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Momtoafew · Nov 25, 2005, 08:12 PM

I was just checking in... here I am with about 3 months of using my new Kenmore Elite Washer and NO PROBLEMS! Maytag gave me a full refund and dragged my old washer away. I went right to the top to get my refund and sent a letter to the CEO (or maybe CFO?) his name was Ralph? Obviously they knew something was wrong with this model of the Maytag SAV series! If people are also having problems, I would recommend them calling Maytag's Corporate offices directly like I did and not to really deal with the store they purchased it from, as they're going to send service people to your home for many tries to figure out the problem! Anyway, glad my post helped some with their maytag problems too! After much research, it is my conclusion that the maytag just puts out way too much water in the rinse cycle. Talking to a sears rep, she told me that my Kenmore only puts out about 16 gallons in the rinse cycle and that's more than enough. Maytag put out about 25+ gallons, and homes just can't take it! I think the Maytag I bought was more for commercial grade type businesses, and that wasn't told to me when I purchased it. All in all I'm OK with maytag because they gave me my money back, but when I bought my new dryer last week, I didn't buy the maytag... I bought a Kenmore! :)

descodr · Feb 28, 2007, 02:58 PM

Originally Posted by Momtoafew

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 am having the same problem with my Maytag Washer backing suds up in the final rinse cycle. I had a repair guy come in and he too told me that my drain has buildup and it needed to be cleaned out. So I did that and I still have the same problem. My home is only 5 years old and I put a eel into my drain and had nothing in the pipe. I figure that the pump is bad and creates too much suds in the final rinse cycle which probably holds excess soap, and when there is no more water to pump, the soap left in the pump is being forced out. My maytag washer model number is a SAV5701AWW and has a 10 year extended warranty. I am getting tired of repair people pawning off and giving me the run around, so I will be getting back in touch with maytag and putting forth my complaint.
Please let me know what model number you have on your maytag washer. If your washer is not covered by the repair you can find a pump on line for about $30, but it may take awhile to do the repair yourself.
Sincerely,
James

doug238 · Feb 28, 2007, 07:24 PM

At the end of a wash cycle the 'dirty' laundry usually nuetralizes the suds. Suds should be at a minimum. It is my humble opinion that you should try less soap before you spend more on service work performed. Try to determine how much soap as to how much dirty.

descodr · Mar 1, 2007, 05:25 AM

I am only using about 1/4 cup of liquid laundry soap and it still has suds backing up. I can run the washer without soap several times and it will still produce a lot of suds which makes me believe that the pump is holding the residue of the laundry detergent and will pump out the suds when the water is completed from the rinse cycle. I have even cut back on my water softner to make the water a little bit harder which should help according to Maytag Company!!
James

speedball1 · Mar 1, 2007, 10:43 AM

Since Maytag warns against siphoning, what would be the symptoms of siphoning that I should watch out for? I'm assuming it would cause a premature drainage of the tub during the wash cycle, right?

I don't think so. Since a stand pipe should be at least 2" over the flood rim of the washer I don't see how "syphoning" could occur if a compression fitting,( see image) were attached to the washer stand pipe. Maytag won't put up a image of their standpipe adapter I can't recommend it. However we've had good results using the compression fitting and sealing the hose to the stadpipe. Or you can ask Maytag to replace the washer as a another asker has done to relieve the situation. Good luck, Tom

Momtoafew · Mar 1, 2007, 04:10 PM

Originally Posted by descodr

I am only using about 1/4 cup of liquid laundry soap and it still has suds backing up. I can run the washer without soap several times and it will still produce alot of suds which makes me believe that the pump is holding the residue of the laundry detergent and will pump out the suds when the water is completed from the rinse cycle. I have even cut back on my water softner to make the water a little bit harder which should help according to Maytag Company!!!
James

Hi. Glad I was checking this site, as it seems you and others are having problems with your maytag. I got the runaround for months with maytag insisting on sending the repairmen to my home. I finally sent a letter in saying my $426 washing machine should just be refunded, as they were sending 2+ employees out to my home every week, paying them probably $75 an hour minimum. I explained it was cost effective to just pick my washing machine up and to credit me in full... seriously I had about 8 service appointments... had to be at least $650 in service calls that they paid these guys (I didn't pay as it was under warranty). Anyway, I sent a letter to Dale Reeder who was VP of Operations (Cleveland Office) and cc'd Ralph Hake, the CEO at the Iowa office. Within a week I had a check and they picked up my washing machine. I actually remember speaking with a secretary or assistant at one of the maytag offices when dealing with my refund and she had indicated they no longer made my new machine because there "were a lot of problems". My model was SAV5910AWW... I think all the SAV's had problems with the speed of the final rinse cycle, which was way too powerful for most households, and more of a machine for commercial use (even though it was sold for household use at the store). I went out the day my maytag left my soggy laundry room (my floor is still a disaster, but it's covered with the new machine) and purchased a very basic Kenmore Elite washer for about $300+ dollars, and have had ZERO problems. Hope this helps!:D

Momtoafew · Mar 1, 2007, 04:15 PM

Originally Posted by descodr

I am having the same problem with my Maytag Washer backing suds up in the final rinse cycle. I had a repair guy come in and he too told me that my drain has buildup and it needed to be cleaned out. So I did that and I still have the same problem. My home is only 5 years old and I put a eel into my drain and had nothing in the pipe. I figure that the pump is bad and creates too much suds in the final rinse cycle which probably holds excess soap, and when there is no more water to pump, the soap left in the pump is being forced out. My maytag washer model number is a SAV5701AWW and has a 10 year extended warranty. I am getting tired of repair people pawning off and giving me the run around, so I will be getting back in touch with maytag and putting forth my complaint.
Please let me know what model number you have on your maytag washer. If your washer is not covered by the repair you can find a pump on line for about $30, but it may take awhile to do the repair yourself.
Sincerely,
James

I just posted, and then I just looked at my old postings... which are still on this website. If you type in momtoafew in the search area, you'll see my 30 postings about my whole maytag disaster story. Please let me know if you have any other questions about it. But just get rid of the sav model. They're never going to get it to cooperate in a household, as these machines were built for places like hospitals and hotels not 2 -3 inch drain pipes.

Hugh_Bond · May 18, 2007, 01:36 PM

I found this thread after changing the discharge pump in my 10-year-old Admiral (made by Maytag) washer and having this same problem. I agree that the foam the new pump is blowing into my standpipe does not have enough density to displace the water in the trap so, following the path of least resistance, it pulses out of the top of the pipe. It's too old (but still in good working order thanks to the new pump and belt) to get a refund.

I'm hesitant to use a sealed connection because the washer is in the basement and we have a septic tank in the front yard. The main leaves the basement more than halfway up the tub in the washer. I'm afraid the siphoning Maytag warns against is backward flow.

During the wash cycle, the pump still runs because there is only one belt that loops around the motor, pump and agitator. During this cycle, a significant, pulsing sucking sound can be heard coming from the washer's drain hose. I don't want that suction to suck the trap water, any sewage gases or even sewage back into my washer.

As a solution, what do the plumbing experts here think of adding a section of large diameter (4" or 6") pipe to the top of my standpipe to act as a collection tank? The total volume of suds per spin cycle is less than a gallon. I'm thinking the large pipe will contain the suds and allow them to drain as slowly as they want to.

Alternately, I could install a sealed compression fitting above a tee with a check valve to allow air to be sucked in but I think the collection tank idea is simpler.

Any ideas, comments or advice??

tulsabroken · Aug 31, 2007, 09:09 AM

Momtoafew, THANKS SO MUCH... I too HAD a large capactiy Maytag only 3 years old, same problem. Plumber came twice, changed laundry soap, everything. After reading your response I went and bought a KENMORE ran two loads and no problems.Also my house was just built and is barely a year old.. I will never buy Maytag again..

Hugh_Bond · Aug 31, 2007, 10:22 AM

These Maytags apparently have very high capacity pumps. Because I have an unfinished laundry area in my basement, I changed to a longer and wider standpipe above the same size trap and the problem was solved. If your washer drain is behind drywall, changing to a larger pipe is not an easy fix.

The pump puts more water/suds into a standard-size drain pipe than it can flow, especially at the end of the spin cycle when light, airy suds are coming out. The suds don't weigh enough to push through the trap water so they overflow. Having a bigger standpipe contains a larger volume of suds, allowing them to break down into liquid and flow through the trap, much like they would if the drain hose dumped into a laundry sink.

If your washer drain pipe is behind drywall and can't be changed but you have a laundry sink next to your washer, relocating the washer's drain hose to empty into the sink is a simpler and cheaper solution than buying a new washer. It's not like these Maytag pumps don't work. The problem is that they work too well.

BTW, if you do relocate your hose, cap the end of the unused drain pipe. Without the laundry waste water flowing through the drain, the water in the trap will evaporate and allow sewer gas into your house. A cap will prevent this.

mrsoboba · Nov 19, 2010, 06:02 PM

I have the same problem mdl #sav515deww.Called appliance repair they said it was my plumbing,I said your full of it.I cycled the washer with no soap good flow,checked my vent line as washer was cycling by putting my hand over it (small vacumn was felt)Cycled washer again watching drain line off washer and found when washer was in spin cycle the pump would draw air agitating back and forth.My thought is the water that is trapped in the drain line has soap in it,gets aggitated back and forth creating suds.Im not a plumber but I am a master electrician.I am going to get a one way flow valve and put it on the waste line and I think this mystery will be solved.The pump is drawing air on spin cycle.

speedball1 · Nov 20, 2010, 07:22 AM

Originally Posted by ;

I am going to get a one way flow valve and put it on the waste line and I think this mystery will be solved.

The way I would solve it would be to seal the hose and standpipe off with duct tape or a compression fitting ,(see image) and make it a closed system
Good luck, Tom

justhinkin · May 11, 2012, 11:25 AM

Is you new drain hose corrugated??
I have an idea that might be key, or not.
My mom just ran into the same problem, suds pushing out of the drain standpipe, and the plumber can't find anything wrong, and there's no reason the machine should have changed.
When a washer gets moved, repaired, or otherwise re-installed, the service-man may put on a new drain hose. Perhaps the old hose was smooth inside, but the new hose is corrugated plastic. Those look clean and modern, compared to the old black rubber hoses. But then when powerful drain-pumping happens, the soapy water rushing over the sharp corrugations would churn up as much suds as the soap can possibly generate, which is of course more than any normal drain-with-a-trap can absorb, because the water always standing in the trap acts as a barrier to air-filled bubbles. The washer was carefully designed to avoid churning up these bubbles, but the new drain hose was not!
Of course, if the pump keeps running after most of the water is discharged, that also will suck air and may make suds. Or not, if there's not much soapy water where the air discharges.
Anyway, I think I'll try getting a smoother drain hose. Of what kind, I'm not sure yet.

speedball1 · May 11, 2012, 11:54 AM

Hi justhinkin and Welcome to The Plumbing Page. At AskMeHelpDesk.com. You're responding to a 7 year old dead thread. Look in then upper left hand corner of the first post form the date in the first post before you post, Thanks,
Many thanks for coming up with a new angle, From now on one of my questions ill be, " what type of discharge hose do you have? Black rubber or corrugated plastic? Thanks again. Tom

justhinkin · May 11, 2012, 12:37 PM

Another thing
That could generate the observed sudsing, with or without corrugated hose:
The hose is inserted into the mouth of the drain standpipe, right?
Suppose the water-stream from the end of the hose manages to arc through a length of air before plunging into some soapy water father down the standpipe. That water could be what's standing in the trap a foot or two below the mouth, or it could be higher while the washer is draining a big tub-full. Anyway, soapy water plunging into soapy water, with air all around it, makes suds. I think the suds-generating mixing/agitation would be least when the water-flow is hugging the bottom wall of the standpipe, never arching through air.
The thing to do about it would be to make sure that the hose, where it enters the standpipe, is touching the underside of the standpipe and angled slightly downward too, not upwards or straight down the middle. Angling towards one sidewall or the other might work too.
Insertion angle is a subtle detail of installation, possible to be generally unnoticed but still make a big difference in suds generation. I think our new corrugated hose has a little plastic brace around it which would tend to nicely center it in the standpipe without any effort on the installer's part. Looks great, but the effect could be counterproductive.
Injection swirl could be an unnoticed parameter too.
I.E. the hose entering the standpipe off-center and off-angle would cause a spiral swirling flow down in the drain-pipe. I'm thinking that would be good because then the water is hugging the pipe walls, but it could be bad instead.
The point is to check out a number of ways deliberately and see if there's a difference in the suds volume. Convenient modern plumbing parts might tend to dissuade one from trying or even thinking about such variations.