Anyone know anything about this? GE limits Hot Water

[artcurus]

Post from a different board...

Good luck to anyone purchasing a new washing machine. EPA has decided to get involved in our laundry. I have a GE/Hotpoint top loading, nothing fancy, purchased January 2016 - am I sorry!!!. HOT water is limited to 94 degrees, per EPA regulations - there is a sensor limiting how hot is HOT. The agitator is a sick-acting movement with no energy, leaving little to NO turnover to clothing. Those are the 2 most irritating problems, not even mentioning how the lid fell down on my nose and knocked my glasses into the tub. Tub is plastic. No buzzer when load is DONE. I'm going downstairs now to count the agitations per minute. Yes, Thank you Government Officials. I live in country, where dirt, grease, manure are common laundry issues. I now fill the tub with a bucket filled from nearby laundry tub. Sometimes I wash my load 2 times. Handy, huh?

 

[appnut]

Why I prefer a front loader.  Ones with heaters do have cycles which can get 130 and 154 degrees. A prewash and an extra rinse or two would accomplish what you want in a front loader and that won't use exorbitant amounts of water each fill. 

 

[combo52]

Disappointing GE TL Washer

Sorry you don't like your new washer but you often get what you pay for, there is no goverment law that says you can not have a hot wash.

.

You can buy a Speed Queen TL washer that gives a pure hot wash as hot as your water heater can put out.

 

[d-jones]

Is there any chance they've limited water temps to prevent damage to cheap plastics?

 

[washman]

that would be my bet

"Is there any chance they've limited water temps to prevent damage to cheap plastics?"

Yup. No question about it.

 

[mattl]

People that walk in and buy the cheapest POS on the floor get what they deserve.  Look around, talk to people, read something.

 

[washingpowder]

Well why so harsh?

People buy what they're told to buy, if they have no technical knowledge in what they're after. After all, not every human in the world has a degree in laundry.
If one goes to a store and sees an item called a washing machine, one would assume it would actually be a washing machine indeed.

I just personally think it's false advertising to feature a "hot" water selection while in fact what you get is 94F. Other than that, it's not the consumer's fault they ordered french fries and got a baked potato. Its the manufacturer's of mislabeling.

 

[henene4]

Cheap plastics

I yet have to see any kind of plastic that is moldable at 140 or lower. So, I doubt its the plastic.

Further, I doubt all cycles are limited. Its the typical rating cycle effect: Temperatures reduced to meet energy requirements. I am pretty sure other cycles might go higher temperature wise.
And, honestly: Here in the EU, if you select a energy label 60C/140F cycle, you mostly get 100F at best. So, yeah, that seems the international oirm now.

 

[brucelucenta]

I think this has become the norm these days. Shame that EPA felt the need to get involved in all of this. You really can't buy a decent top load washer anymore without spending what a good front loading one would cost. Amazing that front loading machines are so far superior to top loaders today too. Certainly didn't used to be that way. Whether or not speed queen will be allowed to continue making a top loader that uses what the EPA considers an excessive amount of water and true hot water, remains to be seen. I look for the hammer to come down on them too. They are the very last of an almost extinct breed.

 

[vacerator]

The seals

might be less durable also, not just the EPA energy standards. By the way, those are world wide now. 8 billion people use a lot of energy up. That also makes more pollution.
More environmentally friendly parts might be less durable. Not only to make, but to recycle.
Look at the bigger picture.
When the bees began disappearing, we knew something was wrong also. No bees, no agriculturally grown produce.
Not that I like being forced to buy and pay for a lower quality appliance than I had before either, but I've planted lots of flowers and a butterfly garden, and I have lots of bees around my property now.
You can not grow corn that yields kernels unless you plant several rows so bees can cross pollinate them. Plant only one or two rows, and all you get are stalks.

 

[combo52]

94F Wash Temperature

If only I could get my customers to wash in water that hot, LOL    The majority of the washers I work on day in and out are set on cold water wash.

 

With today's detergents you should be able to get any  normal laundry clean at this temperature, however if you have really heavy soil loads hot water will work better and require less detergent to get the job done.

 

It would be fairly easy to do a work around to cause the washer to fill with your full hot water, you could also fill the machine with a hose for wash from the sink.

 

The hot water will not hurt the seals and tub etc, in fact about the best thing you could do for the seals is use  of hotter water, I think all can agree that the increase in seal and bearing failures we have seen in the past decade is at least partly blamed on cold water washing.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

My washer is very capable with hot water, though the control panel gets misty (a reason why lettering fades on a lot of vintage machines, & even causing deterioration of buttons, levers and knobs) and the water fills very slow!

 

I do hope hot water and a washer's ability to admit it (if i can't keep my vintage machines running forever) will be here to stay!

 

 

-- Dave

 

[chachp]

Recently bought a new Washer/Dryer

<span style="font-family: courier new,courier;">  </span>
<span style="font-family: courier new,courier;">I have had a Front Loader since about 2002.  I was considering one of the new TL HE machines with no traditional agitator.  At the end of the day I stayed with the Front Loader because I really am happy with the results I get and I know they with give great results in less water.</span>

 

<span style="font-family: courier new,courier;">What was interesting was the sales man at one place told me in the next few years we likely won't even find a TL machine with an agitator because they are being phased out.  He said the only ones he has fill about 1/2 way, won't give you a hot wash and he said the agitators don't really even move any more just the tubs move which really don't do much.    </span>

 

<span style="font-family: courier new,courier;">I really considered the TL HE machine but I just can't see how I can put something like a king size comforter in there and get it clean.  How would that thing move around?  Even though they use less water than a traditional TL machine they still use more than a FL machine.  I'm happy with my choice of new machine.</span>

 

[yogitunes]

well, before we consider the dubbed down temp.....

what exactly is you water heater set at?...

the most temp loss in one of my HE TLers is a 10 degree drop.....
granted my water heater is set at 160.....

so even at 150, most internal heaters can't give me that....

but if your water heater is set at around 120, by the time it gets to the machine, it has already lost close to 10 degrees....and then the machine may dubbed down even more.....that could explain most luke warm washes...

as John mentioned, fill it manually with a separate hose.....but again, I don't consider 120 to be all that hot....

purging the lines before starting the machine is a help.....

a few of us have either removed the restrictor on the hot side, or even drilled out the valve on that side to allow more of that temp to enter....

and a lot of these new machines are rigged to know if the correct water lines are hooked up.....

had one lady call me after hooking up her new machine, as it gave an error code from the start.......she only had a COLD line available for the washer, as that was all she used from the old machine.....still would not work with TWO hoses hooked to the cold water line...

there are a few that can get around this, and a few you can't fool.....

as for HE TLers.....once you get past the mental part of low water usage, consider the concentrated detergent lather and water temp, versus that impellor going t it alone to clean......even with a regular TLer full of water, you detergent is not diluted greatly!.......which is going to give you a better clean?....

 

[artcurus]

@yogitunes,

The 2015 Speed Queen we bought or the 1990's Maytag that I put a water pump in and now it works fine. No question about it. HE top load machines are crap.

My sister bought an LG top loader in 2010, there's animal hair involved with these loads of clothes and sometimes it does not come out without another 2 hour or longer wash time. Between constant "unbalanced load" error, sometimes it takes much much longer. She follows the instructions exactly. The tub rusted out of the 1990's Maytag she was using, but it worked 100x better than the LG that replaced it.

You can't replace true hot/warm water wash and enough water to get the job done, period.

 

[artcurus]

won't let me edit up a true agitator is the reason why these older machines clean so well. There's videos on youtube for Speed Queen that shows the displacement and the movement of clothes in the washer. The usual test is a colored washcloth in a load of whites. With the SQ, the washcloth is clearly seen making the rounds with the load. On the HE machine, it sits on top of the load, and never moves.

 

[warmsecondrinse]

A high concentration of detergent would be fine if the machine actually had some turnover. I suspect Artcurus is talking about a machine similar to my first TL HE: There simply isn't any turnover.

 

From an eco perspective, there's a larger problem, IMO. Apart from the 'stinky yoga pants' crowd, there are laundry-clueless people who do understand the concept of clean clothes. Eventually they'll start noticing that their 'clean' clothes are not clean. What will most of them do? They'll simply throw them into the hamper to be washed again.

 

Jim

 

[tolivac]

This may seem like a silly thing--can you just turn off the cold water spigot on that GE when you want a hot wash?Or does that machine have the stupid,goofy circuits that won't let you fill it with hot unless as someone says you use a hose or bucket.

 

[yogitunes]

granted not all machines are created equal, that is also to say of variables in loads washed and the operator themselves.....

I have the Cabrios, one belt, and one direct drive.....at wash-in events, we have thrown all type of loads at this thing, more than enough water, steaming hot temp to be exact, add in the sprinkler....the wash water is dirty and the final rinse water is clear....most loads are 43 to 60 minutes tops...

I too have a dog, a constant shedding Siberian....a Kenmore belt drive was probably the only machine that would choke from all the fur...

the average consumer is not always aware of what they purchase, nor really concerns themselves with laundry.....

BUT, your talking about someone who belongs to a washing machine site?.....not informed?....not educated on laundry?...no one to ask?.....now, if there was just someplace for someone to turn to find out the true dirt on machines available today!...oh wait, have any of you guys visited Automaticwasher.org....not judging, just sayin'!

I alone have been through countless number of machines, different models and styles, some good, some surprising, and some not so great, those of course went back for a refund....

within a week or two of laundry, you will know if you like any machine or not....if its not up to your standards, take it back!

it is funny though, the Clean Washer cycle uses full, non dubbed down HOT water!....seems were going to fall back into the 50/60's.....the newest craze, machines that clean themselves!.....I look for this to become an automatic thing, as in the machine comes on in the middle of the night to clean itself!....like water softeners that regenerate while you sleep...