If your washer foams up, shows a suds code, takes forever to finish or leaves clothes feeling slick, you're probably using too much detergent for the water. Boston and most nearby towns get soft water from the MWRA, and soft water makes detergent foam far more than the dose on the bottle assumes.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Can you DIY it? | Yes, in most cases |
| How urgent? | Low, but excess suds can cause leaks and odors |
Why does soft water cause more suds?
Hard water has minerals that "use up" some of the detergent. Soft water doesn't, so the full dose turns into foam. HE washers use very little water, so the extra suds have nowhere to go. They cushion the clothes, slow the drain and trigger suds-detection routines that add rinses and extend the cycle.
What are the signs of using too much detergent?
- •Suds visible through the door late in the cycle
- •A "Sud" or "SD" style error code, or cycles that run much longer than the display says
- •Clothes that feel stiff or slick, or smell sour
- •Residue in the detergent drawer and door boot
- •Leaks around the door or detergent drawer
How much detergent should I use?
Start with about a third to half of the line on the cap for a normal load, and use only HE detergent. If the clothes come out clean, keep cutting until they don't, then go back one step. Pods are pre-measured for average water, so for small loads in soft water, one pod can be too much.
How do I clear out built-up residue?
- •Run an empty hot cycle with no detergent, or the machine's clean cycle.
- •Clean the detergent drawer and the drain pump filter.
- •Wipe out the door boot folds.
When should I call a technician?
Call if suds codes continue after you've cut the detergent and run a cleaning cycle, or if the washer drains slowly even without suds. That can mean a weak pump or a faulty pressure sensor.
Elliott's take
Customers moving here from the Midwest or Texas are the ones who see this most. They bring their old habits to soft water. Cutting the detergent in half fixes more "broken" washers than any part I carry.
Related: Washer repair · Washing Machine Leaking? How to Find Where It's Coming From
Washer still sudsing up? Call TrueFix Boston at (857) 810-1119 or book online.