I'm loving my Speed Queen so far. Washes well, quietly, quickly.

My previous washer was a solid door. The SQ has a window through which I can view the tub during the wash cycle.

I follow the the HE detergent amount (Medium vs Heavy load size; which btw is a little ambiguous. What if I have a 3.2 vs 4.5 capacity washer? What is "Heavy?"). Using the "heavy" amount fills the SQ tray only about halfway I think; unlike the bleach tray which is full using the "Heavy" amount.

I don't see any suds except for minimal amounts - some bubbles here and there.

How much suds should I be seeing? It's not like I see any water either (soaked into the clothes?). But I guess I expected to see some suds, at least more than I'm seeing.

Should I be using more detergent - more than the detergent "heavy" amount? Or is it normal to not really see suds?

Pure detergents themselves produce little to no suds. Suds are produced by additives as a public relations measure to placate consumers who were (long ago) accustomed to seeing the suds produced by soap. I’m not up on current manufacturing processes, but I do know that the trend has been to move away from the sudsing additives that are unnecessary at best and can cause problems in some washers at worst. This is especially true of the HE detergents.

Wow. Never knew that. As usual, amazed at the breadth of info possessed by SF.

In a high efficiency washer that's 4.5 cu feet, you want to use the medium load amount of soap......maybe even less. More soap actually cleans less in HE washers. Remember an HE washer is using a heck of a lot less water so it needs a heck of a lot less soap too. How is it doing at actually getting the clothes clean?

I don't really have a measure of how well it's cleaning. I can't say it's any better or worse than my prior washer.

The clothes do come out clean. But one noticeable difference is that they come out almost dry - moist perhaps but not wet. I could probably almost air dry my clothes quickly after the wash.

And the machine is rock solid -- during the spin cycle, there is no machine movement (unlike my prior washer where sometimes it would shake so much that I actually but blocks around the machine so that it wouldn't hit the sink).

I mostly bought the SQ over other options because it's made in USA and has a good reputation for being solid and reliable. So far, it's holding up to it's reputation.

The window door is a little mesmerizing. I feel like that cat in the other thread....

quote:

Should I be using more detergent - more than the detergent "heavy" amount? Or is it normal to not really see suds?

Unless you're really stuffing that washer or you have really dirty clothes, you should only be using the medium amount of detergent.

I'm using a HE liquid and the cap has 3 lines inscribed. For a full load, I pour to the 2nd line.

You should hardly see any suds at all

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
I don't really have a measure of how well it's cleaning. I can't say it's any better or worse than my prior washer.

The clothes do come out clean. But one noticeable difference is that they come out almost dry - moist perhaps but not wet. I could probably almost air dry my clothes quickly after the wash.

And the machine is rock solid -- during the spin cycle, there is no machine movement (unlike my prior washer where sometimes it would shake so much that I actually but blocks around the machine so that it wouldn't hit the sink).

I mostly bought the SQ over other options because it's made in USA and has a good reputation for being solid and reliable. So far, it's holding up to it's reputation.

The window door is a little mesmerizing. I feel like that cat in the other thread....

That's why HE washers are so efficient, the clothes spend much less time in the dryer when they come out of the washer compared to the old style washers......The drying is what REALLY uses electricity, not the washing.

Tape cardboard over the window......problem solved