Who Knew?!

OK, yesterday my dryer did get "fixed". (i just didn't have time to tell the story yest.) Turns out there wasn't anything that needed fixing. let me explain....This may be valuable information for some of you in the future so listen up! haha
This is $125.00 worth of information-FREE! (actually it's also in you GE manual but who actually reads those things?)

Our problem started a few days ago when I noticed a little water on the floor during the marathon Barfing/Bedwetting laundry stint. At first I thought that maybe I took something out that didn't spin as well as it should have and dripped water on the floor in the process. After all, it was only a very small amount. Later I noticed it again but thought it must not have dried yet. The next morning I noticed a huge puddle when I went to get the rolling hamper to take to my bedroom to gather dirty clothes. I then realized that the puddle extended into the next room (thankfully a room that has only linoleum). The only "carpet" that got wet was my rug in the entrance to the laundry "room" and I just hung it out to dry.
So, I'm trying to figure out where the leak is coming from. I knew that I didn't put too many clothes it. We just had our motor replaced years too early because I tend to stuff loads full so now I don't do that anymore. So, I proceed to move the washer and more water appears. Every time I moved it there was more water but I couldn't tell if it was still leaking or if the puddle was just under the washer and I hadn't gotten it all up yet. I noticed that all the tubes that connected the washer to various things were dry except for the one that is connected to the drain. We (Michael and I) removed that tube and noticed water backed up. We went outside to see if something had gotten in the tube or if grass had grown up around it. (when they plumbed this house they didn't connect the washer to the septic tank. It has a run off into the woods. So Michael went and dug out around that. Then he poured liquid plumber into the tube and we let it sit. Then, hours later, we poured first boiling and then hot water into the tube to check the drain. Drain was looking ok. sigh.
Michael got out the manual because that's the wise king of guy he is and read me fascinating information. The manual actually says that after a load is washed you should leave the lid up to let the moisture evaporate (I didn't know that. I don't actually know anyone who does that but I'm sure there are lots of people who do...somewhere....manual readers). Anyway, back to the point. We had pretty much ruled everything out until Michael came to the Oversudsing section. hhhmmm Now, normally I don't put extra soap into the washer. However, a few days ago (when I noticed the problem) I HAD done that several times because of the Dried Vomit. I was trying to make sure I got it all out. Also I used a different detergent for those. The Purex (which so far has worked great for a cheap price) just wasn't cutting it. (we also had some sour clothes we were washing that the Purex wasn't working on either even after letting them soak- and they were darks so bleach wasn't an option) So, I had gone out and bought Tide with Febreeze because I KNEW that Tide could conquer anything. (within reason anyway!- I LOVE TIDE) The reason we don't use Tide is that my husband has sensitive skin and Tide makes him break out sometimes.
So I remembered that I had added extra detergent in the last several loads.... Right about when I noticed the problem.
Still, we did have the service guy come just to make sure that was the actual problem. Sure enough...He went on to give me this info (this is the FREE information)...

He said that it is a common problem. He also said that the reason that the water didn't come out until I moved the washer was because of the channels in the bottom and the drains for the channels are at the top. He also said that oversudsing can effect the washer because bubbles get built up in the tube that is connected to the automatic shut off for the water which causes it to not fill properly or not spin as long. That's when you get heavy wet clothes that don't look as if they have gone through the spin cycle. He did check everything else too but he said that all looked good. He also went on to say that he'd been doing this for 12 years and that at about 98% of the homes that have the same problem I did the customers used Tide detergent. He said that he wasn't a scientist but that something must be different about that particular detergent because it is the extreme offender. He also mentioned that in the North Carolina/North Georgia area we tend to have softer water. With soft water you don't have to add as much detergent. (hard water you need more) So, even people who are adding the "correct" amount of Tide are adding too much in the first place and if they have soft water it's way too much. HE suggested that when we use Tide we should only put in 1/2 of the recommended amount. We also had a nice discussion about things that can ruin a motor and he told me a story of a lady whose motor got ruined after her husband left bullets in his pocket. They went right through the holes into the motor. Good thing they weren't ignited. :):) That would have been interesting.
Anyway, his final comment was that if he were still working for GE (he is independent now) the visit would be $125. $60 for the service call and $50.00 for "customer education".
Anyway, we didn't have to pay that much so we were grateful but I thought I would write this here just in case anyone ever needed this info...or you could always read your manual.

BLESSINGS!-
Angela :)