Thread Number: 33313
How to get Warm Water
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Post# 501455   3/5/2011 at 04:46 (5,000 days old) by roscoe62 (Canada)        

Is anyone else having trouble getting warm water in their washer? I'm thinking it could have something to do with this freak'n cold winter and the ice water, I mean cold water, entering our home, it has been particularly cold this year and more snow than usual.
I've checked the lines on the machine they are working fine, but the warm water not so warm :(





Post# 501492 , Reply# 1   3/5/2011 at 10:15 (4,999 days old) by kenmoreguy64 (Charlotte, NC)        

kenmoreguy64's profile picture
Thats' exactly what it is, or at least it is one of the reasons.

Our city tap water in Charltte gets much colder in the winter, then warms up in the middle of summer to almost mildly warm, straight from the tap.

The water heater stays at a fairly constant temp, though I have had three gas water heaters in three houses that could not keep tank temperatures as constant as an electric...anyway, the cold incoming that is mixed with hot in the washer makes the result cool in the winter, and very warm in the summer. This all on a machine that does not have a thermostatically operated mixing valve.

My solution to that is to set about the last 1/3 of the fill on pure hot, which then blends together to make the desired 'warm' that I want.

Gordon


Post# 501493 , Reply# 2   3/5/2011 at 10:18 (4,999 days old) by cehalstead (Charleston, WV)        
lack of warm water

The temperature of ground water definitely affects the temperature of warm water entering your washer. If you have a newer washer, the hot flow may be restricted due to stupid "washer police" regulations. My new Speed Queen TL takes forever to fill on hot, and the warm is almost cold. Hoping that warmer weather makes the "warm" setting more of what it is supposed to be. Normally, in summer, I can use the cold setting for most everything except my whites, towels and sheets.

If you can easily access your faucets, turn down the cold...the mix will be warmer that way......
You might also set the water heater to a higher temp while doing laundry...


Post# 501505 , Reply# 3   3/5/2011 at 11:25 (4,999 days old) by pierreandreply4 (St-Bruno de montarville (province of quebec) canada)        

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here is a tip you can open your hot water outlet to full and when you open your cold water outlet open it to the middle and that makes the water warm engought for the wash thats what i did with my old top load washer or the water would be entering cold


Post# 501509 , Reply# 4   3/5/2011 at 11:52 (4,999 days old) by 3beltwesty ()        
1952 Approach!

In my dads old house he built in 1952 in northern Indiana he had the laundry room in the basement for the 1947 Westy Frontloader.

The gas Hot water was *purposely* placed by the washer.

The COLD water to the washer *purposely* had a long loop of copper line up in the floor joists/basement ceiling area to preheat the winter's colder ground water.

Thus one had the cold ground water going through a couple loops of back and worth copper line that heated up due the the air temp on the basements ceiling.

Today one could do this cheaper with a roll of PEX in the heated/hotter area of ones house.


One could too wrap the pex around the water heater as a freebie too.



Post# 501515 , Reply# 5   3/5/2011 at 12:36 (4,999 days old) by roscoe62 (Canada)        
@ Everyone

Thanks for the help :)


Post# 501527 , Reply# 6   3/5/2011 at 12:56 (4,999 days old) by qsd-dan (West)        

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Install a tempering valve

CLICK HERE TO GO TO qsd-dan's LINK on eBay


Post# 501678 , Reply# 7   3/5/2011 at 21:07 (4,999 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

3beltwestie. I thought you said the WH washer was connected to cold water only and your family only washed in cold water. In another post, like the one above, you mention having the WH beside the water heater to have hot water. What gives?

Post# 501686 , Reply# 8   3/5/2011 at 21:27 (4,999 days old) by Supersurgilator (Indiana)        

Thats exactly what I do too, except I fill it with 1/3 of hot first, then switch to the warm setting.

Post# 501687 , Reply# 9   3/5/2011 at 21:28 (4,999 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

qsd-dan, except that mine has threaded connectors, that is like the one I use to give my European machines guaranteed 80F water for the cold supply in the cold water months. I fitted mine with check valves to prevent backflow between hot and cold. It feeds a manifold with 4 valves for the machines.

Post# 501701 , Reply# 10   3/5/2011 at 22:18 (4,999 days old) by 3beltwesty ()        
How USA washers are hooked up to water

RE "I thought you said the WH washer was connected to cold water only and your family only washed in cold water. In another post, like the one above, you mention having the WH beside the water heater to have hot water. What gives? "

Westinghouse like many US washers have TWO water inputs, ie one hose for HOT, and another for COLD water.

The washer uses just the HOT solenoid for the HOT setting and BOTH solenoids for WARM and only the COLD solenoid for the Cold settings.

ALL three washers here have had TWO water inputs, the 1947 Westy, the 1976 Westy and the 2010 LG FL washer.

The ONLY washer I have ever owned in my life that has one water input is the 5 dollar as is Haier HLP21N I got off of ebay last December for 44 with freight.

Moat of the time I use COLD water, BUT I do NOT remove the HOT water hose, it still is attached to the washer. Thus when I do wash a HOT wash; it is less hassle since all I have to do is press the washer's HOT button.

I really almost have never seen washers in the USA with only one hose, EXCEPT dinky portable ones where one placed a Y connector with valves as a blender.

My folks used the HOT setting more when us kids were in diapers, ie pre disposable diapers. Today with the 1976 machine it mostly was used with cold water; maybe only 1 in 50 is with hot. The 1947 machine probably saw more hot usage due to little kids in diapers and lessor soaps, but still the old 1947 westy was mostly used with cold and warm, and rarely hot.


Many of us in the USA have washers with two hoses, probably 99.5 percent of washers in the USA are hooked up like this. Just because the hookup is for hot and cold does not mean one uses hot all the time; or at all. It just allows one to wash HOT if one wants to, without farting around with hoses and valves. Most all US washers built after WW2 have TWO water inputs. Like a 4 burner stove,most folks do not use them all the time.

Just because one used COLD settings back in the 1960's doesnt mean one has to strive to use super cold ground water at 47F when it is 0F outside. Thus one allowed the ground water to get up to normal room temps in the 65 to 70 region via having some pipe in ones house. One can too use the WARM setting too, but that is really using more energy. It is basically FREE to pre heat ones ground water with some pipe in ones house, once the pipes cost is paid for.


Post# 501704 , Reply# 11   3/5/2011 at 22:29 (4,999 days old) by 3beltwesty ()        

Re "I thought you said the WH washer was connected to cold water only and your family only washed in cold water. In another post, like the one above, you mention having the WH beside the water heater to have hot water. What gives? "

Your comment is the first time in my life I have ever heard of only using one water connection, when a washer has both.

Here the houses that were custom designed were such *IF* one used hot water, the WH was right by the washer so one really got hot water. The 1976 machine only uses 0 to 10 gallons of HOT water, if one is dumb one could place the WH real far away and waste water and really just get WARM, since water is all in the pipe.

In northern parts of the USA is where the ground waters cold temp can be an issue, one gets sometimes water too cold for washing clothes or too cold for film processing and film washing.

The 1952 pre heat loop on the cold side was designed for washing and film processing and film washing. ie some of us actually make a better house for our needs. In film processing trying to remove fixer at 47F takes forever, one needs 10 times the amount of water compared to 70F. In washing; having a reasonable room wash temp works better than water that is in the 40's in F.


Post# 501829 , Reply# 12   3/6/2011 at 15:16 (4,998 days old) by yogitunes (New Jersey)        

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I know a lot of family around me that only washes in cold, both hoses are hooked up, and you can't tell them any different.......

but I have one sister who only has her machine hooked up to the cold supply, hot is available, but she has the hot water valve "capped" off.....

she has done this with her SQ solid tub.....and her newer GE FF.....although with the SQ you could smell the musty, moldy odor when you walked in her house....but she had a combination of cold only washes, never bleach, and keeping the lid closed all the time.....

I can't bring myself to "cold only".....best I can do on non-auto control is select warm, and adjust the hot valve down to a cool/luke warm wash...


Post# 502048 , Reply# 13   3/6/2011 at 22:20 (4,998 days old) by jerrod6 (Southeastern Pennsylvania)        
My house not customed designed

I guess it wasn't because my water line comes into the house and the first thing (except the tank-less water heater) to get water is the washer.  So in the winter the cold water the washer receives will be about 38F.

 

I had trouble with one TL KitchenAid washer.  It mixed the water hot and cold for warm, but I don't think it used a temperature control.  Instead it would just restrict the flow of hot water.  The cold water would run in very fast, but when you did a hot load it took forever to get the water into the tub.  Warm..well the water ran in fast, but most of it was from the cold tap so I never got a warm wash.   After seeing this I made my OWN warm wash.  I ran 1/2 tub of hot water, then switched the setting to warm for the rest of the fill.  This gave me the warm wash I wanted.



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