DE906 Perm Press Cycle

[DADoES]

I've used it several times and noticed that it runs longer (and hotter) than Regular Fabrics. I recall someone outlined that for purpose of "ironing" Perm Press fabrics, it's designed to reach and hold a target temperature for a period of time. Does anybody have details on exactly how it's programmed? For example, does it run for a specific time period longer the point at which the electronic control is satisfied that the load is dry? I recall someone posted 906 instructions recommending that Perm Press be used for heavy items that need to be completely dried, such as denim jeans with thick seams. My DE906 instruction card, however, doesn't say that.

I ran a large load of shirts this afternoon, washed and dried in the 906s. I kept listening if the dryer is done so the clothes didn't get left sitting (I can hear it running in the garage from the patio door if the garage side door is left open, acoustics are perfect for directing the sound). It kept running and running and running, so I went to check and it was still running heat, with the "Halo" area around the door very warm. I checked the load and it was completely dry (I'd say overdried by normal standards) and quite hot to the touch, so I switched to Air Fluff for finishing, removing and hanging a few at a time. Don't know how much longer it would have run. I must say, however, that the "wrinkle resistant" items came out very nice! The Maytag Laundry Guide I have says that Perm Press fabrics by nature "can't get overdried" but I'm thinking that doesn't apply to synthetics nowadays.

I also did a load of sheets with one bath towel, a washcloth and two pairs of socks. Previous experience with both jeans and a mixed cotton load on Regular Fabrics finished them objectionably damp, so I used Perm Press to see what'd happen, letting it run to the finish. The towel, washcloth, and socks were completely dry, which means the sheets were technically overdried.

 

[danemodsandy]

Perma-Press

DADoES:

Back in the Sixties when the 906 was the latest and the greatest, Perma-Press was different than it is today. Back then, it was a heat-set resin finish, with creases ironed in at the factory and everything. The resin finish made garments look pretty nice, but they felt like wrought iron, and their absorbency was pretty limited. It wasn't much fun to wear Perma-Press on a hot, humid day (though it WAS an advance over "drip-dry" nylon shirts- remember those?). Today, Perma-Press qualities are built into fabrics from the get-go, before sewing, and nobody seems to care if the result puckers along seams and pockets.

If I remember correctly (and sometimes I don't these days), older Perma-Press required quite a lot of heat- something to do with that hard resin finish. I know that we had a BOL Kenmore dryer at that time with only one heat setting- hotter than the hinges of Hell. We could have roasted turkeys in that thing had we been able to take the bumping and banging. At any rate, all the Perma-Press school clothes I had at that time turned out fine in it. Crisp and ironed-looking, just a leetle bit warm to wear here in Georgia.

 

[SactoTeddyBear]

Re: Overdrying:

Hi! Glenn, I've heard others mentioning about making sure that the Electronic Control Maytag Dryers are Grounded, to allow the Electronic Control to work properly. Do you have the Dryer Grounded? That might be what's wrong with it not shutting off.

Peace and Great Memories of the Ol'Maytag's, Steve
SactoTeddyBear...

 

[DADoES]

Thanks for the comments and info!

I understand about permanent press fabric finish, but I'm curious as to the details of exactly how the Perm Press cycle is programmed.

The dryer is grounded, and does shut off. The Perm Press cycle runs longer and hotter because that's what it's designed to do (which actually is helpful with jeans!).

 

[tomturbomatic]

Glenn, In the Perma-Press cycle, the heating part of the dry cycle terminates after the air temperature reaches 160F, a temperature that is only possible to achieve in that dryer once the clothes are dry, if everything is working properly. Then the cool down starts. Because of the extended heating to reach the higher temperature, the cycle is also recommended for drying heavy items where the surface would be dry before the interior or where heavy seams would remain damp after the rest of the item was dry.

Does your dryer keep chiming during the Perma Press cooldown so that the load will be removed before the dryer stops?
Tom

 

[cycla-fabric]

Glen, I have a Maytag Electronic dryer DE608(not a HOH model, and it is grounded properly too), the last of the center dial models, and I find that drying on the permenant press section that a load of clothes will usually take about 45 to 50 minutes before it starts ringing the chime to tell you that the load is done. Too long in my opinion as usually everything is overdried and its just wasting time running. I normally set another timer to remind me to go and check at 30 minutes, and 99 out of 100 the shirts are dry, and I pull them out and hang them up. I think it is just the nature of Maytag dryers to run longer and that the electronic control doesn't respond fast enough to signal the dryer to shut down. I also find that using the damp dry cycle which only runs 20 minutes, usually works well, but the shirts do come out somewhat damp, which is fine, as I just put them on the hanger and let them finish up air drying. Also, I think I read in an old CR magazine about Maytag dryers with the sensors in that they were slow to respond in shutting down when the load was dry.

 

[tomturbomatic]

As the electronic dryness control dryers age, the circuitry sometimes develops faults and the dryers will not shut off. One early cure for this was taking one baffle's sensors out of the circuit and if that did not fix it, another sensor was cut. The old system was originally very sensitive. Starting an empty dryer on Damp Dry would result in it shutting off within 5 seconds or less.

 

[gansky1]

I've only used the Perm-Press cycles on my HOH dryers once or twice, I never have trouble getting everything dry on Normal. Very rarely do I have any towels or seams of jeans that are still a little cool/damp.

When these HOH electronic control dryers first came out, complaints about dampness at the end of the cycle started flowing in and Maytag added a couple of reisistors in the field to make the "over-run" a little longer. My white 906 had these and I ended up taking them out when the machine wouldn't ever shut off. That worked for a while, then the caps and resistors on the board finally went bad and I replaced the entire control. Parts from Radio Hack could easily be used to repair those boards - which is probably what we'll have to do as those parts are long NLA now.

 

[mixfinder]

806

I ran an 806 for 21 years with a family of 6. The dryer performed flawlessly, but I sorted clothes by weight so that everything would be dry at the same time. The sweet little chime would begin dinging on the permanent press cycle, but after 5 minutes you wanted to rip the sucker out to shut it up. My wife refused to use the permanent press cycle because she didn't want to get up and fold the clothes and she couldn't stand the sound of the chime. My dryer was purchased in 1979. I had friends with one purchased in 72 and it fried everything. I always thought there must be an adjustment.
Kelly

 

[pturo]

My DG906 (gas) has been nothing but gentle even on Perm Press, which takes longer to shut off than REGULAR button, what with the cool down cycle, which is pretty much bullshit, it lasts about 2 minutes. If anything, the older Maytags do not heat and scorch the clothes like the new dryers do. An old Maytag dryer is a treasure.