But don't buy the name brand. Use Citric Acid (the stuff for canning tomatoes). Run an empty hot cycle with 2 tablespoons of citric acid. It dissolves detergent scum better than bleach.
The sludge is winning because you wash your gym clothes, your muddy towels, and your dog beds in cold water with too much soap. Cold water doesn't melt grease. Too much soap creates sludge. washing machine drain clog
If you just snake the standpipe, you are pushing the clog deeper into the trap. You need to pull the auger back toward you to hook the sludge and yank it out. You will eventually get this clog again. Sludge is inevitable. But you can turn a "once a year emergency" into a "once every 5 years maintenance." But don't buy the name brand
Change your habits, buy a $10 Drain King, and run hot water through that pipe once a month. Your future self, standing in a dry laundry room on a Sunday night, will thank you. Have you pulled a "Flamingo Leg" out of your pipes? Tell us about the worst thing you’ve found in your drain hose in the comments below. It dissolves detergent scum better than bleach