LG Front Load Water Level Hack

[eurekastar]

For some reason today, a couple of videos popped up on Youtube about how to increase the amount of water in an LG front loader.  Has anyone tried it, and was it successful?  Also, if your washer has Turbo Wash, is the hack really necessary?

 

[stevet]

More water and turbowash

I have a similar LG machine and am not impressed with the cleaning results from it regardless of the cycles selected. Stain removal is worse than our Duet(left at the house we just sold)and the cycles are somewhat longer. I cannot fault it for the amount of cycles and added heat options and overall it has been a good machine.

I do agree that it does use too little water for my liking. I have not found a cycle that makes the water come to the bottom of the door. I have manually added water which does seem to improve the turnover as the guy in the clip mentions.

Mine has the turbowash but that has no effect on the water level. What it does is it pumps water from the inner tub on to the clothes while the drum rotates and sometimes between the rest period before it switches direction. There are 2 jets at approx.3:30 and 7:30 built into the boot and the water will spray into the center of the drum area with enough force to hit the rear of the drum if the load is small or onto the clothes if the load is larger. If the clothes have absorbed a lot of the water, then the spray is anemic at best. Once the water level is satisfied, the spray is much stronger.

I think if you can make this hack work, you will be more satisfied with the results. I tried the trick of wetting the clothes first by doing a rinse and spin cycle and cutting the drain off so the clothes really did not spin at all and then reset the machine to start a new cycle. I did not see much of a difference in water level as I think the computer sees a "heavier" load but then still fills to what it thinks the maximum water level should normally be.

We used to have a LG Tromm FL washer that had the controls on a conventional console and that machine actually filled up much higher than even our duet did. Most loads came up to the bottom of the door glass at a minimum and nearly half way up if using the delicate cycle. So, obviously, government regs have taken their toll.
Sounds like a worthwhile experiment to try one of these days.

 

[turbowash]

I own LG turbowash since 2013. We hacked water level last year. We didn’t need much more water, but a bit more water made big difference in performance. Im very glad we did it.

 

[vacerator]

The bedding cycle

is a high water level on my newer Samsung. First time I had a king size comforter totaly dry in the dryer after washing in it.

 

[petek]

I have no complaints about how well my new LG cleans clothes with the scant amount of water it uses.. I wholly disagree with what the guy in the video says and repeats that "water cleans clothes".. not entirely, some water, the right amount of detergent and agitation cleans cothes. Suds aren't even really necessary. I think the guy was using too much detergent in the first place from what it looks like he poured into that cap instead of using the measurement on the machines dispenser drawer. Just my thoughts on the matter.

 

[trappn]

About The Video.........

We found it informative, even though we didn't necessarily agree with everything.

One thing that hit home, though, is how the current laundry detergents smell.

For years, we used one of the Tide scents. Can't remember whether it was Clean Breeze, or Spring Meadow. Last jug we bought smelled horrible. Ended up giving it away. Then, we switched to Tide original scent. Not much better.

Looking for a better smelling laundry detergent, but doubt we will find it in any of the stores.

 

[mark_wpduet]

Even Downy

doesn't smell good to me anymore like it used to years ago. It used to smell so freaking good. The only way I can get close to that is to buy generic fabric softener....It smells so similar to old downy and yet isn't nearly as overpowering. With detergent, I use powder only but I use the big bucket of WindFresh from Sam's club. To me it's better than the Kirkland brand and the smell is very light.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

water level on kenmore elite clone

The water level on my Kenmore elite clone is adequate enough. I noticed that all the clothes are drenched, especially with accelawash active at all times whether by default or added on as an option. The washer does add water if the machine's recirculation pump starts to cavitate.

 

[petek]

I don't understand what seems to be a growing obession with scents / fragrances that only seem to be getting stronger and more chemical like. I don't want any lingering scent on my laundry at all.

 

[appnut]

The scents have to cover up the poor laundry practices of cold water only washes, cheap detergent, and short cycles.  

 

[sudsmaster]

Brigita,

 

How did you hack the water level in your LG? Did you do it, or did a service person do it? That info may be helpful to those members here with LG washers.

 

Re: Scents

 

IMHO, clean means no lingering aroma. If I have a choice, I'll buy a detergent, liquid or powder, without any added scent. I have noticed that even with scented detergent, most if not all of it goes away after machine drying. Then again, I have a male nose, a women might be better able to detect lingering scents.

 

Re: Water levels

 

With regard to water level, when I ran the bath sheet test in the Miele W1918 last week, I selected the "Extra Water" option, but the water still didn't come up to the bottom of the door during the wash part of the cycle. However it came up about 1/3 of the way up the glass during the rinse cycle. It may be that I was fiddling with the controls during that wash that that defeated the Extra Water option; I'll have to repeat it the next time I get a load of bath sheets. Or of whites, which the Miele does exceptionally well.

 

The Neptune 7500 does not, as far as I know, have any way to increase the water level, outside of physically fiddling with the water level sensing apparatus mechanism. And I don't know if that is possible, either. The machine diagnostics screen show two basic water levels: Low, for the wash cycle, and High, for the rinse cycle. On the plus side, the washer never leaks. Unless there's severe over sudsing, and then it only leaks when the door is opened.

 

That brings up one feature of the Neptune that I like. Outside of a spin, the door can be opened at any time, to check on suds level, add a garment, add detergent, etc. Miele makes that more difficult, requiring pulling the emergency door release cord in the little trap door at the front of the machine, and then you're best advised not to do that during a rinse cycle when the water is above the level of the glass.

 

 

[gelaundry4ever]

scented laundry detergent and fabric softener

I prefer scented laundry detergent and fabric softener in my clothes. To me, freshness and cleanliness is my top priority, along with comfort and color vibrancy. And yes, it has to be sorted accordingly.

 

[DADoES]

 
Enjoying some residual scent in the clothes is OK for personal preference, but you're completely off-base if you think that confirms "freshness and cleanliness."

 

[jerrod_six]

Sudsmaster

I had the Miele W1986 the next generation after the W1918 and when programing for extra water I could select extra water in the Rinse, or extra water in the wash, or extra water in the wash and rinse. Perhaps yours has the option to give you both.

 

[mark_wpduet]

well

how can you not have any lingering scent if you use liquid fabric softener that's always in the LAST rinse? Unless the fabric softener is completely unscented. I do use liquid fabric softener.....but I'm talking just a tablespoon diluted with water the rest of the way... and even that little bit is pretty strong. But I know the clothes are clean...It's like clean with that scent (if you will) not covered up with scent. But I can't wait until this bottle of Downy is gone. I didn't buy it. I put fabric softener on the list and specifically said "generic" and they came back with Downy because it was on sale. I still wouldn't have bought it even if it was on sale. It just smells horrible compared to the way it used to smell. The generic store brand has a much lighter cleaner smell to me. Downy smells like someone spilled a bottle of perfume.

 

[sudsmaster]

Jerrod,

 

According to the Operating Instructions for the W1918, water plus is active in the Cottons cycle for both wash and rinse, and in the wash cycle only for Permanent Press. However by default the Rinse water level for Permanent Press, Delicates, and Fine Rinse cycles is set to High anyway, obviating the need for Water Plus for those portions of the cycles. Also, the Wash water level is set to High for the Fine/Delicates wash and rinse cycles, obviating the need for water plus in those segments as well.

 

Because all my Miele washers are installed in a separate workshop building here, it is not super convenient to monitor their operation. I do what I can!

 

 

[foraloysius]

I've said it in the past but will repeat it here. You don't want the water level in the wash part of a cycle too high. The laundry has to fall against the wall of the drum, not into the water. When our ancestors beat their laundry on a stone, the stone was above the water line, not under it.

 

[eurekastar]

Thank you all for the discussion!  It's giving me a lot of insight!

 

[gelaundry4ever]

tide and downy smell

I love tide and downy because of the performance and especially the smell.