I'm starting to think roto rooter might not be the best choice and I should get my plumber out here for the roof deal.
Also, I'm assuming that a roof vent inspection would be an added cost (I paid $150 for the first roto rooter visit, and nothing today in money as work was warrantied).
Here's what happened today
Roto Rooter came out again! 3rd time. No problem in the line. Now, I'm starting to think about calling the Maytag repairman again. Has anyone heard of a washing machine that somehow is clogged up and prevents the suds from flowing correctly?? I noticed that after I washed a load (with little soap), that a lot of the clothes still had soap in them. I rewashed the same load without adding soap, and when opening the lid, noticed it looked like I put a cap full of soap in there... maybe for some reason the soap is getting caught up somewhere in my machine and not discharging at the correct times of the cycle, thus at the end having an enormous output of suds, of which my drain (or any drain) simply can't take. I'm going to call maytag, and request a different repairman, to see if he can see something that the first guy missed. Any thoughts? Can the soap hide somewhere in the washing machine and then just get aggitated so much that I get this large of an output of suds, meanwhile all my clothes have suds all over them? :mad: