Installed: Maytag 8100 Washer & Dryer

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Congratulations Eugene with the new set! That's a mighty nice pair of laundry machines. I hope they will serve you as long as you keep them. ;-)

Do you know what temperature extra hot is?

I bet you saved up laundry to give these machines a full test soon. Have fun!

PS: Pierre: It amazes me that you still visit threads about frontloaders given the fact how much you hate them. Please don't do that anymore and stop raining on other people's parade. Start your own thread about toploaders.
 
Louis-- Thank you! I plan to do a lot of laundry this weekend to check out more cycles. Comforters, curtains, bed linens, bath linens, another load of kitchen/personal whites, and anything else in the house that isn't nailed down.

 

As is the case with many User's Guides these days, very little information we at AW consider interesting is provided. I don't know exactly what 'Extra Hot' means. I'm guessing 120 degrees F. since 105 degrees is considered 'hot' by today's standards. I read that the heater is engaged on that setting and it does increase the cycle time by a few minutes when you select it. I'll take the temperature with an instant-read thermometer...if the door will unlock late in the wash tumble. Perhaps the service manual has more specific information.

 

So far I've used the Normal, Sanitize, Wrinkle Control, and Delicate cycles. I'm interested to know the specifics of the PowerWash, Allergen and Bedding cycles as well as the Steam For Stains option. I'll definitely try all of them this weekend.

[this post was last edited: 9/12/2015-05:24]
 
Eugene thank You, for posting about being able to see in the windows. I admired the Maytag's when you posted them. Best of luck with them! -A
 
Brent-- If you had ever witnessed bystanders flee for safety when I'm wielding a saw or other power tool, you'd agree building that awesome wooden pedestal would be best left to others, LOL.  

😰

 

Also:  It's probably an irrational fear, but I have major trust issues with machines that aren't bolted to their pedestal.  A little horror film plays in my head where the machine vibrates forward during a high speed spin, then takes a face-plant dive to the floor, pulling water pipes and sheetrock down with it. 

 

alr2903-- I was surprised to find only the 8100 had an internal tub light--at least in the Maxima Series and I'm glad to have it.  But it's also nice knowing that unlike some washers, you can see into it in a well-lit room.  I remember when several models in any given brand's line offered a tub light.
 
My jeans cycle is just what your wrinkle control cycle is--complete with cool down.  Although my Jeans doesn't offer steam for stains or extra hot options.  I like using my jeans cycle for no-iron, wrinkle free, permanent press items. 
 
Great looking set, Congrats!....keep us posted to your progress with cycles and options....

for the most part, have not heard of machines walking off of platforms, whether home made or built in, not saying that it could not happen, for a safety measure, a small strip could be placed in front to prevent a machine from walking forward and falling off...surprised there isn't a wired type of device to secure this to the wall......well, in this case, thankful nothing bad has happened yet, but you can be sure, once this happens to someone, anti-tip over devices will be added like with stoves....

I have pedestals on my Frigidaire pair in the main bathroom, in my case they double as laundry hampers, whites under the washer and colors under the dryer...once full, its time to run a load....yes, they can be pricey, got mine at a Sears outlet, 100.00 for the pair.....

and for this set, once I raised them, I can't easily get to my valves....so for this setup, I am considering something like this....not to mention flood safe since this is on the main level, and a drain pan was not installed.......

something like this may help in your situation...

there are other versions, some with a timer that allows the water to be 'on' for a short time, but I like this one because its automatic, and also will detect leaks on the floor and shut off the water and the machine....

 
I have only seen two washers walk. One was my landlord's Electrolux with still installed shipping bolts and the other one was my mothers early 80s washer that, like Launderess' Miele, just spun without caring about off-balance loads. I doubtbthe Maytag would walk - especially given the extra fancy suspension US front loaders tend to have.

I would be great if you could check the temp with a thermometer! I think the threshold to unlock the door on mine is 130F.

Also, here are the hoses that came with my Duet. These don't have electric valves in them.

logixx-2015091207282707687_1.jpg
 
That valve would be great to have

but watching him do that - I'd screw something up if I tried to do that myself. I'm so paranoid when it comes to plumbing. I wonder how old her washer is? That looked like an old GE washer.
 
The cold wash cycle on my Whirlpool Duet WFW72 I find is just like the normal cycle but instead it is 51 Minutes long. I think this is because of the extra spin before the final rinse.
 
PowerWash Cycle: Well, there's two hours and six minutes I'll never get back, LOL. Maytag's big deal exclusive is really just a very, very long regular old wash cycle with a few little accents. Sorry, Mark!

2:06 on the display countdown. Pulled up a chair, a cat, a cup of coffee (decaf McCafe; quite good!) and we were off to the races. Medium Soil level; Extra Hot water; Max Extract final spin. Three-quarters capacity load of bath linens. PowerWash spray fill with detergent. Medium tumble speed.

1:22 Machine paused about 30 seconds, then entered a slightly faster tumble phase. Load almost followed tub all the way around, dropping at about 2 o'clock rather than 11 o'clock.

1:04 Action changed to 2 rotations of tub followed by 25-second pause.

:59 Action returns to longer tumbles, some at medium speed, some slightly faster. Water must be very hot by now, as detergent (Tide Ultra Stain Release) is beginning to foam up. Can feel heat radiating off the door lens.

:42 Cold water PowerWash spray for two minutes. Water nearly touches lip of boot.

:40 Drain and spin. Very slow spin; probably to jettison some water from the load.

:37 Pump shuts off; countdown is put on hold while machine balances the load. Took about 5 minutes.

:36 Spin ramps up; pump engages.

:34 Spin slows to stop.

:32 First rinse. Most of fill through PowerWash Spray flume, but last part comes from regular fill flume, probably for dispensing bleach (although I didn't use any). Not a deep rinse.

:24 Drain/spin. Spins ramp up to approx. 700-800 rpm after wash and between rinses. Nice.

:16 Second (final) rinse. Entire fill through regular flume. This is the 'deep' rinse. Stopped machine and opened door. Water was about halfway to the lip of the boot. Not as deep as I hoped it would be, but certainly significantly more water than a standard rinse. You could hear water splashing and see it sumped at the bottom of the tub as load tumbled through it.

:12 Drain, final spin at what I'm assuming was 1400 rpm (Max Extract). Bath towels impessively dry at end of cycle.

So there it is. While I was hoping for more excitement, I will say that the cycle will probably clean the hell out anything you throw at it. I have a lot of cooking/baking to do today and tomorrow, so there will be a big load of highly-stained kitchen whites to wash. I'm going to use PowerWash rather than Sanitize. Might even throw in the Steam For Stains option for good measure.

I'll wash a load on Allergen tonight or tomorrow morning and report back. I'm all washered out at the moment. That was like watching Andy Warhol's film 'Empire State', LOL.
 
What?

No video? :)

Other than Powerwash, what are the main differences between this TOL Maytag and sibling Whirlpool?

Malcolm
 
The Whirly has some different cycles, one more soil level (heavy) and a Presoak feature of up to eight hours.

BTW, the PowerWash would certainly work well with some Euro powder for whites.

logixx-2015091213474700982_1.png
 
>Also: It's probably an irrational fear, but I have major trust issues with machines that aren't bolted to their pedestal. A little horror film plays in my head where the machine vibrates forward during a high speed spin, then takes a face-plant dive to the floor, pulling water pipes and sheetrock down with it.

That would be a huge nightmare.

However [imagine soothing self help expert voice here] we need to look for the good in even negative situations, and the good here is an opportunity to replace the destroyed appliances with new appliances to play with.

LOL

Seriously...I have to think that it would be possible to make some sort of pedestal replacement that would be secure. Perhaps it could even be designed to work with the washer's pedestal bolting system. I did this sort of trick with a pair of audio speakers that had bolt holes to allow them to be mated with specific speaker stand. Due to concerns with a cat, I got my cheaper speaker stands drilled with a hole in the right location, and got bolts from the hardware store.
 
BEDDING CYCLE: Three rinses! And that's without choosing the extra rinse option. Wonder if you'd get four? Will have to check that out. The third is a deep rinse as in the PowerWash cycle. Awesome.
UPDATE: Yes! Adding Extra Rinse option to bedding cycle gives you four--count 'em, four--rinses.

Martin-- Thanks for information/video on the flood-preventing water valve.

Malcolm-- No video, yet. There's really nothing special to watch.

Lord Kenmore-- I appreciate your soothing words. Fortunately, the Maytag is bolted to the pedestal, so I sleep soundly.[this post was last edited: 9/12/2015-23:50]
 
I built

a pedestal for my '97 Asko out of 2x6's and used the butcher block top from my Maytag portable DW that I built in when I remodeled my kitchen. It's been 10 years since the pedestal was built and so far the washer hasn't moved! I need to build one for the '99 GE dryer so they will be more balanced...but I keep my doors closed so that really doesn't matter.

Those Maytags are really nice, I hope they serve you well. They're just too darn big for us! WE'll have to stick with Swedish or German machines.
 
That was a really exciting Maytag review. My pockets aren't that deep so I'd be looking at the 5100s like I said....but I also like the GE right height machines. IDK if they'd be as robust as these Maytags though.....
 
Eugene

Thank you so much! It does sound like it would clean the hell out of anything. I know what you mean by heat radiating from the washer. When I run sanitize on my Duet it feels like a dishwasher that has been running a while. That is why I love having a heater in a washer...
 
A while back Combo52 admonished for all the over rinsing and not good for machines.  Up to that moment, I'd been using extra rinse for every cycle.  Now I don't use extra rinse at all except for Hand Wash or Delicate cycles because there's no spins between wash & rinses on those until after the last rinse.  And I don't have any chafing/rotting skin or no appendages have fallen off my body. 
 
I don't foresee the need for a fourth rinse, but I'm glad it's available if it's ever needed---without coming back to reset the washer.

 

The Maytag does a great job with just the standard two rinses.  I'm very impressed at how well liquid chlorine bleach is removed by adding a 3rd rinse.  I used a stronger dose than usual to test rinsing ability and there wasn't a trace of bleach scent in the load at cycle's end.  That wasn't always the case with the Frigidaire.

 

Having washed a half-dozen loads, I'll say this: No wonder you like your Whirlpool so much, Bob!  
 
Looking forward to what you think of the Steam Clean. The FrigiLux (the washer, that is😉) steamed in the first rinse, didn't it? I never understood how that worked. It spun out the detergent, filled with water and then heated? Was that a hot or cold fill? And did the load become saturated or did it just submerge the heater the create steam?
 
I have always used extra rinse

unless it's something that isn't very dirty and I don't use a lot of detergent..

but it could be over rinsing, I dunno....

Anyway, Eugene - would it be too much trouble for you to pull out the dispenser somewhat and take a picture of what it looks like?
 
Aww shucks Eugene (blush).  I fully understand and endorse the European approach to laundry.  Very hot washes and temperature controlled warm washes and the gradual heating of water through various temperature levels to hot/sanitary when needed to rid laundry of stains without having to check each garment as it's put in the machine.  And I'm willing to let the machine put in the time to yield the results.  I view this as a far more civilized, intelligent approach to tackling extremely filthy, dirty and stain-embedded laundry.  Laundry is so much cleaner and carefree than with a top loader.  And I have lots of stuff that's highly stained. Every front loader should have the heater to boost water temps.  It's unfortunate the pubic has been brainwashed about how wonderful cold water washing is.  Makes me cringe. 

 

 

I'm curious to know if without any steam for stains selected, if there's a steam routine that's ensues with using either extra hot wash temp or the sanitary cycle?  On mine, I think the steam routine toward the end of the wash phase raises the environment temp inside the washer to the 155 degrees.  And that's whenever I select Sanitary water temp, regardless of whether steam for stains is selected or not, it still "steams".  I wish there was a selector switch that allowed the user to select whether steam is used or not in conjunction with the concept of gradually heating the water from warm to hot or sanitary when stain treat is used--i.e. just like these machines did before the advent of steam.  I think steaming was added to save electricity but still allowing the higher temps inside the wash drum.  Even with just a warm water temp and steam for stains, there's somewhat of a gradual increase in temp to "warm". 

[this post was last edited: 9/13/2015-14:22]
 
Alex, here's my steam routine.  It drains the wash water and goes through a balance spin speed phase and spins out some water in the load.  But I think fabrics are still quite saturated.   And it may do this one or two times.  then it stops and fill with cold water somewhere in the machine.  I hear the water trickling into some sort of reservoir that sounds like it's up near the detergent dispenser.  Once that's complete adding water, then the heater turns on and begins heating that water wherever it is and the machine tumbles back and forth in a regular washing/tumble pattern.  This lasts for about 15 to 18 minutes and  I can after about 5 minutes begin hearing some sizzling noise (reminds me of when the Waste King dishwasher was paused while it heated the water to 155 for the final rinse).  And once wherever that waster is heated high enough, steam begins entering the wash drum.  All throughout this time, the display still says it's in the wash phase but also adds it's "steaming".  The door glass gets much warmer during this phase also.  Once the time ends, then it adds cold water to the drum to begin cooling the load down to about 100 to 120 degrees before it drains for the spin after the wash phase.
 
Mark-- Here are photos of the dispenser drawer, one with the multi-load auto-dosing cartridge in place; the other without. The writing says, "Place Cartridge Here Or Add A Single Dose Of Liquid or Powder HE Detergent Here." Photo 3 is the single dose dispenser cup. It did not come with the washer; had to order it as an accessory to the tune of $40. The two additional multi-load cartridges I ordered cost only $25 each, but are on backorder.

Bob-- I haven't used the Steam For Stains feature yet, but will tonight with a load of kitchen whites. I have a sinking feeling the Maytag isn't going to do much in the steam department, as literature says something to the effect of "Uses soaking, extra wash action, and steam to remove stains." I didn't see steam in the tub during the PowerWash or Sanitize cycles.

Alex-- In five years I didn't see so much as a wisp of steam in the Frigidaire. Enhanced cleaning was due to the extra 20 minutes of tumble agitation during the first rinse. The first rinse was hot; the second, warm when steam feature was engaged.

Am washing a load using the Allergen cycle. On Light Soil setting, the timer reads 1:42. When I pressed the Steam For Stains option, the time dropped to 1:36. Decided not to add the Steam feature, as I want to see how the cycle operates on its own. Will update when I find out rinsing protocol for Allergen.

frigilux-2015091314171509387_1.jpg

frigilux-2015091314171509387_2.jpg

frigilux-2015091314171509387_3.jpg
 
Thanks for the explanation. Hm, I thought Steam for Stains would just heat the water during the main wash; like Stain Treat used to do.

Bob, I did look at the parts manuals for the 97HEX 0 to 3 and neither contain the word "steam" or show any steam feeder, like the first generation Duets with Steam. *scratches head*

$40 just for that thing? When I use liquid, I just poor it straight on the load or into the dispenser as it fills. $40... *shakes head*
 
Well, that was interesting. I pressed Pause and waited for the door to unlock during the first rinse on the Allergen cycle. Wanted to see if it was a deep rinse (it was). I pushed the heavy load backwards a bit so see the water level and suddenly---with the door still open---the machine started to drain and flash two error codes: E03 and F08.

I'd read a user review in which a guy complained loudly that it took two calls to Maytag to get the washer to reset, so this did not make me happy. When the machine shut off (error codes still flashing), I powered it down, waited a minute, then turned it back on. No error codes. I chose Drain & Spin and after that Rinse & Spin.

I'm guessing two more deep rinses were in store on the Allergen cycle; believe the timer was at around 32 minutes when the error occurred.

I opened the machine a couple of times yesterday to check water levels and temperatures with no problem. Wonder what E03 and F08 are all about?

Any of our resident repairmen logged in to AW at the moment?
 
My allergen default is 1:42 and that's heavy soil.  Light soil drops it to 1:34.  Steam for stains raises default to 2:05.  Sanitize on the following cycles yield: Allergen 2:25, Heavy Duty 2:20 and Whitest Whites 2:43.  Adding Steam for Stains raises all those to 2:43,  2:25, and 2:56 respectively.  I will tell you with a very heavy load of towels on Allergen, I've seen the machine add up to 28 minutes to the wash time to make sure it has plenty of time to head to its target temps.   Alex, mine is a WFW97HEXW0.  The fill flue is about at the 10 O'clock location inside the machine.  Tis is a rubber nozzle type of things on the gasket (with a hole) at about 11:00 o'clock.  I'm assuming that's for steam.  I've never used the cartridge so I don't know if that's what that's really for.  Yikes Eugene.  If my mother was there she'd say, that's what you get for opening the machine during its cycle.  You're supposed to leave it alone lol. 
 

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