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Thread Number: 30591
Let The Fun Commence: Muddy, Greasy Test Load For New Frigidaire Washer |
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Post# 462645 9/10/2010 at 19:39 (4,966 days old) by Frigilux  (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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The Garments: 1 pair blue jeans; 1 pair summer shorts; 1 poly-cotton blend dress shirt; 1 almost white short sleeve 100% cotton shirt.
The Grime: 1 quart of garden dirt; 30-weight motor oil; water. The Process: I rubbed plain garden dirt into areas of the garments, then smeared on the voodoo concoction I'd mixed up in a bucket. I also poured some straight motor oil onto the garments in areas that weren't too dirty. The Bonus: The cotton shirt, gym shorts and socks I was wearing were splattered with the muck when I was spraying out the bucket. They'll go into the load, along with a couple of bar mops I used to clean off my patio table. I'll also throw in a couple of clean white bath towels to see if there is any soil transfer, and to fill out the load a bit. The Cycle: Prewash (10 minutes in cool water); Stain Treat+ Heavy Wash (10 minutes, refill with temp-controlled cold water, gradually heated to approximately 110 degrees during the cycle); Max Soil level (a 26-minute wash); Freshwater Rinse (a 3rd rinse). Water is mechanically softened. The Products: 1/4 cup powdered UK Persil Bio in prewash; 1/2 cup of same in main wash + 3 tablespoons Tri-Zyme (Amway's version of Oxi Clean). This is far more Persil than I usually use, but decided to go with manufacturer's recommendation for this mess! It's just past 7:30 p.m., and I'm going to put the load into the washer. Results later. If the outcome is poor, I'll wash them again using the Sanitize cycle and the Add Steam option. See you in a couple of hours, kids! 
This post was last edited 09/10/2010 at 23:59 | ||
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Post# 462650 , Reply# 1 9/10/2010 at 20:13 (4,966 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Post# 462651 , Reply# 2 9/10/2010 at 20:14 (4,966 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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The settings. Sorry about the poor quality. The screen says the cycle will be 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Gotta love the edit feature: New photo; a much clearer snap of the settings later in the cycle. With 29 minutes left, the machine is currently spinning prior to the first rinse. The drained wash water was still very grimy, but not as viscous as the prewash water. (Please note this post is now out of sync with the ones that follow it.) 
This post was last edited 09/10/2010 at 23:34 | ||
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Post# 462652 , Reply# 3 9/10/2010 at 20:16 (4,966 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Post# 462653 , Reply# 4 9/10/2010 at 20:20 (4,966 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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...and a few seconds later, while tumbling.
So far: The clean white bath towels I put in with the load were totally gray by the end of the Prewash. The prewash starts with very slow tumbling, then switches to regular speed after about six minutes. I didn't catch the speed change last time I used that option. I checked the water coming out of the drain hose at the end of the prewash. It was absolutely black; like nothing I'd seen coming out of a washer, before. 
This post was last edited 09/10/2010 at 20:50 | ||
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Post# 462668 , Reply# 5 9/10/2010 at 22:02 (4,966 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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I was curious as to how much water this washer uses. Here's what I---sorry, what Korshka and I---found at the end of the final spin. Just a bit over three gallons. And there is maybe a quart or so left in a load after a 1300 rpm spin? That's a complete guess. Should have weighed the load before and after. Where's a condenser dryer when you need one?! (BTW: Korshka isn't drunk. I think the flash made him squint a little.)
Anyway, there were five fills during the cycle (prewash, stain pretreat/main wash, three rinses). I'm going to round up (the first fill used more water, as it had to saturate the load) and say the whole cycle probably used 17 gallons, tops. That means a Normal Cycle (wash, rinse, rinse) uses only about 10-11 gallons. And no, I didn't add bluing to the water in the container. I neglected to take something into consideration: Although the jeans had been hanging in my closet for a couple of years, I don't actually remember wearing and washing them more than once or twice; I always wear black jeans. Result? Bleed! It looks like there's a thick layer of suds on top of the water, but it collected around the edge. There was, admittedly, more suds in the extra (3rd) rinse than I'm used to seeing after only the 2nd rinse of a normal cycle. But considering the large dose of detergent (3/4 cup total; normally I use 2 tablespoons in the prewash and 4 tablespoons in the main wash), I guess I should have expected that. 
This post was last edited 09/11/2010 at 00:28 | ||
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Post# 462669 , Reply# 6 9/10/2010 at 22:14 (4,966 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Everything looked completely clean, save this one stain on the nearly-white 100% cotton shirt. You can see it about halfway up the shirt to the left of the buttons. Why all the other areas of grime were completely cleaned except this one, I'm not sure. It may have been an area with motor oil poured on it.
There appeared to be a little bit of blue-bleed from the jeans in a pair of white socks as well as the bath towels. I'll compare them to clean, bleached counterparts I can pull from the linen closet. I put everything except the jeans in the dryer because I want to see if any areas of unremoved grime show themselves after the fabrics are dry. If there's a trace of blue in the dried whites, I can toss them back in the hamper to be washed and bleached when I do whites tomorrow night. 
This post was last edited 09/10/2010 at 23:46 | ||
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Post# 462673 , Reply# 7 9/10/2010 at 22:45 (4,966 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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After drying, the areas of the shirts that had motor oil poured directly on them remain stained. Strangely, the shorts (a high poly-cotton blend) were completely clean, even though I poured motor oil directly on them, as well. All the voodoo mud/oil/water muck was completely removed from all items.
I'll pretreat the shirts with Amway's aerosol greasy stain remover and run the load on the Sanitize cycle with the Add Steam option. Prewash and Stain Pretreat options are not available with that cycle. We'll see if that is able to remove the now dried-in motor oil stains. 
This post was last edited 09/11/2010 at 00:07 | ||
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Post# 462675 , Reply# 8 9/10/2010 at 22:50 (4,966 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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There was some blue-bleed from the jeans to the white towels (especially noticeable around the seams) and socks. The towel on the right was pulled from the shelf for comparison. Both are old towels that I use to mop up spills, etc., in the laundry room. Funny; in the photo, the towel on the left actually looks whiter! Trust me, it has blue-bleed.
This post was last edited 09/10/2010 at 23:53 | ||
| Post# 462682 , Reply# 9 9/10/2010 at 23:54 (4,966 days old) by ronhic (Canberra, Australia) | ||
Looks like.... | ||
| Post# 462684 , Reply# 11 9/11/2010 at 00:04 (4,966 days old) by A440 () | ||
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Very impressive. Great test. I am sure it would do wonders on a "regular soiled" load. I love your kitty! Great pictures and thread! Brent | ||
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Post# 462690 , Reply# 12 9/11/2010 at 00:22 (4,966 days old) by spiralator60 (Los Angeles) |
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Test Load Eugene, Were there any problems with sudsing during the main wash, given the amount of detergent that you used? All things considered, I'm quite impressed with the results that you have shared! Thanks for showing us. | ||
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Post# 462705 , Reply# 13 9/11/2010 at 04:41 (4,966 days old) by logixx (Germany) |
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Post# 462717 , Reply# 14 9/11/2010 at 08:47 (4,966 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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The Follow-Up: This morning I pretreated the remaining oil stains from the two shirts and washed them on the Sanitize cycle with the Add Steam option. I threw them in with a medium-sized load of fast, light colors. All oil stains, even though they'd been baked in by the dryer, were removed!
Here's the almost white 100% cotton shirt. 
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Post# 462718 , Reply# 15 9/11/2010 at 08:48 (4,966 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Post# 462720 , Reply# 16 9/11/2010 at 09:01 (4,966 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Thanks for the comments, guys! I was encouraged by the results, and wasn't surprised the pure motor oil stains weren't fully removed in 110 degree water. There was a lot of greasy mud in that load! I wish I would have captured and photographed the pitch black, viscous water from the prewash. It looked like it should have been coming from an oil well, LOL.
Chris-- Yes, the dispenser drawer is pretty huge compared to the one in my old Frigidaire. The large openings are nice, especially when you're pouring bleach from a gallon jug. Darryl-- There were no over-sudsing issues at all, except, as I mentioned, the final rinse water wasn't as clear as it usually is. The machine does have an "over-sudsing" protocol (it adds up to 4 additional rinses) but it has never been triggered. Alex-- The recirculated water is strong enough to saturate the load, but perhaps my calling it a "jet" would lead one to believe it's a high-pressure spray; it isn't. | ||
| Post# 462727 , Reply# 17 9/11/2010 at 09:54 (4,966 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii) | ||
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Post# 462732 , Reply# 18 9/11/2010 at 10:11 (4,966 days old) by appnut (TX) |
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Eugene, I'm speechless!!! Dry clean washing can get outstanding results. Cannot see why anyone would have a phobia about not enough water after this!!!
This post was last edited 09/11/2010 at 12:58 | ||
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Post# 462742 , Reply# 19 9/11/2010 at 11:36 (4,966 days old) by historyman (Pittsburgh, PA/Aiken, SC) |
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Now for a comparison... | ||
| Post# 462846 , Reply# 20 9/11/2010 at 19:46 (4,965 days old) by qsd-dan (West) | ||
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Post# 462895 , Reply# 21 9/12/2010 at 00:39 (4,965 days old) by Jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers) |
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Gene | ||
| Post# 462904 , Reply# 22 9/12/2010 at 01:15 (4,965 days old) by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY) | ||
When I saw those clothes and how dirty they were I just knew as I scrolled down the page that the results were NOT going to be good..........Then I kept reading and can't believe what I saw! And 110 degree water at that! Wow!
I have never seen a recirculation jet. My Duet doesn't have one. That looked pretty cool as well. It did look somewhat strong based on that pic. | ||
| Post# 462910 , Reply# 23 9/12/2010 at 02:40 (4,965 days old) by alr2903 (TN) | ||
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Frigilux, pretty darned good results. If you totalled the prewash and main wash time, what is the total time your "voodoo load" was in a detergent solution? I am impressed with the results, thank you for performing the test and all the pics. arthur | ||
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Post# 462918 , Reply# 24 9/12/2010 at 03:33 (4,965 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Bob-- After I prepared the test load, I put the items into a laundry basket and left them 'til after work. When the time came to put them in the washer, I began having serious doubts about the outcome. Believe me, I was fully prepared to open the machine at the end of the cycle and have a dirty, dingy mess on my hands. It has always made sense to me that a tumble agitation washer could do a better job with less water in the tub, but I wasn't prepared for there being virtually no water at all, as with this washer. In fact, I used the lowest water level setting with large loads on my two WCI-made front-loaders (1980's-early '90s). I found an improvement in stain removal. My '93 Frigidaire (the first Electrolux model) and the '02 both had automatic water levels, so I left them alone and wound up having more oversudsing issues with those models. So far, I'm a convert to at least this particular very low water-use machine. The recirculation jet makes a big difference in getting the load saturated with soapy (or, in the case of rinses, clear) water very quickly.
Chris/Historyman-- While I didn't conduct this test to add to the TL vs. FL debate, it would have been nice to still have my '06 Frigidaire top-loader to see what the results would have been. Really, I just wanted to see how this lowest-of-the-low water use machines would handle that much muck in a washload. Dan-- I was surprised (and pleased) with the results. The next test for the machine will be the cats' blankets. I'm letting them get really full of hair, then I'll wash them to see what the results are. I think these two tests are the toughest ones for any washer, front- or top-loading. Jon-- I used Amway's (sadly discontinued) aerosol Stain Pretreat for greasy stains on the shirts. I've also used Lestoil (Pine Sol-esque) and De-Solv-It (an orange-citrus grease remover), but they both leave very powerful scents on the laundry. I bought 4 cans of the Amway product when I learned they were going to discontinue it, and I'm now on my last can. I used 4 tablespoons of Persil in the second go-round. It is fast becoming my very favorite detergent. I'm going to try using liquid Tide With Bleach Alternative HE on a huge load of highly-stained kitchen whites today, to see if it cleans as well as Persil. Detergents are highly concentrated in the load, given the tiny amount of water in the machine--so maybe Tide will do just as good a job. I know from experience it won't rinse out as well as a moderate dose of Persil does in my hyper-soft water. Mark-- As I mentioned to Bob, I was prepared to report a disaster with this test, but things turned out quite well. My two quibbles with this washer are that hot water isn't really hot unless you choose the Allergy option or the Sanitize cycle, and the Add Steam option is kind of a joke, since there isn't a dedicated steam generator, as found in LG and Samsung steam washers. Frankly, with this washer, I think the extra 20 minutes of tumbling/heating are more responsible for the improved results than the "steam". Laundromat-- Friends of mine in town bought a previous-issue Affinity in '09 and they really like it. As with my washer, the default wash times are a little too short. They, like I, use the highest soil level for nearly all loads, and now get excellent results. The extra six-to-eight minutes of tumble agitation make a difference. Gabriele-- Always great to hear from a fellow Italian! My mother was from Veroli. This post was last edited 09/12/2010 at 05:13 | ||
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Post# 462952 , Reply# 25 9/12/2010 at 10:07 (4,965 days old) by jmm63 (Denville, NJ) |
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| Post# 462966 , Reply# 26 9/12/2010 at 10:20 (4,965 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA) | ||
Tub Light | ||
| Post# 463225 , Reply# 29 9/13/2010 at 15:48 (4,964 days old) by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY) | ||
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| Post# 463340 , Reply# 30 9/14/2010 at 07:17 (4,963 days old) by Iheartmaytag (Wichita, Kansas) | ||
Great results,
Not to detract at all from the abilities of your machine, but there is a lot of credit due to the detergent holding all that gunk in supsension. I really thought you were going to pull out an oil slick on everything. Just Curious, did you have to run a clean washer cycle after this test? | ||
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Post# 463350 , Reply# 31 9/14/2010 at 09:51 (4,963 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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iheartmaytag---You're absolutely right about the detergent playing a large role in the success of this test. Had I used, oh, say a $2 jug of Sunbright (or whatever that stuff is called that you can buy at the Dollar Store) the results would have been different. There was a fair amount of mud in the boot after the prewash, and I thought I'd have to spend some time cleaning it out, but it was completely clean at the end of the cycle. No need to run a 'clean washer' cycle. The tub had no grit or oily residue on it at all. The rinse water was free of dirt/grime; it was just a bit sudsy and blue-colored with dye transferred from the newish pair of jeans.
Mark--- I have a couple of days off in October; I'll try to make a video then. I don't know how well it will show up with the reflection off the lens of the washer door, but I'll give it a try. The interior is very bright when the light is on, so that may help matters. Too bad the light has to be turned on again every three minutes. Jim (jmm63)--- As Malcolm pointed out, there is a tub light. It is on in all the photos from this thread. Andrew--- I usually always washed at least two loads of kitchen/other whites each week, but now I do one. The only problem with that is it takes forever to fold the load out of the dryer, LOL! Jim-- I'd have no problem recommending this machine, either. I'm very impressed, despite the mislabeling of HOT water. This post was last edited 09/14/2010 at 10:58 | ||
| Post# 463405 , Reply# 32 9/14/2010 at 14:14 (4,963 days old) by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY) | ||
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Post# 463411 , Reply# 33 9/14/2010 at 14:51 (4,963 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Arthur---Sorry, I missed your question.! 1:20 was displayed on the screen when I started the cycle. It may have run a couple of minutes longer due to the balancing protocol before the final spin.
Edit: And then I didn't provide the information you asked for! The machine was spinning prior to the first rinse at :29 on the clock, so that would mean the clothes had been in a detergent solution for about 50 minutes (prewash+stain pretreat+main wash). There is a spin right after the prewash, so pull 3 minutes or so out from the 50 minute total to be more exacting. This post was last edited 09/14/2010 at 17:00 | ||
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