We have been noticing water on the floor behind a couple of Dexter washers lately. This morning I headed in to see what the problem was.
Last week we had a similar issue and the drain did not seem to be as quick as it should be and it seemed like the suds were backing up and rolling out of the vent tubes the top loaders connect to. I called in the plumber to jet the lines and after a couple of attempts to get it through the P-Trap (ours are below the floor and he has to be on top of the bulkhead to access it), he finally left to get the end of the water jet tube repaired. It had been bent too many times and just kinked when he tried to push it through the P-Trap.
It was finally cleared out. He did give me a warranty as he was not confident it was as clean as it could be. Usually, they won’t give a warranty due to the trash (coins, bra wires, strings, etc) that goes down the pipes.
So back to today and we still had a problem. I checked the horizontal pipe as it was not part of the jetting and it was in really good shape. While I was drying the floor and looking around my attendant ran a load in the machine and during the spin cycle, some suds came out of the top vent at the back. This vent is there to prevent an air lock that may prevent the washer from draining.
Next step was to check the drain valve to make sure it was not plugged and I found some suds still in there after the cycle was complete.
As I was working on this issue I was also looking for leaks in another bulkhead. This second bulkhead has some old valves that have some small drips that need to be replaced. I am waiting for a schedule for the parking lot to be paved and I will shut down and replace the valves at that time.
During this time my attendant started the Dexter washer connected to it. It had a load of table cloths so I kept an eye on it to see if I would get the same issue.
Sure enough, when it went in the spin cycle some suds puffed out the back.
Root Cause: The attendant was using too much soap. a problem that we have all experienced with the customers.
I’m continuing to dry the floor in the bulkhead and I’ll review the Operation Standards with the attendants.
Tired of talking to your attendants over and over again about what is expected? Set up Operation Standards for each process and train everyone the same. The ones I use in my store are available here.
Questions or Comments? Please leave them below and I will get back to you right away.
Ken
