Running a clean washer cycle with just bleach and my washer is full of suds 😅 am I using too much detergent?

[mrzaguilar777]

I just posted my wash routine in another post earlier but I’ll post it here again.

My wash routine is as follows:
Wash 1: “whitest whites” mode, warm, heavy soil, normal spin, tide F&G powder line 1
Wash 2: “heavy duty” mode, hot, heavy soil, high spin, tide F&G powder line 3

My water hardness is roughly 120ppm. I’m assuming a drum full of suds while running a clean washer cycle with just bleach means I’ve got detergent buildup, but I don’t think I’ve been using an excessive amount of detergent? We’re in a new house and I’m still tweaking my detergent amounts, but I’ve never used more than what’s listed and any less doesn’t seem to get my diapers clean. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

TIA!

 

[mlb45]

@mrzaguilar777 Double check your bleach. That happened to me when I accidentally used a bleach h fabric protection additives*. It contains additives that cause more suds. It made my front loader take about 4 hours because of the bubbles.

*Edit: correcting splash-less to fabric protecting.

 

[markiplier]

@mrzaguilar777 With that water hardness I’d switch to the tide liquid instead of powder. As far as I know the powder is meant for a water hardness of 150-200ppm but the liquid would be perfect for you.

Do you use the same detergent for your clothes? Is it a used washer from a previous owner? I’d get the washer cleaning tablets and give that a go.

 

[mrzaguilar777]

@markiplier I’ve got some F&G Tide Pods that I’m trying to use up with my clothes, and then after that I’m planning to use Tide F&G powder for everything. We use Tide powder for house cleaning too, so I was hoping to keep with the powder! And the washer was newly purchased by us when we moved in about a month ago, and has mainly been used to wash cloth diapers (I’m on mat leave and husband is WFH so we don’t go through many clothes).

 

[amanda212]

@mrzaguilar777 By contrast in Scotland where our water is super soft we're advised not to use gel detergents because they affect absorbency

 

[nelsontai]

@amanda212 Another Scotland based cloth bum mum! The water up here is better than Evian

 

[amanda212]

@nelsontai The water of the gods

 

[markiplier]

@mrzaguilar777 Could you be using too many pods? Could be detergent build up from those. But if the detergent is rated for harder water than you have you could end up with detergent build up in your diapers unfortunately. Detergent build up can cause rashes and smells. I’d do a swish test to see what’s going on.