Thread Number: 62726  /  Tag: Wringer Washers
How Do You Solve A Problem Like Bed Sheets?
[Down to Last]

automaticwasher.org's exclusive eBay Watch:
scroll >>> for more items --- [As an eBay Partner, eBay may compensate automaticwasher.org if you make a purchase using any link to eBay on this page]
Post# 852905   11/20/2015 at 21:12 (3,050 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        

launderess's profile picture
Interested in hearing the various machines members use for doing their bed linen along with pros and cons.

Seems to me each type of machine has their drawbacks.

Front loaders even large laundromat versions can result in things rolling up into a ball. This can cause various degrees of OOB issues. With the Miele one often has to stop the machine, haul the mass out, untangle and restart the spin. Do this to prevent it from banging and clanging itself to death. The Lavamat is slightly better but still can have the same problem, thus must do the same. Happily at the laundryette even if things do get tangled into a ball/unbalanced those machines won't care.

When one had the Whirlpool portable (Hello MickeyD) often found sheets got the dreaded "air bubble" and wouldn't get pulled down for proper cleaning. Have been considering looking for a wringer washer for faster wash days but that issues bothers me.

Hoover Twin Tub? Just no! *LOL! Did several sheets once and when done had to take to one's bed afterwards. *LOL* It isn't just the tangles but you have to get things just so or they won't swirl/get the famous "boiling" wash action. Just get wrapped around that impeller possibly being damaged if left to long.

How are other members linen wash days?






Post# 852910 , Reply# 1   11/20/2015 at 21:29 (3,050 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay)        

rp2813's profile picture

With our linens, it depends on which type we're washing.  The fleece ones like to ball up, but the cotton & blends not as much.

 

The most aggravating thing with our Affinity FL is that once it has begun its seemingly interminable balancing act, one can't just pause the machine and gain access.  It waits like three minutes before unlocking the door.  That can seem like an eternity when one is already annoyed with the machine for its mishandling of a simple set of sheets.


Post# 852913 , Reply# 2   11/20/2015 at 21:41 (3,050 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        
At least you *can* gain access rather easily.

launderess's profile picture
With the Miele long as the water level is low enough just have to hit the "door open" button. The Lavamat however is another matter. Once a cycle commences it is held hostage until the thing is done. There are periods early in cycle as machine is filling when you can still open the door. That and before the final spin as well (to remove items you don't want spun?). But otherwise you have to use the "emergency" door opening mechanism located at the bottom of machine.

I keep a quarter on top of the Lavamat for just this purpose. *LOL*



Post# 852914 , Reply# 3   11/20/2015 at 21:44 (3,050 days old) by mjg0619 (Scranton, Pennsylvania)        
Well, Reverend Mother Launderess,

mjg0619's profile picture
Our previous washing machine, an early 2000s Whirlpool Direct Drive TL was an absolute abomination on bed linens day. (Really, any day.) It would twist, tangle, turn, and the damned thing would go out of balance if you looked at it crossways and would attempt to dance a single footed Watusi right out of the blasted laundry room!

Now with the early 1990s Maytag belt drive, the bed linen washday woes are blissful memories. I have yet to have an issue with tangling of queen size sheets or with the fleece blankets. I also have yet to have a single load of any sort throw that marvelous machine out of balance. Even if that were to happen, it would simply shut itself down instead of marring my floors and wreaking havoc on the beams below.


Post# 852916 , Reply# 4   11/20/2015 at 21:51 (3,050 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

dadoes's profile picture
 
Calypso washes lovely.  F&P dryer with reverse tumble dries lovely.  :-)


Post# 852917 , Reply# 5   11/20/2015 at 21:55 (3,050 days old) by gusherb (Chicago/NWI)        
What bed sheet problem?

Going back to even the Samsungtag I never really had an issue with balling up, it did a pretty decent job at not doing that.

Now with the Queen resting on her throne in the kitchen, I never have any problems with sheets balling up. I usually wash on the medium level which gives ample room for circulation. The fleece type blankets do very well too, I usually wash 4 of those along with a small area rug all from the family room.
The only thing that is questionable is the heavy comforter from my bed which gets air pockets in it, so I toss it in before letting the tub fill and compact it down as good as I can and then it turns over just fine.

This bitch would scream if he had to wash sheets or comforters with a DD Whirlpool type machine. I've used them quite a bit and am glad I never had one of my own.


Post# 852918 , Reply# 6   11/20/2015 at 21:55 (3,050 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        
2000s Whirlpool Direct Drive TL

launderess's profile picture
Didn't those machines have the famous Whirlpool "Surgilator" agitator? Am surprised if so that it caused so much tangling.

Post# 852920 , Reply# 7   11/20/2015 at 21:58 (3,050 days old) by mjg0619 (Scranton, Pennsylvania)        

mjg0619's profile picture
Launderess, the machine in question had a two piece "corkscrew" style agitator. It was bloody murder on anything you put in it that was larger than a corset or pair of knickers. LOL

Post# 852922 , Reply# 8   11/20/2015 at 22:14 (3,050 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

dadoes's profile picture
 
Don't recall any specific trouble with sheets over the years of using my KA/(Whirlpool) toploader.


Post# 852926 , Reply# 9   11/20/2015 at 22:20 (3,050 days old) by wayupnorth (On a lake between Bangor and Bar Harbor, Maine)        

wayupnorth's profile picture
I wouldn't call my bed sheets linen after a dog and a cat want to tear it up daily. I put my sheets, towels and any white load in my old Maytag on hot, which is somewhat warmer tap not hot, regular cycle and they are fine to hang out or put in the dependable Maytag dryer. Set it on auto dry less, it buzzes and I don't want to take care of it until later when I am good and ready and then everything is full of wrinkles but I don't care because I am the only one that will see it.

Post# 852933 , Reply# 10   11/20/2015 at 22:41 (3,050 days old) by Artcurus (Odessa)        

Yeah, the Speed Queen TL just kind of cruises right along. The BIGGER issue is with the Whirlpool Duet dryer. Man alive that thing twist things up.



Post# 852934 , Reply# 11   11/20/2015 at 22:43 (3,050 days old) by Dustin92 (Jackson, MI)        

I've never had any major issues with any washer washing sheets and/or blankets, the front loaders we've had are almost painful to watch in their balancing "act" but eventually do get the job done. I guess the biggest problem I've had that was using the Maytag Performa washer and washing sheets, they'd always get an air pocket under them, refuse to circulate, then tangle. That washer moved on. The Whirlpool DD always washed sheets fine, but would tangle them with the corkscrew agitator, but it did great on larger blankets and comforters. The Maytags that have taken over the laundry room lately do fine on everything as long as they aren't overloaded. Worst as far as drying was the time I melted a (wash and dryable) mattress cover in an old GE (filter flo era, 80's?) dryer we had. I guess tumble dry low actually means use the low heat setting, not medium. What a mess scraping that off the back of the drum! Also melted a fiber fill comforter once, it was set to low but I think by that point the cycling thermostat had gone out and it was cycling on the high limit. (had I known then what I know now it probably would have been fixed, but it was quite a few years ago and it was getting far too hot, and scorching clothes, so it went)

Post# 852938 , Reply# 12   11/20/2015 at 23:34 (3,050 days old) by stan (Napa CA)        
Haven't

stan's profile picture
Had any trouble with my KA top loader either, or the Maytag wringer.
I'm washing Cal King sized sheet set.


Post# 852942 , Reply# 13   11/20/2015 at 23:42 (3,050 days old) by cfz2882 (Belle Fourche,SD)        
'82 speed queen

'82 marathon did good

Post# 852943 , Reply# 14   11/21/2015 at 00:04 (3,050 days old) by lakewebsterkid (Dayton, Ohio)        
Sheets?

Sheets are no problem in the Duet, especially on the whitest whites cycle. However, my Kenmore 80 series dryer is FAR better than the matching dryer would do. You must dry half the load of sheets at separate times to prevent tangling issues. The full load of sheets in the Duet dryer is a mess IMHO. My DD Kenmore was not all that great with sheets.

Post# 852954 , Reply# 15   11/21/2015 at 05:31 (3,050 days old) by cam2s (Nebraska)        
Depends on if I am at work or home...

I work part time at a hotel. We have 2 60lb Milnor Hard Mounts. You can put about 20 queen sheets in a load (fitted and flat sheet plus pillowcases) . Careful loading is needed to avoid tangling. I find it works to take a sheet and ball it up (not too tightly) and put it in. If you lay the sheets in flat, they will fold over on themselves and then you get a giant wad of sheets. We split the load in half for the dyers, this property does not have reversing dryers unfortunately but I have used them and they are amazing for drying sheets.
At home I use my Maytag Maxima usually on the sanitize cycle. That cycle uses the aggressive tumbling pattern which pulls the sheets apart as they tumble. I've never had an issue with them balling up in the washer and causing balancing issues.


  View Full Size
Post# 852956 , Reply# 16   11/21/2015 at 05:48 (3,050 days old) by Easyspindry (Winston-Salem, NC)        
My Fisher & Paykel . . .

. . . does a great job with sheets. I can put in six queens and they wash just fine with no complaints.

Jerry Gay


Post# 852957 , Reply# 17   11/21/2015 at 06:12 (3,050 days old) by maytagmike (Burlington, Vt)        
moms Maytag wringer

maytagmike's profile picture
I wash queen size bedding with no problem at all, they just roll over, over and over.

Post# 852960 , Reply# 18   11/21/2015 at 06:27 (3,050 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

dadoes's profile picture
 
My F&P toploader does good with sheets as well.  I don't wash sheets in my Neptune TL except on occasion a full set of twin bedding (bedspread and sheets) which it does OK.


Post# 852962 , Reply# 19   11/21/2015 at 06:33 (3,050 days old) by arbilab (Ft Worth TX (Ridglea))        

arbilab's profile picture
Can't remember a problem spinning sheets in FL or TL. The snazzy little Chinese twintub knots them something fierce but I untie them on the way to the spinner. The 73 Panasonic TT with offset plate didn't knot them as I recall.

OTOH I can't remember a dryer that did NOT roll them into a ball. I'd shake them out once or twice during the cycle so they'd dry allover.


Post# 852968 , Reply# 20   11/21/2015 at 07:38 (3,049 days old) by Frigidaireguy (Wiston-Salem, NC)        
No Problem with King sheets

I wash my King Sheets and 4 pillowcases in my Maytag 806. Occasionally they will get an air pocket but I just work them until the air is gone and they are fine.
I seem to have more problem with this during the rinse than the wash cycle. The reason I use this machine because I have 2 cats that sleep on my bed and the Maytag filters the cat hair better than my frontload Kenmore.


Post# 852973 , Reply# 21   11/21/2015 at 08:30 (3,049 days old) by kenwashesmonday (Carlstadt, NJ)        

We buy only cotton sheets. The only time I had a problem with air pockets in my 1972 Maytag A606 was when we had sheets with a very high 500 thread count. Sheets with a 300 thread count never cause a problem. I wash them in warm and rinse in cold no matter what the label says.

Ken D.


Post# 852981 , Reply# 22   11/21/2015 at 10:04 (3,049 days old) by abcomatic (Bradford, Illinois)        
No Problem

No problem with sheets in the Easy Spindrier or the wringer machines.

Post# 852984 , Reply# 23   11/21/2015 at 11:47 (3,049 days old) by super32 (Blackstone Massachusetts)        

super32's profile picture
I never have a problem with washing them, it's the dryer that can be a pain. We have 2 Bosch full size dryers and 1 Maytag. The older of the 2 Bosch will ball sheets in a hot minute. The newer one usually does a pretty decent job. The Maytag dryer is usually right on point.

Post# 852985 , Reply# 24   11/21/2015 at 11:55 (3,049 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.)        

ea56's profile picture
I've never had any problems with sheets in my LG 3170 FL. I use the normal/cotton cycle, hot water, ex high spin speed, normal soil level and water plus option. They don't tangle or ball up and come out spotlessly clean. I'm washing cal king sheets and pillowcases, usually just one set at a time, but it could easily hold another set. Actually, I can't recall that I've ever had a problem washing sheets in any washer I've owned over the last 45 yrs., and I've owned a Maytag wringer, Whrilpool portable, Maytag A50 twin tub, Westinghouse FL, Maytag TL, Magic Chef TL, Kenmore TL, 3 Frigidaire FL's, Whirlpool Cabrio, Fisher Paykel TL, GE Hydrowave GTWN 2800, no problems with any of them.


Post# 853016 , Reply# 25   11/21/2015 at 15:46 (3,049 days old) by revvinkevin (Tinseltown - Shakey Town - La-La Land)        

revvinkevin's profile picture


I'm in California and we're having a pretty serious water shortage (or so they tell us) so I've been sticking to HE machines for laundry. I have 3 FL's and 1 TL washer connected I use regularly.

The Players: 2009 KM Elite, 2005 LG, 2001 MT Neptune and a 2004 WP Calypso. (I also have a 1997 small door Frigidaire Gallery FL in the house, but only run a load in it every 2 months or so)

The Sheets: 2 King size cotton sheets, 500 thread count with 5 king size pillow cases.

The Results: In the KM Elite FL (blue), it does OK maybe 40% of the time. The rest of the time I'll have to stop it, untie/untangle the sopping wet mess and re-start. If I don't, it will dink around for 20 minutes trying to distribute and spin.

In the LG, this one has never, NEVER tangled/balled up/made a rope of anything, sheets included! There are other things I really don't like about how this machine works, but tangling sheets is not one of them!

In the Maytag Neptune: Never a problem with tangling or balling up anything.

In the Calypso: I no longer wash sheets in the Calypso. Every time I have, each sheet has been twisted into a rope by the end of the cycle.

The dryers (2 Maytags and a WP Cabrio): If I'm drying a mixed load of sheets (thick/heavy & lite/thin: i.e. dog bedding) they will ball up and the heavy one in the center won't be dry. When drying the bed sheets and pillow cases, I've learned if I throw in the 5 pillow cases first, then "fluff" each sheet before tossing it in, the pillow cases won't be balled up in a sheet (and not dry) when the cycle finishes.

Kevin



  Photos...       <              >      Photo 1 of 3         View Full Size


This post was last edited 11/21/2015 at 16:02
Post# 853038 , Reply# 26   11/21/2015 at 18:00 (3,049 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

My Lady Kenmore combo was great for washing king sheets and pillow cases. I don't remember a problem with the 806 pair either. When I loaded sheets in a top loader, I always picked it up in the middle, as the instructions for our Westinghouse front loaders said to do. Then I would place the mid point of the sheet down into the tub first, then let the rest of the sheet sort of cascade in after it. That seemed to prevent air bubbles. I found that with the KitchenAid, I could not use the lower water level for sheets because it would twist them into ropes. For the front loaders, I put the center of one sheet in first followed by the rest of the sheet folded over it then for the second sheet, I put the 4 corners in first then the rest of the sheet. They seem to wash with the rest of the load without serious balling up. I dry the sheets separately to avoid rolling up and balling up. The GE dryer is better for drying king sheets than the KA with that side to side air flow pattern. When I lived in my parents' house with the GE dryer, my twin sheets dried in exactly 21 minutes. It had an automatic cycle and then a timed cycle with the last 10 minutes of air fluff, like cycles on the GE dryer I am restoring now. The sheets then were all cotton and the last 10 minutes with the gradually dropping temperature left them soft and wrinkle free.

The bath sheets have to be loaded into the SQ FL similarly, with the first one loaded with the center gather loaded toward the back, then the next one loaded oppositely with the gather at the front alternately until all 5 are loaded.


Post# 853055 , Reply# 27   11/21/2015 at 22:26 (3,049 days old) by LordKenmore (The Laundry Room)        

lordkenmore's profile picture
One option I don't see discussed above is simply not washing sheets. When the smell gets too horrible, well, just wear a swimmer's nose clip to bed.

LOL


Post# 853057 , Reply# 28   11/21/2015 at 22:55 (3,049 days old) by mamapinky (blairsville pa)        

LOL

Post# 853060 , Reply# 29   11/21/2015 at 23:15 (3,049 days old) by askolover (South of Nash Vegas, TN)        
Even the little Asko

askolover's profile picture

here handles flannel king sheets without balling them up, never had a problem balancing either and it only has 2 shocks.  The gas GE dryer does a good job as well, except when drying the king sized cotton quilt, now that is a real ball!


Post# 853072 , Reply# 30   11/22/2015 at 05:46 (3,049 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)        

foraloysius's profile picture
I have California King Size duvet covers and fitted sheets. Washing is not much of a problem although sometimes a pillow case ends up in the duvet cover.

Drying however is more of a hassle. The duvet cover wrinkles terribly when dried in the Miele condensor dryer. So I just put it in there for 20 minutes together with the matched pillow cases. Then I hang those items up to air dry further. The fitted sheet and the other pillow cases are dried in the dryer without a problem.


Post# 853099 , Reply# 31   11/22/2015 at 10:50 (3,048 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

I have seen pictures of huge pocket washers that are used in hotels, ships and the like. The tub was divided into three sections, each of which was loaded and unloaded separately. The reason for the pockets was that they prevented sheets from balling up as they would if they had the whole 360 degrees of the drum in which to tumble.

Post# 853132 , Reply# 32   11/22/2015 at 16:17 (3,048 days old) by LordKenmore (The Laundry Room)        

lordkenmore's profile picture
I haven't kept exact records, but I honestly recall very little trouble with sheets, regardless of size, or material. (I've had everything from "normal" sheets to thick flannel sheets, and sizes I've washed have varied from Twin to Queen, with a couple of single King type sheets.)

The only time I had trouble was with a WCI Frigidaire. Not that a WCI Frigidaire would cause trouble. Oh, no, of course not. But there would be air bubbles, and it was hard to get the sheet to go fully under. I'd often have to pause the machine, and fiddle with the sheets to get them to go under.

Sheet: "But I don't want to go under! I'm scared of deep water!"
Me: "Tough luck, sheet. You're going deep washer tub diving today!"

Current Whirlpool DD appears to have zero trouble, although I do wonder how much faster my sheets are wearing when washed in the Shredmore.


Post# 853147 , Reply# 33   11/22/2015 at 17:10 (3,048 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        
More on drying sheets

In 1962, my parents finished off a studio in our basement for my brother and me so that our baby sister could have our bedroom. Some adjustments had to be made to the ceiling of the staircase to the basement so that involved some work to deep shelves in our den closet, an area that I had not known existed. When stuff was pulled out of these deep shelves, there were a couple of OLD Better Homes and Gardens, both December issues, one from 1947 and one from 1951. On page 173 of the 1951 issue there was an ad for a General Electric Laundry with the washer that John had and traded to Robert and a beautiful dryer with a square glass window with dramatic horizontal ribs molded into the glass. When the dryer is operating there is a light bulb and germicidal bulb under the perforated drum and the ribs in the glass catch that light and the orange glow of the heating element in the upper left quadrant of the cabinet. I know this because back in 1962, I looked at that dryer and really wanted it and several years ago one in like new condition came to me. It is indeed a 1952 model.

This afternoon, I used the 1952 to dry the top sheet while the bottom sheet and pillow cases dried in the 1968 GE electronic control dryer with the 7 chrome buttons in a horizontal row. The big king top sheet dried in 20 minutes without balling up which surprised me because the dryer has a slow tumble speed. While there is the heater in the upper left quadrant, this dryer seeks to keep the items tumbling in the middle of the drum where a strong air stream blows upward through the tumbling load. The heater does provide strong radiant heat, but the air flow in the dryer causes the air to flow over the heater where it is warmed before being blown into the tumbling load. I started it with the heat on HI and after the heat cycled the first time at 10 minutes, I checked the sheet and it was almost dry so I turned the heat down to LO. When the dryer shut off, the sheet was a comfortable temperature to hold. The reason I turned the heat down is that this dryer does not have any cooldown period at the end of the cycle. Like old Hamiltons of the period, it has the air discharge at the bottom right of the dryer. Next week, I will see how it dries the two sheets together.

The bottom sheet and pillow cases dried in 15 minutes in the 16 year younger GE without balling or rolling up.

The 1947 BH&G had a fabulous article about pressure cookers and was the first time I saw the Revere Pressure Cooker which I have in the collection now.


Post# 853186 , Reply# 34   11/22/2015 at 20:10 (3,048 days old) by washerlover (The Big Island, Hawai’i)        

washerlover's profile picture
Dustin92, I had the exact same thing happen to me in an 80s GE dryer -- melted the mattress cover! That dryer was waaay too hot, it had to go...it's probably a Toyota by now.

Not being a fan of frontloaders, I can't comment on bed linen wash day, but my Norge/Wards machines always managed to deal with the billowing bubble effect and pulled those sheets right under!


Post# 853236 , Reply# 35   11/23/2015 at 07:45 (3,047 days old) by jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers)        
The Neptune was never a problem

jetcone's profile picture

with sheets, and the new Speed Queen is super with them. Its the dryer where I get massive black hole balling. Once I lost a pair of socks for two weeks, until the sheets came off the bed to wash and lo and behold in the pockets were my socks for two weeks. Somehow the SQ tucks thing away in there. 
But I'm gonna try that balling technique of loading thats interesting.

Oh and the Easy top loader look out sheets you don't have a chance with that Spiralator !

 

What gets my goat is when I go to friends and stay over and they open the linen closet to reveal PERFECTLY SQUARE FOLDED FITTED SHEETS ! HOW THE HELL DO THEY DO THAT!

I have been shown the" fold into pocket" method and still end up with a giant wad !!

 

 


Post# 853406 , Reply# 36   11/24/2015 at 04:11 (3,047 days old) by tolivac (greenville nc)        

Don't have a problem with sheets--to keep bedclothes cleaner---TAKE A BATH OR SHOWER BEFORE GOING TO BED!!!!!!!I HATE going to bed dirty!!!Not only bedclothes-your matteress will benefit too!!!And when the sheets are off the matteress for washing--I go over the matteress with my Kirby.

Post# 853692 , Reply# 37   11/25/2015 at 22:07 (3,045 days old) by Brib68 (Central Connecticut)        

brib68's profile picture
King and queen sheets do just fine in my LG front loader. I don't think I've ever had sheets ball up in the washer. Once in a while pillow cases will get rolled up in the fitted sheet in the dryer. I think the flat sheet got balled up maybe once in the dryer. Certain sheets seem more prone to it than others.

Post# 853768 , Reply# 38   11/26/2015 at 14:24 (3,044 days old) by ronhic (Canberra, Australia)        
Beko/Blomberg

ronhic's profile picture

The good old Zanussi Westinghouse we had never failed to spin at whatever speed you asked it to....and never gave rope issues.

 

The Beko/Blomberg is a different beast with spinning though.

 

With sheets, if you wash two Queen sheets and a couple of pillow slips, then about 20% of the time they spin at 600rpm. About 40% at around 1000rpm (which I can live with) and the rest at 1200/1400rpm. So one in five loads of sheets gets respun....though this is improving now that I have readjusted the feet.

 

This machine does prefer to have at least 2/3 of its capacity used rather than smaller loads.


Post# 854228 , Reply# 39   11/29/2015 at 18:10 (3,041 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        
Drying report on 1952 GE dryer

This afternoon, I put both of the king sheets and the pillowcases in the GE. In 25 minutes, they were dry and not balled up. YAY GE!

Post# 968966 , Reply# 40   11/19/2017 at 18:41 (2,320 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

After three weeks of testing each Sunday, I can report that the 1951 Hamilton 975 E electric dryer successfully dries a set of king sheets and pillowcases in 25 minutes without any tangling or balling up. I set the heat control between Medium and High and with the 3 minute cooldown at the end, the items are pleasantly warm when the dryer stops. I load one sheet toward the rear of the cylinder and one to the front.

Post# 968972 , Reply# 41   11/19/2017 at 19:08 (2,320 days old) by johnrk (BP TX)        
Affinity & SQ

I just got rid of an Affinity FL and it did all sheets and towels beautifully. However, it did get anal at times about balance. I don't like sleeping under sheets or blankets or anything unless it's really cold, so for most of the year I only have a fitted sheet and a bunch of pillowcases. It never balled anything up.

With this new SQ 432, I haven't seen any tendency to ball up things either, including my big pet blankets. I also haven't seen any tendency to overly twist things as I've seen with some other TL washers.

My dryer was an early 2000's Kenmore/GE until a few weeks ago and I loved it. Had a stainless steel tub that never caught anything on it. Other than seriously overheating on 'regular' setting, this new SQ dryer doesn't tend to ball up things, and in fact, is probably a little better than my former dryer with that. I had to laugh, reading a former posting, about someone's socks disappearing for a couple of weeks in the pockets of their fitted sheet! With me, it tends to be those little dryer sheets that'll show up down a pants leg or in a sleeve.


Post# 968981 , Reply# 42   11/19/2017 at 20:18 (2,320 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)        

yogitunes's profile picture
the Maytag Neptune.....claim to fame of being able to wash 10 King Size sheets in a single load....

Post# 968984 , Reply# 43   11/19/2017 at 20:29 (2,320 days old) by wayupnorth (On a lake between Bangor and Bar Harbor, Maine)        

wayupnorth's profile picture
Since its just me, my sheets and towels go in one full load but I tend to find a washcloth in the end of a fitted sheet in the dryer every so often. So what, I have had these Maytags 35 years now and am used to checking corners from the dryer. My Auto Dry takes about 40 minutes for a full load of towels and sheets, while the same setting takes 20 minutes for shirts and pants.

Post# 968988 , Reply# 44   11/19/2017 at 20:38 (2,320 days old) by johnrk (BP TX)        
wayupnorth

A dear friend and old colleague of mine in KS bought a new Maytag washer in 1985 for her graduation present from college.

She still has that machine, with a marriage and a grown child's worth of wash and farm-dirty laundry as a constant. All she's had done is a few repairs over the years to the timer.

She's been through three or four dryers, but that Maytag just continues to run and run. Over the twenty years or so that we've been friends, it's become a joke for me to ask about that machine.

Those Maytags were worth every penny of their extra cost.


Post# 968997 , Reply# 45   11/19/2017 at 21:32 (2,320 days old) by wayupnorth (On a lake between Bangor and Bar Harbor, Maine)        

wayupnorth's profile picture
Yes, John, those Maytags were definitely worth the cost. One repair to the 511 washer and zero to the 410 dryer. Back 35 years ago I paid over $1000 for a mid line pair but never regretted it. If it was still now the "Old" Maytags, I should be in their ads instead of the family with a dozen kids. Now, I'd give them 2 years and their new Maytag goes to the scrap heap.

Post# 969012 , Reply# 46   11/19/2017 at 23:27 (2,320 days old) by johnrk (BP TX)        
wayupnorth

There are people, possibly you also, who could state with knowledge what the weak points are on the GE Filter-Flo machines. I've heard that the transmission could be a problem, etc.

However, the only thing I ever had trouble with was the timer on one of them. The other two never gave a bit of trouble. My mother bought a Filter-Flo for her home in the 80's. She had a huge woman who was half gorilla (she actually managed to tear the chain out of one of the ceiling fans by accident!) who managed to break mama's timer on hers twice in a year. My mother forbade her to do anything but load and unload it; she'd have to get mama to set the dial and start it. Never broke again after that.

Do you agree that the fewer people who operate an appliance like your washer, that they give less trouble? My sister, a tiny little 5' female, just manages to be hard on her washers and other appliances, though she's not 'rough' on them as far as I can see when I visit.

How I wish I'd saved either of my last two Filter-Flo machines and dryers! I left them in homes I sold, never thought it'd get to today's sad situation.


Post# 969030 , Reply# 47   11/20/2017 at 02:36 (2,320 days old) by mrsalvo (New Braunfels Texas)        

Laundress, how nice to see your thread. Can't imagine washing sheets in a Twin Tub, what work!!!

I'm Joan Crawford OCD when it comes to my linens, even when I was working 45-50 hours a week I took the time. My mother wouldn't have it any other way, rest her soul.

In our house we have 1 queen size, and 2 full size beds, one of those is a guest bed that never really gets used, 3 pillows on each bed. Linens are changed once a week but laundered only twice a month to save on utilities. Wash day is 8 sheets, 12 pillow case covers, 12 pillow case liners. SQ T/L 432SP. Hot water wash, set to normal or less with 15 minute soak, 1 cold rinse with extra water added. In the summer I'll add Clorox 2 with the detergent. Every once in a blue moon I'll add some fabric softener, but not usually. A load is usually 3 sheets, unless it's high thread count then 2, plus some pillow cases. Have found I can wash more that way and not overload the machine, at least not too bad. Had a couple of instances of billowing and roping so I started loading the tub in 4 quarter sections, grabbing the sheets in the middle, and haven't had any problems since.

ALL LINENS ARE LINED DRIED ON A CLOTHESLINE, as with most everything else. (Found that a dryer can shrink my clothes, not good for a middle aged male!! LOL.) Linens are carefully, and correctly, folded and placed in the linen closet for rotation.
Linens are folded so that fitted sheets, pillow case covers, and top sheets are together and not separated. See picture below. This saves A TON of space in the linen closet for other items and everything looks so neat and clean.

"What gets my goat is when I go to friends and stay over and they open the linen closet to reveal PERFECTLY SQUARE FOLDED FITTED SHEETS ! HOW THE HELL DO THEY DO THAT!
I have been shown the" fold into pocket" method and still end up with a giant wad !!" LOL. LOL.
Jon, I think there is a Martha Stewart video on YouTube that demonstrates folding fitted sheets, somewhat anyway. Once you get the hang of it, it's easy. My 86 year old Dad does a good job of folding them, but had to teach him. You can do it!!!

Barry


  View Full Size
Post# 969038 , Reply# 48   11/20/2017 at 03:35 (2,320 days old) by johnrk (BP TX)        
mrsalvo

If you line dry, do you have to deal with humidity that much? Down here, 20 miles from the Gulf, it stays so humid that line drying can take a really long time, particularly if the sun isn't shining and it's not so hot. When my last dryer died a several weeks ago, I went to Wal-Mart and bought a clothesline and pins for my back yard. I thought stuff was never going to get dry! One time fooling with that, and I bought that SQ pair. I know we get more rain than you do up there in Oktoberfest country, but I don't remember from the time I was at UT in Austin, whether it was unusually humid or not. Plus, I was a teenager in college and didn't mind the lack of a/c like I do now in middle age!

I admire your obsession with your bed linens. I have queen sized beds in three of the four bedrooms here, and a single hospital bed in the fourth for when I need it. I don't have overnight guests that often, so it's usually about once every couple of months that I'll strip and wash the guest room linens. For the adjustable hospital bed, I just pull that single off and wash/dry it and back on the bed.

I love lots of pillows, though, and I wash all the pillowcases and protectors weekly with the hospital sheeting. I sleep many nights, because of the ruined spine, sitting in a wheelchair so the bed doesn't always claim me. And I wash the linens covering the wheelchair at least weekly, and often more depending on the amount of time I spend in it.

I was washing a load about an hour ago down here when I'd just put the clothes in the dryer, went to use the half-bath in the utility room, and the commode didn't re-fill after p*ssing. Called the police and it turns out they had to cut off the water locally because some damn drunk hit a fire plug. I got my 432 done just in time!

And yes, we just had a 'cold' front come through here Saturday night just south of Houston, people all bundled up because it's around 60F outside. Just amazing...


Post# 969039 , Reply# 49   11/20/2017 at 03:47 (2,320 days old) by washdaddy (Baltimore)        

the apartment I live in supplies each tenant with a Frigidaire stack unit in each apartment. For as long as I have lived here no matter how I load the washer, it will tangle up the sheets into a long tangled mess if the fitted sheet is in the load.
For the most part, I come to live with the aggravation. Other times I will wash the fitted sheet by itself. The dryer will also ball the load up if the fitted sheet is in the dryer but I except that since I've never had a problem with the load coming out dry.


Post# 969092 , Reply# 50   11/20/2017 at 12:44 (2,319 days old) by mrsalvo (New Braunfels Texas)        

John,
If the sun is out the clothes will dry. Yes, it takes longer this time of year so I try to get them out early. In the summer they dry faster on the line than in the dryer. Really love the smell and feel of line dried sheets. I freshen up the guest bed sheets about twice a year, we never have over night guests these days.

We could use some rain, everything is bone dry, keep watching the weather forecast and it's always the same.

Barry



Forum Index:       Other Forums:                      



Comes to the Rescue!

The Discuss-o-Mat has stopped, buzzer is sounding!!!
If you would like to reply to this thread please log-in...

Discuss-O-MAT Log-In



New Members
Click Here To Sign Up.



                     


automaticwasher.org home
Discuss-o-Mat Forums
Vintage Brochures, Service and Owners Manuals
Fun Vintage Washer Ephemera
See It Wash!
Video Downloads
Audio Downloads
Picture of the Day
Patent of the Day
Photos of our Collections
The Old Aberdeen Farm
Vintage Service Manuals
Vintage washer/dryer/dishwasher to sell?
Technical/service questions?
Looking for Parts?
Website related questions?
Digital Millennium Copyright Act Policy
Our Privacy Policy