Hoover Select 1600 HSPF 167 - water pours out of soap draw

[Markpd]

Hi
Luckily it happened straight away & I switched the washing machine off, & so it didn't flood the whole kitchen!
Anyway, I've checked the FAQ & didn't see a directly related answer.

I pulled the soap draw out & it's full of soapy water underneath, the drain tube feels like it's full of soap or sludge. Now I'm hoping I can borrow something from my father's DIY tools to unblock the tube, but I'm wondering if their is any kind of valve or flap, or something that closes it off? Or a 90 deg bend that will make it near impossible to push anything through?
Or a better way to unblock that tube?

Btw, I'm a car mechanic so I know how to use tools

Cheers
Mark

[Markpd]

Ok, an update.
I wasn't able to unblock it with my dads pipe cleaner, so I had to take the back & top cover off & unclip the control panel.
Then I was able to unclip the 2 fill hoses & the 2(?) drain hoses. The main drain hose underneath the soap draw was blocked solid near the top! God knows how as it's over 1" diameter!
Btw this rubber drain hose has a U-bend in it, so I wouldn't have got far with the pipe cleaner, that said the blockage was in the straight part leading to it.
Anyway I pulled the drain hose out from the drum casing & emptied it out into the sink. Beneath the blockage a load of bone dry washing powder fell out! How the hell could it have got there? And the blockage turned out to be a large plug of solidified washing powder! (looked new) Again, how???

I noticed in the soap draw that the powder from the aborted wash (which had got partially wet) had partially solidified too, I had to break it up to get it out. The powder is nothing unusual, it's just Daz Whites & Colours. So I assume that would happen with any washing powder?

So although I have got my washing machine going again (thank god! lol), I am mystified as to how & why dry washing powder got into the drain hose along with just enough water to dampen it but not flush it through (I assume). I'm worried that this could happen again. Can anyone tell me how this could have happened?

Cheers
Mark

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Thanks for the update. I have an article on my "washing machine faults" link at the top of each page that says the most likely cause of leaking from soap dispenser drawer is a blockage  (Washing machine leaks from drawer)

[Markpd]

Thanks for replying & the link :).

Ah, I was looking here https://www.whitegoodshelp.co.uk/troubleshooting-washing-machine-faults/ , which doesn't have the article you linked.
Actually, I'm puzzled as to how you would find that article from your site without fore knowledge, starting from here https://www.whitegoodshelp.co.uk , then 'all white goods articles', & then I just don't see where you found that article  .

I'm still uncertain as to how my machine's dispenser hose became blocked, maybe a temporary drop in water pressure (it has been varying recently).......I did a little while before had to clean out the soap draw.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

 It was linked to on my Leaking article (DIY repair help) but yes I need to make it easier to get there directly. It is under the heading "Troubleshooting faults & repairing or getting repaired" or you can get to it more quickly going to the "Repairs" menu instead of "Washing machines".

[Markpd]

Damn it! Bloody thing's got blocked again!

I don't get why it's getting blocked up now (since November, I've had it since last February), unless it's because I switched from tablets to powder?? But your article says these machines can suffer this problem with powder or tablets.
I'm getting really fed up with this machine, it didn't cost me anything so I might just get shot of it, that said if you've got any good ideas of how I can avoid this happening again I'm all ears!

Otherwise, do you want it for spares?

Btw, where's that Leaking article you mentioned?

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Hello Mark. Here's the article Washing machine leaks from drawer - it's reachable through the main Repairs menu then "DIY Repairs" and the "Leaking" page. Powdered detergent is definitely better than tablets. Once detergent has been flushed from the dispenser drawer though it shouldn't get blocked anywhere. If it is I would speculate it's a poor design. Another possibility is if maybe the suspension is worn and the drum is twisting it could be twisting the hose and restricting its size. 

As a last resort you could also consider using liquid detergent -  https://www.ariel.co.uk/en-gb/how-to-wash/how-to-dose/how-to-use-and-dose-ariel-liquid-detergent However, it's not ideal because I'm not a fan of liquid detergent (Which is the best type of washing machine detergent?)

 

 

[Markpd]

test ....Jez what is up with this forum? I can't post a couple of small paragraphs!...... test 2, ok, it's in now. 

Hi Andy

Cheers for replying, well I never had any problems whilst I was using the tablets, the 1st blockage occurred some while after I started using powder, but I'm not sure how long, & maybe it's just a coincidence anyway . The other thing I wondered was whether the conditioner was reacting with the powder, & if it wasn't being flushed through thoroughly, then quickly forming a blockage like that, but I am just guessing!

I'll look at that detergent article, ta .

Blockage cleared, yet again a slug of power which was nearly concrete hard! (I couldn't crush it between my hands), & bizarrely their was bone dry powder beneath it!
The only thing I can think of is that powder goes straight down the hose when I'm filling the draw (which btw I'm not filling up to the top! Barely 1/2 way), but I don't get how it can have had time to solidify as I turn it on straight after filling the draw!

 

Let's see if I can reply this time (got connection refused 403 error last time) .....

[Markpd]

Test 3

Well, for some bizarre reason I can't add a wink smilie after 'but I am just guessing!' in the post above, when I tried from posting I got a Forbidden connection 403, if I tried it from an edit it said I had ran out of time to edit it, or it'd been moved or deleted, none of which were true.

And I can't add it back to this post after adding more text! Weird!

 

Edited by Whitegoodshelp

 

That's strange. It seems to work OK for me 

However, I too got the error message that too much time had passed to edit but then when I refreshed the page - there it was. Weird.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Regarding the hose from the soap dispenser to the tub getting blocked I would have to say that there is no other real explanation other than it's a bad design. It must be too thin, and or maybe have a bend in it? It may be that the design of the hose is okay as long as you have a nice high water pressure. Do you have low water pressure to the drawer? If the water pressure was adequate it should surely flush everything easily down into the drum.

[Markpd]

Yea the hose has a U-bend in it! And each time the blockage was just to its entry.

Re water pressure, to the area it used to be consistently good, maybe too high even. But lately it's varied, theirs been a few big mains burst recently a few miles away (flooded roads!), they've also flushed the mains around here, anyway since those occurrences pressure has varied. As for the pressure to the machine, it ought to be ok as it's off the mains, although it doesn't look spectacular in the draw, I put it down to the many nozzles as the time....
Btw, when I had that out in the 1st blockage I cleared out the nozzles, didn't seem too bad though.