Thread Number: 16307
Washing new fabrics 		[Down to Last]

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Post# 271290   3/21/2008 at 20:15 (5,878 days old) by fltcoils (South Bend, Indiana)        

"he's crazy, the fabrics have changed. A old 1970s frigidaire cannot wash modern clothes, you need a front loader like a Duet."

Does this ring true to all ye experts?
Does my mother-in-law, the duet owner know what she's talking about?

Do modern dockers, and cotton shirts require modern washers?

I've heard that front loaders get so much soap out of your clothes that you must not add soap the first few times you wash, etc.

Will I be so amazed at the better rinsing of a Duet compared to my old maytag A606, or compared to an old frigidaire 1-18?

and that's the problem, If I get a Duet washer, I'll need to have lots of room If I also want a frigidaire 1-18

Please help with your advice and opinions.
thanks




Post# 271303 , Reply# 1   3/21/2008 at 22:22 (5,878 days old) by neptunebob (Pittsburgh, PA)        

neptunebob's profile picture
But washers in the 70s may have been programmed to wash a lot of polyester. Just watch the Brady Bunch and you will know what I mean, especially toward the end where the guys all had perms.

Post# 271330 , Reply# 2   3/22/2008 at 06:47 (5,877 days old) by mrx ()        

I could understand someone saying that if you had a 1950s washing machine. But, fabrics haven't changed all that much since the 1970s, if anything people are wearing more cotton and denim than they ever have. These fabrics are heavier wearing than many of the synthetic fibres that were more fashionable in the 1960s and 70s.

I'd say he's talking out of his ...

Front loaders do however make better use of modern enzyme-based detergents, so can produce much better stain removal results without being very harsh on fabrics. A long 40C cottons cycle laced with multiple enzymes will generally shift just about any stain known to man.

They're also a lot gentler on fabrics as they're just tumbled and not exposed to quite as much friction. You will see this clearly demonstrated by the amount of lint that can be deposited by a heavy-action wash in a top loader.

That being said, I think the older top loaders were fine machine and quite safe to use on delicate fabrics. They were designed to use plenty of water. It's the new water-skimping top loaders that seem to expose fabrics to excessive friction.

As for rinsing, the higher end machines certainly do an excellent job on rinsing compared to older top loaders. However, it's not universally true of every model so be careful when you're buying if rinsing is a concern!

Post# 271415 , Reply# 3   3/22/2008 at 13:57 (5,877 days old) by nmaineman36 ()        

I really dont think that fabrics have changed that much. Look at how many of us use a vintage machine as a daily driver and not have a problem. To me if it can be washed it doesnt matter what machine you use as long as 1) its not overloaded ala a BobLoad. 2) You use a good detergent like Tide and not the gawd awful cheapo stuff like Extra. My partner used to use that stuff and his clothes were not clean. When we met and I saw what he was using I told him no wonder your clothes are not clean. That stuff is like someone took a bar of soap and water and gave it a good swish and voila you have detergent.
3) Most loads can be washed on a regular or normal cycle. Adjust your time according to soil level. I have seen many a time of where someone just cranked it to an 18 minute wash or in Maytag..my grandmother was notorious for this..using a 10 min wash in her A608 and then when the washer paused go over to the washer and reset it for another 10 min wash. Her clothes were clean but didnt last.
4) Proper rinsing. I double rinse a load when I use a top load washer. the first rinse deals with the detergent and anything that survived the wash cycle. The 2nd rinse is the softener rinse. That way the softener doesnt have to compete with any detergent left over. In a my Maytag 613 the 2nd deep rinse is clear. The long spray rinse helps. In the Whirlpool the 2nd rinse always seems to have suds...could be the way it drains.
So for your mother in law I would say she is full of it. My 3 cents.

Post# 271452 , Reply# 4   3/22/2008 at 19:16 (5,877 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)        

frigilux's profile picture
I agree with Mike; While new frontloaders are very frugal with water and energy use, the notion that a vintage washer can't deal with modern fabrics is simply not true.

Post# 271475 , Reply# 5   3/22/2008 at 22:47 (5,877 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)        

unimatic1140's profile picture
I've heard that front loaders get so much soap out of your clothes that you must not add soap the first few times you wash, etc.

That claim seems odd to someone who has both top loaders and front loaders in the house. I use both and always add detergent when I use my front loaders, without the front loaders over sudsing. Of course I hear the "claim" that front loaders seemingly rinse better than top loaders, yet I have never seen one shred of evidence to back up these specious claims.

So I'm up for some education, can anyone actually prove these claims? Sales brochures don't count, because we all know what sales people do. I know that my non-recirculation solid basket washers rinse better than my perforated tub machines because of the lack of suds in the rinse compared to the perforated tub machines. The mechanics of why is easy to figure out, once suds and soapy water are removed from the clothes in a solid tub washer, there is no way for them those suds to ever touch the clothes in the rinse cycle. Front loaders with their perforated drums don't have this advantage. Suds that expelled are into the outer tub are mixed into the rinse water of the next rinse(s).

Post# 271484 , Reply# 6   3/23/2008 at 00:18 (5,877 days old) by spankomatic (Ukiah,CA)        

spankomatic's profile picture
Define "modern" clothes. Seems like the fabrics are still the same,just different colors and shapes. Are we talking leather? I know many who are into it. I have not yet seen a washer with a leather cycle :)

Jim

Post# 271527 , Reply# 7   3/23/2008 at 03:47 (5,876 days old) by dj-gabriele ()        

Haha, leather cycle...

My father washes leather stuff in his laundry, I mean, water-washing, but only if they get to be re-painted or to be given a new finish.

Post# 271589 , Reply# 8   3/23/2008 at 11:32 (5,876 days old) by fltcoils (South Bend, Indiana)        

Thanks to all for your contributions. My inlaws are from Benton Harbor. Their neighbor had been chief engineer at Maytag, and of course worked at whirlpool when they knew him.

They live in the neighborhood with many from the washing machine industry, and of course have had discussions over the years. They freely shared their excitment a few years ago when they replaced their GE filter flow with a Duet set. The gas company actually came out and replaced their meter because their usage had dropped so dramatically. They washed clothes without adding detergent, as advised, and found it took a couple of cycles to get the soap out from the clothes. That's their story. So FL apparently do correct some failures of recent TL design.

For my part I liked the thumping of the '56 Frigidaire washer my mom used, and would prefer a solid tub rollermatic :). I tinker, so given a backup machine I am not concerned about using an older machine. But when it died, a flaming motor death, and we were advised to avoid the rollermatic mechanism it was a real comedown to use the A606 maytag. So says my mother. The clothes came out wet, and they weren't as clean.

Everyone praises the A606 Maytag for reliability, but when I got it at 14 yrs old it had already had the timer replaced (bad plastic drive gear worn thru) and needed a new tub seal/bearing. Shortly after that it needed a new water inlet valve, and then it needed the gearbox input shaft oring, I'm still burned up that a 9cent neophreme part should cost a complete disassembly and $80 transmission rebuild, they could have used a flourocarbon oring, for 20 cents that would have lasted forever. After that it flooded and required a rebuid of the water level sensor assembly.

Most recently last fall the A606 start winding of the motor failed. A post mortem showed that it was assembled incorrectly, a built in flaw destined to fail. The stator magnet wire winding had a turn outside the insulation sleeve, a bare wire (bare except for .001" of varnish insulation) had layed against the frame for 35 years. It finally wore thru the varnish and shorted out, vaporizing part of the wire. It just needn't have been so!

So tho I am happy to use the A606, and don't consider it vintage, just a normal washer, probably more reliable than most made today. I would say that I've replaced most every part except the pump in that time, so I'm not sure just how reliable that makes it. at least compared to a frigidaire 1-18.

Note: The washer my mom replaced the A606 with, a whirlpool, has run these 22 years with no failures and no issues.

Post# 271819 , Reply# 9   3/24/2008 at 08:19 (5,875 days old) by tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

By the late 50s, washing machines offered the three wash temperatures and two speeds enabling proper handling for any fabric. I used to regularly wash permapress shirts in my Unimatics and the fast spin did not put wrinkles in them that the dryer could not remove; same with the Mieles. As far as modern fabrics, I don't know what they mean. Most fabrics have regressed in durability since polyester was removed from cottons and the no iron benefit comes from a fabric finish instead of the cotton/poly blend. I have cotton/poly slacks from decades ago where the fabric is in fine shape, but some Dockers that only last a season or two before the bottom of the cuff or some other place has worn through because the 100% coton is not as strong. Hype 100% cotton and sell more clothes. The catalogs that sell work clothes still offer the blended fabric slacks so that they will stand up to harder use and are super easy to launder.


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