Thread Number: 89118
/ Tag: Modern Automatic Washers
In Need of Wash Wisdom |
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Post# 1136971 , Reply# 1   12/23/2021 at 10:33 (866 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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The only thing that meets most of your reqirements is the Speed Queen TC5003, old school top loader. All washers have potential for mold. I've had front loaders since 2006 and absolutely no mold issues. I don't wash in cold water and do not use the "Normal" cycle, only a Whites, Heavy Duty, Perm Press/Wrinkle Free, and Delicate because they use more water and simply adjust wash water temperature and possibly spin speed. On wash temperatures I will use are warm, hot, and extra hot/sanitize/allergene. Mold issues are brought on by not leaving the door open between wash loads and poor laundry habits such as using too little or too much detergent, using a bargain-priced detergent washing onl9y in cold water. Normal cycle also has dumbed down temperatures and uses the least amount of water as it's the cycle used to receive the Energy Star rating.
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Post# 1136972 , Reply# 2   12/23/2021 at 10:41 (866 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)   |   | |
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Unless your laundry didn't get wet, there was nothing wrong with the little amount of water during the wash. There is a lot of misconception about front loaders. A front loader is imitating a very old fashioned way of washing, namely the slapping of the laundry on a stone. The laundry has to fall onto the side of the drum for the best cleaning results. I added a picture to illustrate what I mean. The stone is above the water level, otherwise the wash action wouldn't have much effect. Less mechanical movement means less clean laundry.
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Post# 1137001 , Reply# 4   12/23/2021 at 14:50 (866 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay)   |   | |
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I switched to a front loader in 2007 and never looked back. I have a king size bed and used to have to send the comforter out to be cleaned. I haven't had to do that since 2007.
Louis is correct about water use in front loaders. The tumbling lifts the items out of the water and lets them drop back down against the drum surface. Our Frigidaire Affinity (Electrolux) was awesome in this regard. Cleaning this way is much more effective than swishing things around in a top loader. You can't fit as much into a top loader either.
Living in California, a top loader is a non-starter due to chronic droughts and water rationing. I do have a vintage Maytag top loader for funky jobs like throw rugs, but it only gets used a time or two each month.
Don't judge all front loaders based on your LG experience. When properly maintained and hot or warm washes are selected, they can last a lot longer than eight years. |
Post# 1137005 , Reply# 5   12/23/2021 at 15:06 (866 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Douglas, I had a Whirlpool Duet from November 2011 until early November 2021. critical electronic component failed and knew I'd have difficulty in having component replaced. So I got an LG WM4200. I'm extremely pleased with it so far. In fact, my towels have never been softer with all the detergent rinsed out. I opt. for maximum number of extra rinses and I'm amazed. No top load or other front load washer I've owned in the last 43 years can compare. I'm learning which cycles give me an actual true warm water wash. LG limits their hot water temp to 117 degrees F which I consider paltry. I'm learning how to make cycle option selections on Normal and Heavy Duty to enable hotter washes on these two cycles using Extra Hot. LG's redesigned TurboWash 360 makes a huge difference. For me, warm SHOULD be 90-100F abd hot should be 130-140F. Like Europeans, wash temps of 150 and above is better for sanitizing. And those figure I just stated are not what dumbed down temperatures are these days.
This post was last edited 12/23/2021 at 16:08 |
Post# 1137011 , Reply# 6   12/23/2021 at 15:44 (866 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)   |   | |
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mold/mildew is not the machines fault, it is operator error.....true hot/warm washes and a good detergent = clean clothes, clean machine, and machine longevity!...
do not mistake dry spots on clothing after a cycle has ended, most high speed spins will leave many articles of clothing almost dry...fooling you into thinking the never got wet in the first place.... |
Post# 1137029 , Reply# 7   12/23/2021 at 17:30 (866 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.)   |   | |
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I’m gonna go out on a limb on this and deviate from the pack. Front loading washing machines USED to be my favorite, but then I bought an LG and that changed my mind. I don’t recall the model number, but it was the BOL, without Turbo Wash. Perhaps I’d have been happier if I’d gone up a level and bought a model with Turbo Wash.
Using the Normal cycle and watching it fill in sporadic spurts there were areas of a full load that did not get wet. It would go thru the filling for 24 mins then wash, rinse and spin, taking well over an hour to wash and average sized load. The other complaint was the maybe I will and maybe I won’t spin cycles. We have a heavy weight set of luxury bath towels from Restoration Hardware and that LG WOULD NOT spin those towels! We couldn’t use them while we owned the LG unless I wanted to go the the laundromat to wash them. Same thing for throw rugs. I never had any complaints about mold or smells. I always dried the boot after washing and left the door ajar so it could dry and air out. I have owned a White-Westinghouse, and two Frigidaire FL’s in the past and they were wonderful! If they still sold FL’s that used a visible level of water and would spin no matter what, then I’d still have an FL. But I don’t want to have to babysit an automatic washer. To me if I have to keep monkeying around with the machine to get it to spin there is nothing automatic about that machine! I now have an inexpensive Roper TL and I love it! Using the Normal cycle with auto sense fill it uses just enough water to cover the compressed load and the spray rinses rinse out the detergent well, with no residual detergent when the cycle is done. If it had a higher RPM spin speed it would be perfect. But it ALWAYS spins and doesn’t go out of balance. Different strokes for different folks. But I’m happy with my dark horse Roper that is like garlic to a vampire for most AW members. The laundry is always fresh and clean. I don’t need to use any scent boosters to make the laundry smell nice. And my whites come out dazzling white too, with 1/2 cup of LCB. And I am very water conscious living in California. It uses about the same amount of water that the older generation of FL’s used and it gets the job done with zero drama. Plus it does have the option to fill right to the top for the occasional bulky load of a king size comforter or bedspread, and the turn over on deep fill is impressive. The king size comforters and bedspreads don’t just sit at the bottom of the tub and get thrashed by the agitator, they turn over and roll around freely in the wash water. Since we are in a historic drought I only us the deep fill about twice yearly. Eddie |
Post# 1137047 , Reply# 8   12/23/2021 at 18:45 (866 days old) by eurekastar (Amarillo, Texas)   |   | |
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Post# 1137079 , Reply# 9   12/23/2021 at 23:20 (866 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806)   |   | |
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Post# 1137125 , Reply# 10   12/24/2021 at 12:24 (865 days old) by GELaundry4ever (Nacogdoches, TX, USA)   |   | |
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I'd recommend the LG with turbowash. I have gotten good performance on the normal cycle with turbowash. |
Post# 1138150 , Reply# 13   1/2/2022 at 09:38 (856 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)   |   | |
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Kirk Rivas of Appliance Associates in Austin TX also has a YouTube channel with tests/reviews of new models mixed-in with old customer-haulaways. He hasn't done any new reviews in a few months. Lorain Furniture and Appliance |