FL Machines Really Do Clean!

[whirlcool]

Last week I came down with a really bad cold. I was stuck in bed for a good amount of time. But now I am feeling better, but I want to relate an experience I had about this time.

I was laying in bed one afternoon feeling like total crap. Sammy, our large Chocolate Lab was laying up on the bed with me, I guess for moral support. All of a sudden he starts vomiting, all over the bed. And I mean a lot!

I felt so dizzy and tired I just threw the comforter (cotton polyfill with twill exterior) in the closet without cleaning it. I fell back asleep and forgot to tell Karen about this. Well today I took the comforter out. Yuck! Dried dog vomit all over the comforter for over a week. I was wondering if I should just throw it away and buy a new one. So since it's my job to go to the coin op, I took it and the mattress pad (which got soaked as well)to be washed. Man, did that thing stink.

I got to the laundry, found a newer Wascomat SU630CC and put in the comforter. Selected heavy soil and extra rinse option as well as hot wash. I then used about 60ml of Foca and about a capful of bleach (the comforter is light beige) and let the machine rip. The machine did its thing and I noticed that the water levels were about 1/3 of the way up the door. Finally the machine had a totally clear rinse & spin.

When I removed the comforter I was shocked to find no trace of the stain or smell at all! I was impressed! Even if this comforter was able to fit in our TL machine, I don't think it would have cleaned it properly.

Now the question is, I used a commercial FL machine. Do home FL machines clean as well? This one I used at the laundry did seem to use a lot of water!

 

[mark_wpduet]

Yes........Wascomats are great...........When I first started to read this, I thought you were referring to HOME FL washers, since a lot of people seem to have issues as to whether or not they actually clean........A heavy commercial machine will always clean well (I think)

 

[dustin92]

Our Frigidaire gallery only washes in about 3 inches of water. It cleans everyday soil pretty well. It will hold a queen size comforter, and will clean everyday dirt from it, but probably would not do well with dog vomit on a load that big. I honestly think it uses too little water, as you never see water while it is washing, just what runs down the door as the clothes tumble. I have to say the rinsing is fair at best, I always use the extra rinse option, which causes it to do 3 rinses instead of 2. I think it should have 4, with the extra rinse making it do 5 or 6! I think overall a top loader is better. answering your question, do home front loaders actually clean- yes, but dont expect miracles like you had. I have washed a twin size comforter with dog urine on it, and it took 2 heavy cycles, with hot water, plenty of detergent, bleach and extra rinse to totally remove the smell.

 

[alr2903]

I do not know about now but the Milnor machines in the 70's and 80's used huge amounts of water, with the sudsline half way up the window. They were many of them in New Orleans, probably because the Milnor plant is in Kenner La. Back then it was shocking to use a wascomat machine, as they were not as generous with water as the Milnor's. The coin op i use here for comforters and mattress pads are the "Electrolux" versions and seem to use alot of water especially in the rinses. alr2903

 

[launderess]

Well If You Mean "Commercial" Front Loaders

Then yes, they do clean quite well. OTHO if you are referring to those modern domestic units that trickle a bit of water into the drum, then roll clothes about, I wouldn't be too sure! *LOL*

Have three washing machines; the Hoover TT, older Whirlpool "convertible" and the Miele. Anything that is really soiled/stained goes into the last,no questions period.

Know one will get slammed for this, but a properly loaded, chemically dosed and allowed enough water to get the job done, will out clean most if not all top loading washing machines without all the palaver of pre-treating/soaking/washing.

Laundering bulky items in today's front loaders can be tricky because they simply do not use enough water. Also since it seems the darn fools responsible for design have been got at by "tree huggers", it is hard to find work arounds to add more water if needed.

Those large commercial machines are great for many reasons, one in particular is because there is enough room inside the drum for "lifting and dropping" of wash. This action along with a nice healthy water level does make a difference. It is why with proper chemicals and water temps you can get things clean with <15 minutes of wash time, versus the 30 minutes (or longer) of some domestic machines.

 

[frigilux]

My new-issue Frigidaire uses very little water and it actually cleans remarkably well. However....it would probably not be too successful handling a large amount of dog vomit. If you were to shake most of the dried debris off the comforter, then I'd have no problem recommending washing it in a modern front-loader.

If copious amounts of dog vomit are not a regular part of your laundry grime, then yes, new front-loaders clean very well.

I've washed comforters and blankets laden with cat hair (after giving them a shake-out first, of course) and my ultra-low water use washer handled them just fine. Quite a bit of pet hair was removed by the washer, and the rest was caught in the dryer's filter.

While I find watching vintage front-loaders in action far more enjoyable than watching a front-loader, I'll take a front-loader---especially a new one, with huge capacity and uber-fast spin speeds---over a top-loader as my daily driver every time. My washer cleans a huge load highly stained kitchen whites using about 17 gallons of water (including a prewash and extra rinse). The results are always flawless; the load is dry in about 35 minutes. Can't argue with performance like that!

 

[whirlcool]

Before I went to the coin op, I put the comforter on the driveway and swept all the excess "debris" off of it. But is sure did have some nasty stains on it.

But when it happened I kept asking myself "why does this have to happen when I am sick?" Normally none of our dogs throw up very often. It's a rare instance.

 

[amyswasher]

Animals can catch illnesses from people, and vise-versa.

 

[dustin92]

I forgot to mention that the FL machines at our local laundromat, which are IPSO machines of all sizes, use less water than our Frigidaire and do not clean well at all.

 

[toggleswitch]

...And dogs and cats are empathic. (Is that the word /concept I am looking for?

The dog may have been feeling what you were psychically, if not physically.

.....Or you both ate the same bad Chinese-food!

 

[hoover1100]

I for one (and I'd bet the vast majority of people over

Would say that a modern, domestic front loading machine washes (and rinses) CONSIDERABLY better than a commercial front loader.

The cycles are too short, the water levels too high (making the wash less effective)and the lack of accurate temperature control makes them pretty useless on most heavy soil IMO, they do an ok job, but a modern domestic front loading machine is far better at removing tough dirt.

Glad they got your stuff clean though!

Matt

 

[launderess]

In Both Commercial and Domestic Laundry Settings

Amercians by and large are wedded to using chlorine bleach for stain removal/whitening where possible, hence the "short" cycles.

As for water temperature and control, frontloading commercial and laundromat washing machines can be set for either automatic temperature control, and or connected to a source to supply heat (steam, electric and or gas). Most laundromats do not bother with heating as in introduces more costs. What all commercial laundromats and laundries do have are recirculating pumps that keep the water from the heater moving about so there isn't the cold water "lag" when machine fills.

Hot water going into the machine can be as hot as the heater is set (though most machines probably have some limit set by the maker, usually around 160F or less to protect incoming water valves and so forth), some laundries/laundromat machines will inject various amounts of cold water as the machine fills, even on "hot" to prevent using too high a water temperature, others simply take what is given. Again this is all controlled by the owner of the laundry/laundromat.

All things being equal, two "short" washes are better for cleaning very soiled laundry than one long cycle. Especially with American laundry detergents which by and large are designed for short wash cycles usually found in top loading washing machines. Indeed until recently no such thing as "HE" detergent exsisted on these shores, well ok, there was "controlled suds" detergent, but by and large Amercians use whatever detergent (normally designed for top loading machines), in laundromat washers.

As the amount of water used for the wash cycle is decreased, the length of the wash cycle must increase to compensate. Otherwise there is a very real risk all laundry will not be saturated with the detergent/water solution thus cleaned.

Domestic front loading washing machines have greatly increased their wash times over the past few years, this is in response to "Energy Star" ratings causing them to use less water. However as even "Consumer Reports" has finally noticed this can and often does lead to increased wear on laundry. Long cycle times coupled with low water levels increase not only the friction of wash action, but the length of time wash is exposed to such.

 

[supremewhirlpol]

IPSO COMMERCIAL FL MACHINES CLEAN QUITE WELL THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!

 

[hoover1100]

Hmmm

In my experience one long wash cycle in a domestic machine is far more efective that 2 short washes in a commercial machine, even with a high temperature of hot water I find they just set in stains compared to a cold fill, heated machine.

A lower water level/long wash I find is far more effective than a shorter wash with a higher water level too.

As for clothing wear, I find clothes are less worn from our modern machines than they used to be with our previous machines which used more water and had shorter wash times, they're certainly a lot less worn than in my Hotpoint twin tub (but that's a whole different debate).

Maybe it is just detergent design, I'd have to use an American detergent to compare.

As for Ipsos, not wishing to cause offence, but I've never found the 28min Hot wash on the ones at our local Laundrette to be particularly effective.

Matt

 

[launderess]

Commerical & Laundromat Washers In The US

By and large do a cold or warm water "pre-wash" before the main cycle, often regardless of the temperature chosen for the later cycle.

Being as this may, now that computer controls are making headways into laundromat washers, in the name of energy savings, some programs allow one to skip pre-wash and or charge extra for hot water washes.

American laundry detergents by and large are designed to work quite quickly, again because of the short cycles(top loaders) on these shores have.

Case in point; did a load of badly soiled table linens last night in the Miele using the newer version of Tide "HE" "Free and Clear" liquid.

Since the boilers are now on (heating season) water out of our taps is >130F, so in an effort to save a bit on electric by avoiding having the Miele do a cold to 120F or 140F wash (my main setting to get good bleaching action for certain stains), did a cold pre-wash first using a bit of Tide, then onto a "hot" wash using a hot fill and boosting temp the rest of the way up.

After the pre-wash water drained, decided to peep at the wash in order to see if any stains were left that could be set by incoming very hot water. To my surprise the linens were almost totally clean. Not sure how long the pre-wash is on my older Miele, but it is much less than the wash cycle, and am guessing <10 mins.

 

[frigilux]

Launderess, I discovered the same thing with a load of stained kitchen whites. The washer had just drained the pre-wash water, and I noticed a stray black sock in the load. While digging around in the load to locate and remove the sock, I noticed that many of the stains were already gone, or nearly so. The pre-wash is 10 minutes in temp-controlled cold water on my Frigidaire.

 

[ronhic]

Animals can catch illnesses from people, and vise-versa.

Amy....

Generally not....

 

[whirlcool]

The week before I got this horrible cold I went to my doctor for my annual check up and stress test. His office is in a 28 story office tower that is full of doctors offices. If I go in that building OCT-MAR I always get sick a week later. I usually only have one cold per year, thank goodness.

The washer I used to wash the comforter did do a cold water prerinse and warm water rinses except for the very last one, which was cold water. I think this contributed to the final result as Laundress indicated.

AFAIK, the only illnesses that could be passed from dogs to humans is hookworms, roundworms and ring worms. And if you get bit by a tick that may be on your dog could transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. But if you keep your dog current on heart worm preventatives and flea control, this shouldn't be a problem. Most heart worm preventatives like HeartGard contain intestingal worm preventatives.

 

[jerrod6]

Happy with my FL

I have gotten better performance from my FL than any top loader I have used and I don't use chlorine bleach in it. Mine is a bit older, purchased in 2002, so it might use more water than newer ones.

It has longer and shorter programs but defaults to the shorter one unless I select the extended option. The short wash lasts between 12 and 20 minutes depending on the load size followed by 2 or 3 rinses with high speed spins between each. I use this short wash for almost every cotton load except heavy soiled white socks and underwear. I use extended for the heavy soild white load and add a prewash which can be added to any program. I also use the prewash with stained items. The prewash lasts for 15 minutes and fills with tap cold water which is then heated to about 100F before the water is pumped out. The main wash then continues with whatever temperature you have selected.

So far very good performance from my FL.