Whatever happened to washing machine lint filters?

[murando531]

It seems like there was an abrupt stop to the use of any lint filtering system over the past 10-15 years, manually or automatically cleaning, but why? It's not as though clothes no longer produce lint, unless I'm just shopping in the wrong places.

This thought struck me after we bought a set of eight solid white bath towels the other day, 100% cotton. Now, they aren't fancy, as it was an 8-pack from Sam's Club, but I've been wanting us to have towels that were hotel-style, great at absorbing, and easily sanitized now and again through a bleach run. Of course, I put all eight into the washer immediately, with hot water and detergent. During the rinse I poured in a cup of vinegar to rid them of any factory oils and public funk that stuck to them while in the store. When they were dried, I could have stuffed a pillow with the fluffy lint build-up on the dryer filter. I put them through a couple of 30-minute air tumble cycles just to loosen and catch as much as I could. Upon use, they still of course have some fluffies that stick in your hair and fall all over the floor. I realized then: All the lint and fluff that rubs off in the washer just floats around with the towels, and when it's all done, what hasn't gone down the drain is left stuck to either the towels or the tub and interior.

The new WP belt-drive I have has no lint management system at all. I took the agitator off a while back, and where the openings would have normally been for water flow through the "MagicClean" filter, or the round finger-style inserts that came about later, there are just tiny little slits, which ironically were all plugged with tiny fibers from the water that was pulled from the unaltered vanes on the hidden underside of the agitator. There is also no filter assembly underneath the basket according to the diagrams. I've noticed that every newer machine (that I've researched or am aware of) has no form of lint catcher. Even the 2002 Maytag MAV I have over at my father-in-law's is the same, which actually did cause issues in regards to linty towels and the like.

I wonder why they now deem lint filters unnecessary in machines. The trend for dishwashers lately is to have manually cleaned filters, which is the opposite method I'd want for handling nasty food bits and grime, yet I'd be perfectly happy tapping a washing machine filter into a garbage can, or better yet, knowing that the washer will catch it and then flush it down the drain automatically, especially when I'm washing the dog's bedding or towels used to bathe him. No matter how much you shake outside, there's always the endless battle of wiping out leftover hair in the washer's tub, and that much more to block up the filter in the dryer.

 

[washman]

Not sure if there ever was an

official stoppage per se, but if I had to guess, I would say cost. Any person at any company that can take a few cents cost out of a product is a person to watch, an up and commer if there ever was one.

Second reason is laziness. Who, after spending countless hours trending, crowdsourcing, insourcing, watching DWTS, a reality show, and telling the world of your every move on Facebook has the time to clean a lint filter?

Third reason is Americans are, for the most part, brain dead. They refuse to do anything beyond breathing, performing bathroom biological tasks, sleeping and posting on Twitter to even give 2 seconds thought to cleaning a lint filter. Which is why they go ga-ga over the techo laden, eco-approved computers in the laundry room. Why think about your load, the temp, the detergent when you can dump it all in and 3 hours later, maybe sans error code, have it done?

 

[mrb627]

Lint filtering

If I recall correctly, it was decided on this board that filtering the wash water was obsolete with the switch from line drying to an automatic dryer.

I could be wrong, but that is what I recall...

Malcolm

 

[laundromat]

My belief is that lint filters in washers was a way the manufacturers would use a screen ,brush or perforated tray or pan to catch any loose fabric the vigorous agitation would cause. They also used it as a step up feature on different models to make more of a profit. I,personally saw no real use for it other then to increase profit and use as a sales tool. If that isn't true and lint filters are a must to have with washers,they'd have them today. Especially top load agitator type washers.

 

[murando531]

Those are all great points, especially yours washman haha. I had quite a chuckle at that. Still, with that logic being completely true, it strikes me as even more odd that it is now common to have a manual filter in a dishwasher. It is much easier to pop out a tray/cup/what-have-you from a waist high machine than to get down on the floor to twist out the screen from the bottom of a tall tub dishwasher.

It would seem to me that filtering some of the excess lint would actually help the dryer's airflow, increasing its efficiency. I know there was a big difference between when we had our KitchenAid with the MagicClean filter versus after we got the Maytag Atlantis with no filter, at least in the dryer's case, particularly with towels. The top mounted filter, which has much more capacity and surface area than a front mounter, would be absolutely packed.

It also seems that eco-minded people would prefer to have a way to reduce the amount of lint going down the drain and into the water system. It would at least be a very helpful feature to be incorporated into washers with recirculation pumps as a solution when washing pet bedding and new clothes.

I created a make-shift, albeit temporary, solution last night when rewashing the new towels in an attempt to reduce the lint even further. The WP being electronic, I've memorized the dial combination to put the machine into manual diagnostics mode, and at that point can control any aspect of the machine at will, be it fill valves, agitation, spin, drain pump, and all at the same time if desired. So, I got an old mesh screened kitchen sink strainer, pulled the drain hose around so that it could go back into the tub, filled the tub with the towels added, and let it agitate. I then started the drain pump and let the water flow back into the washer through the screen, catching layers upon layers of fuzz from the towels, cleaning the screen while letting the drain pump rest for a bit at a time. By the time I got tired of doing it, I had a nice golf ball shaped wad of wet lint, and the fuzz was still coming. The dryer's filter, again, came out looking like a dense cloud.

 

[washer111]

My Solution...

Our previous Simpson TL machine had a lint filter, a pathetic affair that broke in short order.

My solution: Use a panty-hose bag strapped around the agitator caught a significant amount of lint and really helped.
This should hopefully work the same for you if your agitator works the same. If not - maybe you can find some other DIY solution to your problem.

 

[tolivac]

The manual non flush lint trap would be good for those folks like me that have septic tanks instead of a sewer line.And even the sewer co would benefit-they don't have to clean accumilated lint from their sewer lines.A manual lint trap or dish wouldn't bother me at all.It doesn't take THAT long to empty it.

 

[gansky1]

More man-made fibers, processing and coating/treatments of the "natural" clothing fibers reduce the amount of linting significantly. 

 

Most U.S. washer users have an automatic tumble-dryer so whatever small amount of lint makes it that far is abraded away by the tumbling action and trapped in the dryer's lint catcher.  Active lint filtering wasn't necessarily a gimmick if you hung most of your clothes on the line to dry, but those days are past.  At least for now.

 

[brib68]

Lint filters

My LG front loader (WM0642) has a catcher basket that pulls out from the lower front of the machine (not the washing compartment, it's accessed from the front panel)that catches lint, but seems to be mainly meant to catch coins, buttons and other misc debris before it gets into the pump and causes major damage. I've only pulled it out once or twice and the lint collected on it is always minimal. Certain loads, however will generate serious lint in the dryer. My wackadoo theory is that newer washers (front-loaders, at least) have a much more gentle action on the clothes, so less lint is put off, whereas dryers are still basically the same and the clothes have a lot more friction off each other as they tumble, so more lint is generated. That, or Bigfoot gets to the washer lint ahead of me while he is stealing single socks.

 

[nmassman44]

I know my SQ washer has a filter under the washbasket. That said it's rather useless in some ways since I do line dry and the lint I get from that washer is eye opening. My GE front loader on the other hand does a better job at filtering since it uses the wash vanes to sweep the lwater of lint.
Malcolm is right I also read in a GE washer manual that if you have linting issues, a dryer will take care of it. New towels will shed lint like crazy, the worst offenders that I ever encountered were The Big One towels that are sold at Kohls. No matter how many times I washed them when I got them, they still filled the lint filter of the dryer, and they had loose lint on the surface of the towels. After a month of washing I still got mega lint....I still have the towels and they don't shed anywhere near what they did new...but they are not as thick either.

 

[brib68]

Lint

You are right, nmassman44! By their nature, terry towels will shed a lot of lint the first several times through the wash. I learned long ago not to mix loads of my good towels because they come out covered with contrasting lint. I have a couple sets of super thick Ralph Lauren towels that are several years old, but are good as new, and they hardly give off lint in the dryer any more. On the other hand, I had a set of Wamsutta towels that I got when Filene's was clearing out old merchandise to make way for Macy's. They seem like they shed themselves to death. They don't seem nearly as thick as when they were new, and I quit using them because they wouldn't dry us off after a shower.

I miss the Royal Velvet towels I used to snag on clearance with my employee discount when I worked at LS Ayres in Fort Wayne. Most of them are still around, but nothing is a matched set, so they are all just spares now.

 

[iheartmaytag]

I second what Malcom said

I was advised by both a sales person and a repair person that the washer lint filter was deemed unnecessary due to most people machine drying and the dryer would handle the lint. Back when more people line dried it was more important for the washer to catch the lint.

 

[jerrod6]

Perhaps most dryers will catch some of the lint but many dryers will just blow the lint outside or let it get trapped inside the dryer and pipes.  No wonder there are dryer fires. Excess lint is still in the wash water.  I use a metal type lint filter that slides over the end of the drain pipe.  You roll it on like a condom.  It  catches a lot of lint and prevents it from going down the drain, but you will still have lint from new items in the dryer.  I like the use of these washer filters because most of my laundry is cotton and therefore linty regardless of their age. 

 

My washer has a trap that is present before the pump.  You access it through a door in the front, but I believe it is there to prevent damage to the pump and not to filter lint.  In fact the user manual makes no mention of lint and instead talks about coins, buttons, zippers and clips, so the lint sails right on through.

 

[launderess]

By and large yes, those traps on fronters

Are there to protect the pump from items such as buttons, coins, hair pins, etc... that might cause damage. Some do a better job of catching lint than others besides, but still.

Speaking as one who recently spent several days with a backed up sink drain that nothing would solve until a man was called out, laundry water should not be allowed to drain "unfiltered". It took the man over an hour with an electric powered snake to dislodge the mass blocking our drains. Turns out it was deep into the pipes inside the walls. When he pulled the snake out afterwards could see what one could tell were bits of lint and God only knows what else.

Have various filters that fit over the sink drain to catch lint, but one did get sloppy about using. It became such a bore because after one or two of the six changes of water by the Miele the things would be clogged. If not cleared you'd have an overflow situation. This is more apparent with the Miele than say the OKO-Lavamat because the former uses five gallons for the "Normal" wash and ten or so for each of the five rinses. OTOH the Lavamat is much more frugal.

Have taken to simply covering the end of washer drain hose with half a pair of nylons. Use a twist tie to keep the thing secured and it works a treat. Far cheaper as well than what one gets at the shops.

All methods of washing laundry produce lint. Tumble loaders perhaps less so than beaters/agitators but never the less lint is created and it is not a good idea to send it down the drains. Of course if one has a sink/drains dedicated to just laundry the perhaps the clogging issue will be lessened. But if using the kitchen sink or any other were greases, fats, oils, bits of food, dishwasher drains, etc.... then you risk combining lint with that lot. Sooner or later you are going to have the mother of all clogs.

 

[iej]

I have to say I've absolutely never had any issue with blocked drains with Miele and other machines that just have coin traps.

Likewise with the dishwasher I've never had any issue.

Our washer just goes straight down a stand pipe with simple U-bend trap and then into a normal drain gully outside.

In a lot of plumbing systems here the drains for sinks and washing machines enter the sewers via a gully trap (drain) outside the house, rather than going directly into a pipe. The toilets would be the only items with a direct connection.

In newer buildings they would possibly connect directly, but the gully-trap approach is still very common.

Like this or, with more modern plastic pipes.

Most drainage is done outside the house on the exterior walls as there's no risk of freezing

http://www.easterndrainageservices.co.uk/pic1.jpg

You'd just have different gullies for rainwater and foul water, so you wouldn't put your roof water down the sewer or your washing machine suds and shower down the surface water drainage.

 

[jerrod6]

Hmm  I am going to say that I think in my city everything is going down to one place. In my case I have a sump pump in my laundry that the sink drains into because the waste water pipe is on the other side of the house and is actually suspended from the ceiling until it reaches near the outside wall of the house, then it suddenly plunges down about 7 feet from the ceiling to the ground and runs outside.

 

The rain water from the gutters also runs through pipes from the outside to the inside and to this main waste water pipe.  Our water department also adds a storm water charge to our sewer bills( I don't like this because they charge everyone the same amount based on what they think the average size of a house is.  Just some BS explanation to get more money. ) so I think they are expecting all water to enter the same sewers. 

 

[ann]

Miss those lint filters

Well, I remember them quite well. What happened is that people started using clothes dryers which caught the lint. Now that I'm trying to be "green", I miss that function of the old washers. So now I'm left with lint and animal hair after washing which would have been collected by the old lint filters. I think it's time to re-introduce them!

 

[brucelucenta]

Lint filters on washing machines were never really anymore that a gimmick or selling gadget to begin with. It was GE washer's big claim to fame was for years. The dryer is what catches the lint anyway. The tiny bit of lint an old GE FF catches is nothing compared to what the dryer catches and clothes look about the same coming out of a washer with no lint filter at all. The only time a lint filter on a washer might have some advantage is when you are hanging things to dry, but even then the results are minimal.

 

[vacerator]

I agree mostly Bruce.

Here is why; My old Maytag had the lint filter beneath the fabric softener cup in the agitator. It did collect some lint, but never as much as the lint screen I had on the drain hose over the laundry sink.
My next Maytag from 1995 had screens in the tub bottom, same thing with the sink lint screen. My current Whirlpool product has a plastic comb like filter and same thing.
The old belt driven Whirlpool self cleaning filter that had small metal balls in it likely would have clogged had it collected any substantial lint build up.
Still, my mom always used an old nylon stocking over the drain hose, and still had lots of dryer lint.