newprotest.org: JOVIAL_CYNIC VS. TIDE DETERGENT

JOVIAL_CYNIC VS. TIDE DETERGENT

October 11, 2006
by: jovial_cynic
A few days ago, I walked into our laundry room and encountered this:



This is what we refer to as a clean mess. Clean, because that's well over a gallon of Tide Detergent, as no matter how much of a mess it's making, it's all clean. And smells fresh.

Here's a closer look at the top of the dryer. I moved the 2.34 gallon jug off the dryer to get a better look.



Notice the closed lint trap? That lint trap apparently isn't designed to keep laundry detergent out.



And here's a better look at the mess on the floor. Nice clean floor. It's difficult to determine how much of the blue goo on the floor is from the Tide spilling down the front and side of the dryer, and how much of it poured out of the vent behind the dryer. It turns out that the lint trap functions as an excellent detergent drain. I didn't know that until after I cleaned the floor.



And here's the picture of the rear vent, still dripping Tide after I cleaned the whole floor. Fun!



So what caused this mess? How did Tide detergent spill all over my dryer? Apparently, there was a hole in the container. Not the hole where the cap goes, or where the detergent is supposed to drain. Another hole. A mystery hole.

Look:



See it? It was hiding under the label. Here, look closer:



Fun fact!

The jug was on its side while on the dryer. That's why MOST of it spilled out.


See that? It looks like an error in the plastic moulding process, and since that's not my fault, I called up Tide to see what they'd do about my mess.

Long story short, they're sending me out some coupons to buy more Tide detergent. Hopefully, the new jugs don't have the same problem.

I was a little concerned that the detergent might have gotten into the electrical wiring, and I'd hate for the large, conductive, metal dryer to short out while I was touching it, so I took the dryer apart... because that's what I do.

This is the back of my dryer without the protective rear panel. FYI, I've already taken off the lint-trap vent tube, which previously covered the fan visible in the lower left side of the picture. The Tide that you saw draining into the lint trap and out of the vent made its way through that very same fan. It's not easy to clean liquid detergent off a fan with a small-enclosure shroud.



It looks like the electrical wiring was safely out of the way of the detergent all along. Thank goodness!



I put the whole thing together and only ended up with one extra screw. :: shrug :: I'm sure it couldn't have been too necessary...

np category: DIY
tags:

COMMENTS for JOVIAL_CYNIC VS. TIDE DETERGENT


bev said:
you are now signed up to come a take my washer apart if ever my detergent gets all over the washer! Why do you put a security option if you give the code???
October 11, 2006


jovial_cynic said:
It's not that kind of security. It's to keep *BOTS* out. Bots roam around on the internet and plug in random data onto forms. With the security code, they can't just submit the form unless they type in the code... but most bots aren't clever enough to actually see the location of the proper code.
October 11, 2006


Luke said:
Wow. That's would suck dude. See you tonight...
October 11, 2006


Kristen said:
I agree with Luke. :( I'm sorry about your Korea plans, too.
October 11, 2006


Kendra said:
A possitive thing... our laundry room and dryer are both very clean now. :)
October 12, 2006


SAM said:
I have had three tide gallons leak and it seems it comes from the seam in container.
The first time this happen ( two ) i contacted Tile and they said rare situation. Maybe the store had had it in stock too long, no definition of too long.
This time the gallon was only two months old, in my basement. I have not figured out how to clean up the basement as a large area was covered and i am waiting for warmer weather to help dry it out when i wash it out.
I can not be a isolated case! I be tide is covering up a problem and not facing up to the consumer.

February 09, 2007


Bobby Freedom said:
RANDOM BOT ATTACK - FREEDOM ATTACK - INTERNET HACK - TIDE SOAP REVENGE - TIDE SOAP REVENGE!!!

ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO USE

YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TO SURVIVE

MAKE YOUR TIME - HA HA HA HA

August 08, 2007


Brian said:
Was the dryer safe to use after the Tide spill?

I had almost the same thing happen to me today.

June 15, 2008


jovial_cynic said:
Brian - yup, still safe. When you open up the panel to the dryer, you'll notice that there's actually not much electrical work going on; it's just a series of switches, and dials. And they're all up on the panel, and not down low where the spill would access.

I've had no problem with it, and it's been nearly two years.

June 15, 2008


Karen said:
I had this happen with the last two large Tides I bought, but I think it is due to a design change. The Tides now have little "feet" where they used to be smooth. I think the feet "walk" and an imbalance in the liquid causes the container to "dive" off the dryer. This causes a major mess!!!
January 20, 2009


Teresa said:
I just had this happen with coffee. It was good coffee, too. Now our laundry area smells like a latte. Glad to hear we can clean it up!
November 28, 2009


Paige said:
OMG! This looks just like my laundry room right at this moment! The hubby and I came up here to surf the net to see how detail cleaned we needed to get it to keep our house from catching on fire! Ha! This was awesome to read. Thank you!
December 17, 2011


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