Know anything about washing machines?

[Midwesthonky]

The other day I got a notice in the mail from Whirlpool reminding me that my washer is nearly a year old, and that I should hurry to take advantage of a special deal they have for me on an extended warranty. Yeah, right!

I also never use hot water to wash clothes. Detergent works well even in cold water. The savings in water use is literally a drop in the bucket compared to the estimated savings in electrically heated hot water.

1. Manufacturers love selling extended warranties because...<gasp>...they are very profitable. When I worked for the appliance company, we analyzed the extended warranty database as part of a MBA class project. Very interesting. But not the point of this thread. Extended warranties are profitable for the sellers.

2. Glad you mentioned "hot" vs. "cold" water as there is much that people do not understand about this. When you choose the temperature on the wash load, you are thinking about the temp that comes out of your tap. Not so. The electronic controls monitor the water temperature and blend the incoming water to get close to the set temperature. Hot isn't always straight hot water unless you have your water heater set low. Cold isn't straight cold. It's a blend to get the to the desired temp. If your washer has a heating element in it, it will use that to hit the desired temp as well. So for us in the upper Midwest, tap water temp for cold might be around 50 degrees or less. Yet the washer will blend it with hot water to get around 75 - 80 degrees. The difference between Hot and Warm water is only about 10-15 degrees.

When the industry was forced to meet reduced government energy usage guidelines, one of the first things the manufacturers did was lower the target temperatures for the hot setting. This decreased the use of electrically heater hot water and therefore decreased the energy usage. The feds control the testing so the numbers are based on electricity. So if you use gas or cheaper alternatives, you won't see as much savings.

Glad it's working for you. You git yourself a good deal.

 

[Swerd]

Although it is frugal with water, is there any option to fill it significantly more so that clothes could be left to soak for an extended period?

Yes, you can do that. For washing bulky items, like sheets or towels, it uses a lot more water. There is also a soak setting.

The new washer has a lot of settings, and we had to learn what each one could do. Most settings use so little water that the clothes get wet but never get immersed in soapy water. At first, we couldn't believe that would ever work, but it did. The washer is smart enough to determine how much water to use based on the amount of clothes you put in.

We also learned to limit the amount of detergent we use. It is possible to use so much that it doesn't rinse out well.

We leave the door open when it isn't in use, and we never use fabric softener. After nearly a year, we have had no mold at all.

 

[sawzalot]

Swerd, how come you avoid the fabric softener, I have the front loading commercial style that requires HE detergent but wifey uses the fabric softener on occasion. sawz.
I agree with you guys about the hot water, we never use it, actually my Mom yep I said it, well she never used hot water ever she used to tell me that it will set a stain in your clothes and the cold water will lift it, now she has washed alot of clothes with four sons ,one daughter and two teenage younger brothers of hers all living under my parents roof. The longest lasting washer and dryer combo they ever had was the coppertone lady kenmores from sears and roebuck, those things were around for a very long time.

I guess there was a time when hot water meant "HOT', like enough to sanitize whites and bedding but todays hots would never do that so why bother.

 

[Swerd]

Swerd, how come you avoid the fabric softener, I have the front loading commercial style that requires HE detergent but wifey uses the fabric softener on occasion. sawz.

Fabric softener contains a lot protein. Midwesthonky talked about this somewhere in this thread. The idea is that it deposits on clothes and traps enough water to keep clothes soft. Unfortunately it also deposits all over the washing machine. Mold and mildew love that stuff. Because front loading washers have water tight seals on the door, keeping the door shut between washes makes it ideal for mold and mildew to grow.

I guess occasional use won't be a problem, but it may eventually require using chlorine bleach and lots of hot water to kill all the micro organisms growing in your washer. We just stopped buying fabric softener and use less detergent. Clothes feel ok and we have no mold at all.

 

[sawzalot]

Thanks swerd, we do keep the door open at all times when sitting idle but I will avoid this additive from now on, nothing worse than a nasty washer.

 

[gholt]

We've got the Samsung front loader. it works well. The only big issue I have is that now all the white laundry, slowly turn to dull grey, instead of white. Is anyone else have this issue, or do they know of a fix that would stop it.

 

[Swerd]

We've got the Samsung front loader. it works well. The only big issue I have is that now all the white laundry, slowly turn to dull grey, instead of white. Is anyone else have this issue, or do they know of a fix that would stop it.

Use chlorine bleach occasionally.

 

[Chu Gai]

We've got the Samsung front loader. it works well. The only big issue I have is that now all the white laundry, slowly turn to dull grey, instead of white. Is anyone else have this issue, or do they know of a fix that would stop it.

I've got a front loading Kenmore and have the same problem. What I do is take a big pot of water (I use stainless steel or enamel coated) and fillit up with water to which I add OxyClean powder or equivalent and either washing soda or Borax. I then heat it all up on the stove to aid dissolution. Depending on the water temp for the fabrics, I'll either add them to the hot solution or let it cool down before adding the clothes.

I then let it sit for a day or two using a wooden spoon to turn the pile over a few times. Then wash as usual. FWIW, hanging them out on the line in strong sunlight helps in keeping them white.

Something else I've found is to determine where the trap for your washer is. You might have to remove some screws. Access it and clean it out. In mine I found all kinds of things: money, bobby ions, busted up pens, etc. it was such a mess, and I also had problems with draining that I replaced the little impeller pump and the drain assembly. Forgot who I used...maybe repairclinic.

 

[darien87]

Oh yeah. The best part about the Samsung washer is the song it plays when it's finished.

Washer Song - YouTube

That song sounds familiar. Our LG dryer plays a cute little song too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCbZB1C5Q4U