benefits of long wash cycles

[maylingsmom]

I know there are some front load machines that can wash/agitate/tumble for an hour. Do any of you know the benefits of a cycle of that length and would a soak cycle be just as good? BTW, I am not speaking of a cycle that includes the rinse.

 

[frigilux]

Funny you should mention this. Big loads of heavily-stained kitchen whites are washed on my Frigidaire's Sanitize cycle. When set to the Max Soil option, the wash tumble time is 70 minutes. It's a testament to the gentle treatment fabrics get in a front-loader that these loads show almost no wear, despite being subjected to the cycle every week.

Lately, I've been wondering if an overnight soak with Biz (or other oxi-type product) and a shorter wash would produce the same outstanding results. I plan to find out this weekend when I'm home and can do a little monitoring/experimenting.

Benefits of Sanitize Cycle:

1) It provides a 'profile wash.' The water is gradually heated, and then held at 151 degrees. This allows each type of stain to be removed at the ideal water temperature from warm to very hot. It also gives today's detergents, with their cocktail of enzymes, plenty of time to work.

2) No extra water or laundry product is required for a soak or prewash (or both). Of course front-loaders use so little water per fill this is certainly not a deal-breaker.

Benefits of Long Soak With Shorter Wash:

1) Less wear and tear on washer. It isn't tumbling for 70 minutes just for the wash cycle. Having said that, I've run two to four Sanitize cycles per week for five years and the Frigidaire has never grumbled---and I wash huge, heavy loads of bath towels on that cycle.

2) Energy savings? Possibly, but not by much. While the washer isn't running for the extra 50 minutes (compared to a regular wash cycle), the savings in electricity is probably offset by the cost of heating the extra water for the soak/prewash. Some people soak in cold water, but products like Biz work better at warmer temps---and the water will gradually cool to room temp during a long soak, anyway.

My mom was an avid overnight soaker. All whites went into the suds-saving side of the laundry sink. In the morning, she'd drain the water, then stack the sopping wet clothes in sorted loads in the sink on the left. Then she'd fire up the Kenmore and the rest of the laundering process proceeded from there. She almost always used the suds-saver for a second or even third load (if the previous loads had been lightly soiled).

We were an HE household back in the early 1960s, LOL.

 

[foraloysius]

A long wash cycle helps with killing dust mites. The nurse from the lung department told me to wash my bed linens on 60 degrees Celcius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) for an hour to kill them effectively.

 

[appnut]

Being a former topload owner, I hope I never go back.  I don't have to soak any longer.  I just set the controls for either Allergene cycle (130 degrees) or Sanitize (155) and option such that it gradually heats the water form luke warm to either of those two temperatures and adds steam.  Laundry is so much easier now and I don't have to look for and pretreat stains or presoak either.  I'll never go back to antiquated washing processes.  Some of my kitchen towels and napkins sit for up to a month or more.  Tide with bleach alternative HE and that's it.  I may add a bit of Biz if it's extremely difficult stains. 

 

[maylingsmom]

Are any of you aware of research that supports long washes being better than a soak? I do both but wondered.

 

[mamapinky]

May, did I hear the word Soak, as you know I have a SQ AWN432, so I don't have long wash cycles, but I can comment on soaking versus washing in a agitator machine. I soak almost every load somethings 20-30 minutes and some overnight. My machines wash cycle is 18 minutes and I don't think this is enough time for enzymes to do their job expecially on children's stained clothing, so I usually soak awhile to give the enzymes more time to work, expecially since I rarely pretreat. I think it is very beneficial, and less damaging to fabrics than turning the dial back around for another 18 minutes of agitation. It also allows white loads to get the full benefits of oxygen bleach, which in my opinion needs more than 18 minutes to reach its full potential at whitening. I'm sure light or moderately soiled loads will be fine just running tbru a normal cycle in a SQ or other traditional machine, but in my house I don't usually have lightly soiled laundry. Lol. FL'ers I understand have a much longer wash time, I assume due to using less water, the wash action needs to be increased.

 

[kb0nes]

Clearly adding the mechanical action of tumbling the clothing would improve the effectiveness of the cleaning process. I can't see any reason that one would assume that an extended wash cycle wouldn't outperform a shorter cycle + a soak if the total times were similar.

The only drawback would be the extra wear and tear on the garments.

 

[maylingsmom]

I've looked around the internet some more and came to this conclusion. If you are simply trying to remove stains or do your weekly usual laundry without necessarily disinfecting, then it seems whatever you prefer to do is fine -- long cycle or soak. However, if you are trying to disinfect you would not want to use soaking. I found this "In order to reliably remove germs with detergent alone, CDC guidelines state that you need to wash items at 160°F for 25 minutes." I believe the amount of wash time would be shortened if you use something like Clorox to disinfect.

 

[iej]

You'll actually do a lot of disinfecting by simply washing in detergent for a long time. The surfactants and enzymes will destroy a lot of nasties by simply dissolving them.

People forget that laundry detergent solutions are actually very potent and aggressive cleaning agents. Adding more chemicals or boiling most likely isn't necessary.

We're not all dying of laundry related problems.

Bear in mind though the advantage a tumbling front loader has is that it can maintain the temperature for optimal action, keeps the detergent solution completely mixed and allows highly concentrated solution to be forced through the fabric by agitation and gravity.

A top loader would ned to slowly or intermittently agitate and also maintain heat to create the same impact.

Tumbling definitely causes a lot less friction and damage too. It's more about moving the clothes around so that the water basically cascades through them rather than pushing the clothes to rub against each other.

 

[wayupnorth]

Maybe thats why my mother and others would let their wringer washer agitate in hot water for 30 minutes or more while they vacuumed or did something around the house.

 

[pierreandreply4]

full waste of energy

to me thats a full wastes of energy for me putting a washer on 10 minutes is more than engough for wash time 14 if i need more time but for smaller load i would put the washer on 6 minute wash time it would be perfect in other word a good old fashion top load saves energy and do not waste it at least for me thats my line of toughs but if i had 15 minutes 9 and 6 like on this dial pic i would set it to 9 minutes 15 if needed but 18 minutes would be only if i would require to do an all night soak

 

[electron1100]

Infinite Soak Time

The very first Hoover computer control 1100 had a special mixed wash program, where by it would tumble and heat the clothes to 40o and then stop and tumble the load once an hour until you selected one of the rinse cycles.

So you could leave your items in soak overnight and then select rinse in the morning and finish the load.

Gary

 

[mamapinky]

I wouldn't think 10 minutes would be enough time for enzymes or sodium percarbonate to do its job. Cheryl

 

[pierreandreply4]

in my case i do not use such products

Well inmy case i do not use such products and if it was not for the poor washer that i have today aka duet washer that i can't even have keep the cold water wash setting i would always wash in cold water the set picture was the set my mom and me had from 1993 to 2004 before trying the duet washer that i hate it was the best to me if it was not for the washer agitator breaking my mom and me would still have this set today

 

[mamapinky]

You wash in cold? And no enzymes? Pass the smelling salts please.

 

[pierreandreply4]

nope i do not use enzymes and yes i wash clothes in cold water the only time i set the washer to hot water is for bedding other than that i occazinoly use warm but only for perm press but for normal load i wash clothes in cold water.

 

[foraloysius]

So, what detergent do you use?

 

[pierreandreply4]

sunlight with no phosphate and in the country i lived in enzyme detergents where eliminated years ago and i do not even use bleach because all the clothes i have are non bleachable including bedding if i use bleach its very rare

 

[launderess]

We've been through this before

One or more shorter washes give vastly better results than a single long one. This has been known going back to days when laundry was done in tubs by hand.

Commercial laundries (the best of them anyway) long have had several changes of water. This accounts for often why their whites and colors look so "bright".

Soaps and or detergents have a finite ability to keep soils suspended and away from fabrics. Long washing and or soaking times does nothing but allow removed soils to resettle back onto washing.

Have scores of sources going back to the early part of the last century for both domestic and commercial laundry practice that advise not to subject laundry to long soaking and or wash times.

This being as it may there are reasons for long cycles but they involve laundry that has been prewashed/soaked. That is if you want to soak out stains using say oxygen bleach or whatever things are first washed, then soaked. Ditto if you want to boil wash in a machine. Long story short you don't wash in mucky water.

One reason why persons use long cycles is the reluctance for a host of reasons to discard hot or boiling water. In a commercial setting is does seem wasteful to discard hot water after just a ten or so minute wash cycle only to refill with yet more water of a similar temperature for another cycle; but there you are.

Only other reason for long wash and or soak cycles comes from the introduction of enzyme products. There yes, since the creatures are living they will continue to digest soils/stains long as there is something for them to feed upon and under proper conditions.

You'll notice many commercial laundries either do not use enzyme products routinely and or require programming of special cycles. That is because the often short wash cycles really do not permit enough time for the things do their job. Indeed anyone who has used a laundromat washer may notice their enzyme packed products don't give the results expected.