wrote in message
...

On the washing machines I have seen/worked on, the fabric softener resides
in a cup-shaped object on the top of the agitator. When the machine goes
into the first spin, the liquid gets thown up and outward into a secondary
larger diameter cup-shoped gizmo that has a bottom inward facing lip to keep
the fabric softener liquid from running down until the agitator stops
spining. Then, then fabric softener liquid runs down the sides of the
agitator.

That sounds right. I thought there might be some sort of valve or flapper
because I felt something sliding back and forth when I held it under water.
I can see from your description that I'll have to look further. At the very
end of the cycle clean water is coming out of the fabric cup and spilling
down the agitator. Or at least it seemed pretty clean to me. I don't think
there's overspray filling the cup during the rinse cycle, but something's
getting clean water into the cup that dumps out at the very end of the rinse
cycle.

That whole dispenser mechanism can be removed and placed in a bucket of
water to loosen up accumulated crud, or your power washer idea should also
work, just use low force so you don't destroy the plastic. There is no
valve as such, just centrifugal force that transfers the liquid from the
inner cup to the outer holding cup, and then lets it run down when the
spinning stops.

Thanks for the info. I am looking for an old aquarium bubbler I know is
around here *somewhere* so I can run the small air hose into the softener
"drum" as it soaks in the bucket of vinegar solution. That additional
agitation should loosen things up. I'll use the power washer as a last
resort because it has a habit of washing things to death, even on low. (-:

--
Bobby G.