Problems with fabric softener

Hi,

Please check that you added the softener to the correct compartment of your washer. Also, please read or re-read the instructions for adding the fabric softener. Once you've done those 2 things, please run a test wash with clothes that you would not particular care about potentially staining. Thank you.

Manually: If you're adding fabric conditioner by hand, be sure not to add it during the wash cycle. The washcycle will clean away much of the softener, so add it during the rinse cycle. Also, try to avoid direct contact with fabrics to avoid stains; instead, pour Downy into the deeper pockets of water.

How to Use Fabric Softener Without Dispenser ' Downy

where do you put fabric softener in the washing machine Google Search

Soap powder or too much soap powder?

I have the exact same problem, Speed Queen washer, top loader. The machine still has some fabric softener in the cup, but the more irritating problem is the puddle of softener underneath the finished load. I had bought a SQ because they seemed old school and I thought it would mean problems would be simpler to repair.

You have to do it manually. Ugh. See below from manual:

Liquid Fabric Softener (Manually add during rinse cycle)
1. Turn OPTIONS knob to FABRIC SOFTENER
2. Measure liquid fabric softener carefully, following instructions on the bottle, and add during the rinse cycle.

OPTIONS (on some models)
Set this option when planning to manually add fabric softener during the rinse cycle or when you use extra detergent or bleach to clean hazily soiled items. It provides an enhanced rinse.

You have to do it manually. See below from manual:

Liquid Fabric Softener (Manually add during rinse cycle)
1. Turn OPTIONS knob to FABRIC SOFTENER
2. Measure liquid fabric softener carefully, following instructions on the bottle, and add during the rinse cycle.

OPTIONS (on some models)
Set this option when planning to manually add fabric softener during the rinse cycle or when you use extra detergent or bleach to clean hazily soiled items. It provides an enhanced rinse.

In my case it was simply a matter of cleaning the nozzles that spray the water into the MAIN DETERGENT compartment. Turns our that when the washer was filling up, some nozzles were partially clogged and were directing water to the side where the softener compartment was, causing the fluid level to rise and therefore releasing the softener early. The washer was NOT spraying water in the softener side, what happens is that the dispenser tray is configured in a way that when the fluid reaches a certain max level in the softener/bleach trays, it completely drains. A way to test for this problem would be to completely dry the softener tray and start the wash cycle like you normally would (including detergent), only without adding any softener to the tray and see if after filling there is any water in the softener tray, this would prove that the water is coming from the other side.

The Solution: Top up the softener tray with extra water so that it is up to the 'max level' mark.

The softener tray works by a siphon action. Thus, the reason the tray does not empty is that not enough water is added by the machine during the softening cycle, so that the machine does not completely fill the softening tray; only when the softening tray is filled beyond the 'max' mark does the siphon action works. A partially filled tray will never empty - it's impossible due to the siphon.

The reason that not enough water is added to the tray during the softening action is that the water inlet of the machine is partial blocked (you can try to fix that) but it is simpler to just added more water to the conditioner tray.

Thus, the easiest way to ensure that the softener tray empties every time (after adding the softener to the softener tray of course) is to top up the softener tray with extra water, top it up to the 'max level' line (keep a bottle of water by the machine). That way, even if only a little water is added to the softener tray during the softening cycle by the machine it is enough to trigger the siphon action and the tray will empty!

Works for me every time, and no need to remove any parts - I used to take the tray out, clean it, scrub the outlet holes that fill the tray etc, but they used to gum up again quite quickly!

Hope that helps

I'm sure you heard a small motor running from time to time during a cycle. That moves an "arm" which sends water to the different chambers during a cycle. Fabric softener is dispensed when water goes to that chamber and dilutes the fabric softener. That chamber then empties by a siphoning action.
If you want to narrow down the problem a little to help trouble shoot -- put some wet rags in and run the Rinse and Spin cycle with some fabric softener. If the softener is not dispensed, then you know that the water isn't being sent to that chamber properly.
If you are intrepid enough to take the top off your washer, do that and see if the arm appears to be moving during a normal cycle. Maybe the arm got dislodged or broken during the move.
If water isn't being diverted properly, I think this calls for a real repair person.

check the water solenoid for open circuit, this is the water valve that supplies water to the compartment