Maytag A806 very hard on clothing

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floyde

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 23, 2014
Messages
151
Location
Los Angeles, CA
I am the proud owner of a Maytag A806 from 1979 that Kevin helped me get last Spring.

I've noticed that that I'm getting holes in underwear and today an expensive pillowcase less then a year old is shredded at the ends. I don't use chlorine bleach so it's not from that. Also t-shirts (tank style) are getting wider and wider.

Has anyone else seen excessive wear on these clothes from the agitator?

I thought these machines were supposed to be relatively gentle.

Any comment from you Maytag lovers are appreciated.
 
even if you overloaded, these machines would 'give in' to the load to save wear on the machine....

pull the agitator, and check for any sort of hangnail sticking out that may be snagging on clothing, as well as the inner tub.....

just uncommon for this type of machine....
 
just a suggestion here...

I'm no expert here but,
could it be that you aren't filling the machine with enough water??

One mistake I made when I was washing a set of delicate curtains was I filled the machine to a medium sized load (because that's where the curtains reached on the agitator) and I set the washer on "DELICATE", thinking this was how I was supposed to use the "SLOW" speed to wash. Well my curtains came out partly shredded.
But come to find out, when you use the "DELICATE/GENTLE" cycle, you're supposed to use the "EXTRA LARGE" load water level to get the true "GENTLE" washing action.

Is this what you're doing too??
 
Here's my two cents....I would check the agitator to see if you have any rough areas on the wash vanes. That can happen when one doesn't close zippers and they get down to the base of the agitator and it roughs up the edges of the vanes. Next I would look at loading. With a Maytag washer one drops the clothes in loosely and only loads to the top row of holes for a full load. Do not pack or wrap the clothes around the agitator.
I have had Maytag washers in the past...an A510, A613 and an LAT 9356 and with all those machines, never had an issue like this happening to laundry. I also never overloaded those machines either and always got great results.
 
yes loading it proper

Well, I checked originally and went over the agitator again and it's as smooth as a baby's bottom. This machine got very little use from what I understand. It came from a house in Palm Springs and for all the years was only used a couple months out of the year.

I'm very careful about closing zippers and button on clothing . I have never even used the extra large load selector, as I always under load it if anything. This was a bottom sheet and 5 pillow cases. One pillow case came out in really bad shape. As I said it was a thicker pillow case more like a shame and it just shredded the edge where it is sewn to overlap the case.

The items where placed in quarter sections and not wrapped around the agitator.

I had it serviced when I got it with new belts, could it be that the agitator
is moving too many fast? I don't know if there is any any adjustment you can make.

With only a 10 minute wash it seems that this wouldn't happen.
 
I am sorry for your fabric damage

Maytags' action might be slow, but they can be rough on clothing because they have very aggressive agitator action at the bottom of the tub, even with the Power Fin agitator, and, unless underloaded with fabrics and filled with water, don't have the greatest turnover. Sometime in the late 60s or early 70s, CU tested single speed washers with casement weave curtains, sorta net looking things, and they had a picture of how the Maytag had distorted and pulled snags in the piece washed in it.

When John worked at Lanham Maytag, he washed his work clothes in his Kenmore combo while Bill and Bob's wives washed their shirts in their Maytags. John's shirts lasted a lot longer, which they probably would have anyway in a front loader, but the Maytags did put some serious wear on things.

Have you checked the tub for any rough places since you know that the agitator is smooth?
 
Only thing different

I used Borax and wanted it well resolved so I added the clothes after agitation began. It wasn't agitating while I was adding clothes though.

So does it do better on more water and less clothes or just an average load with right amount of water?

Usually I have what I would consider more water in the tub than the ratio of clothes in the tub.
 
I heard about some agitator configurations not being good to some kind of clothes, like catching and pulling in the fins, maytag fins might do that to some thin fibers and yes like large net fibers as fins are not attached to the base but are flexible to some extent, though that is something that usually happens as you overload and or underfill it..and not so likely.
Said this I always heard about maytags as well designed in this sense... pretty gentle yet effective.
The sort of damage you describe sounds more like a rough tub damage than agitator, especially if you have checked it, not much about the holes but what makes me think it's rather the ends of clothes you mention which if I have understand are chewed and "grated", these are usually the tails, collars and endings or high ground sewing that are the most rigid parts on the clothes and the ones that would swish against the tub with a greater "resistance" than the softer more flixible parts (not sure if resistance is the right word to use here).
I recall I've read something on a guy who tried to descale and remove rust on the machine with some kind of acid product, the guy filled it put the acid and let it sit overnight, while the acid cleaned the tub and the outter tub very well he claimed that after that his machine has never been the same and actually started to give the same kind of damage you describe, it turns out that the kind of acid he used was hydrofluoric acid which is a common rust remover ingredient, and that kind of roughened up the porcelain that is worked and meant to be smooth and not create friction with the clothes..
Porcelain, especially the one used in washing machines will stand and resist many acids, but if there is one acid that porcelain will not tolerate it's right the hydrofluoric.
So I would compare your tub to the one of another similar Maytag if you have a chance, they usually are very shiney, if it's dull then maybe that's the problem..some previous owner may have done the same thing...

[this post was last edited: 3/26/2015-19:41]
 
MT Powerfin wash action is deceiveing:

It appears very gentle on the top of the drum as there are no fins on the agitator post. However the turbulence at the bottom of the drum is extremely powerful despite the slow agitation. While many may not believe it these machinse are more likely to shred clothes than a DD Whirlpool.
Combine the fact that the base fins had to do all of the work in these machines and because of this the turnover was very slow resulting in clothes spending too much time in the Robot-Coupe zone it only makes sense that things would get shredded.WK78
 
Also....

They never gave me the impression of being slow, as you have to imagine what happens under not judge by what you see above, and I see a good wash action down there.
The fact is that these are machine to use with clothes put really freely and with high water level in order to gurantee proper turnover.
 
Since everyone is baggin' on Maytag's I'll throw in my 2 cents(that's all I can afford). My parents have been using the A806 that I went through for them since July 2012 and they've never had even the smallest issue with it. It seems to do an excellent job and the few times I've stood there and watched it work the turnover during agitation is strong. Last year we took down a bunch of white lace curtains from the windows upstairs and down at my parents house(all told more than a dozen sets) and washed them on the gentle cycle. These curtains are decades old and half of them hang in direct sunlight, so they should be a bit on the delicate side, yet they emerged from the wash clean and undamaged. Obviously it'd be foolish of me to argue with those who claim to have had a different experience and call them liars, but I can say that I haven't seen the problems being described. (knock on wood) I'm very happy with my old Maytag.
 
Wow, I am surprised to hear that a Maytag would do something like that. Being a Norge/Wards fan and owner, given their vigorous and rapid agitation, have never had anything torn apart or shredded. And the Maytags I have owned and still own have never given me trouble in that area. As stated in the previous posts, Maytags are one of the more gentle machines I have experienced. Please keep us posted..!
 
Maytag Washer Agitation

It is well documented that MT washers can be fairly hard on clothing compared to most other brands of washers built during the same time period.  That said they can be successfully used without destroying your wardrobe, as millions of owners have proved.

 

But the fact remains that MT Automatics always had problems with fabric damage complaints from the very first automatics built, [ I worked for A MT Home Appliance store in the early 70s and our MT rep shared a lot of letters that MT got from consumers about clothing damage, it was a constant problem for MT when consumers switched to MT washers ] the agitator was simply too big for their small diameter tubs, this coupled with the long stroke and squared off fins was not a good design. MTs orignal agitator was designed for a square wringer washer tub and it worked quite well in this application.

 

MT never had a decent agitator in an automatic washer [ that they designed and built ] till they came out with the Load Sensor Agitator in the last helical drive machines.

 

Yes even a Norge 20LB washer washing along at high speed will not do the damage that a Power-Finn MT agitator will do to a load of clothing, Consumer Reports proved this years ago.
 
your talking normal speed and pulley of a regular Maytag......

with the help of Ben, mine is turbocharged, one speed, and have yet to see any fabric damage...and mind you this agitation is kicked up....

there can be a wide range of variables that can cause issues of fabric damage...

 
I think I know what happened

I have a feeling the pillow case got caught under the fitted sheet and was at the bottom of the agitator and really took a beating. I love my Maytag and have about $800 invested in the matching pair between the cost of them, delivery, and a once over maintenance so I definitely want them to work well for me.

I'm just using the washer as the dryer is electric and have not got a setup for that.

I will keep updated on any further damage. I felt the tub and it's smooth although doesn't have a shine to it. But I figured after 36 years that would probably be gone. Am I not correct.

This group is wonderful!
 
hey floyde...

did you know what size of load you had before filling the washer??

Here's a suggestion, to try avoid damaging clothes and if you want to use borax again;
put the clothes in the washer first, to see what size of load you have. Select the correct water level. Take the clothes out of the washer, and fill the machine with water and add the borax. Let the machine agitate to dissolve the powder borax, and then add the clothes back in to the washer filled with the water.
This way, you'll know you have the right amount of water for the load.
Just a suggestion....

I hope this helps
;o)
 
I usually pull the filter out and dump the detergent and additives down the center, then replace the filter.....

this was always the suggestions of using a Maytag at a Laundromat.....

note: commercial/Laundromat machines never used a lint filter, just a trim cap on top, and hollow down through the center.....yet, did anyone complain of linty clothing?...
 
I can attest to the power of that Power Fin agitator. My aunt on my dad's side had a lower end A-series I believe, can't recall any actual model number because I was very young, and she replaced it with a KitchenAid similar to the one we had growing up. I remember her complaining about certain garments getting stretched in places, but I don't remember if anything tore. Her problem however is that she and all of that family of four have absolutely no care at all if things like laundry or dishwashing are done right; as far as they're concerned, if you pack the washer with clothes and dump a scoop or cap of detergent in, and the washer has run, the clothes are "clean". She would overload it every time I ever saw the machine run, and the load would slowly, but surely, roll, but with a lot of rocking back and forth. The transmission ended up giving out on the poor thing. Not sure what ended up happening to the KitchenAid either, because she hasn't had it in years, in place of the Maytag Performa with a straight vane agitator that they have now. I myself have already replaced a belt and the pump on that specific machine, and I honestly don't give it very many more years to run.

 

I can also attest to the Load-Sensor agitator that my Atlantis, currently powering through loads upon loads of my father-in-law's family's many clothes, and its success. I think the low-profile fins on that machine in addition to the broad spirals on the upper-agitator are what does such a good job with rollover and gentle performance.
 
I usually do put the soap in the middle of the agitator. I bought some Tide powder and wanted to see how it sudsed up as well!LOL!

Christina your A806 is as old or older does the porcelain tub still have a shine or is it dull?

Thanks, Floyd
 
I knew John couldn't resist letting this one go by. Lol. ;) I'll give you a call sometime, John. It's been a long time.

B.

p.s. Don't discredit yourself too much, Christina. You've been hanging around AW for awhile now. :)
 
 
Ran into a family friend some years ago during a haircut appt.  I don't know how washers came up as a topic (maybe something was already being discussed in that area before the friend came in).  Anyway, Linda said she always wanted a Maytag so bought one and it stretched her knit sweaters all to hell so she demanded the dealer take it back for something else (I don't recall what).  Previous washers I know she had were a 1960s FilterFlo followed by a 1974 Whirly.
 
I can remember a demo years back of a Maytag Load Sensor agitator-was at the Wards store in Manassas,Va.They showed that the agitator could safely agitate light bulbs without breaking them!But clothes aren't light bulbs!I used to have fast short stroke Maytag and it did a great job of shredding some of my clothes.Like the DD KN traded it in at the swap shop for a BD KN or WP-no more clothes shredding!Those fast stroke machines work more like blenders than washers!Well,if you need to clean your light bulbs-maybe the Load Sensor is for you!
 
thanks beekeyknee....

But I am definitely still in the learning stages, Roger can be witness to that. I am just not mechanically-gifted. And sometimes me & Roger get a good laugh at the questions I come up with when we're talking!
Hm hm hm...
but I'm learning
;o)

floyde...
My 806 tub is shiney but, to be honest, there are some dull looking spots on the bottom of the tub. At first I thought it was like a dried on residue of soapy water or something. But I couldn't wipe the spots away. So im not sure what those dull-looking spots could be from? Maybe from the previous owner soaking clothes with bleach??
:o/
 
Christina,

We all start somewhere. I'm glad Floyde is near by to help you. I would love to share the things I've learned with others and vice versa, but Columbia is a small place comparatively. If I knew someone near by with the same interests and a good workshop I would jump at the chance to learn more.

I would like to spend more time on other brands of washers as well as stoves, refrigerators, etc. I'd love to work on old Frigidaires and Kenmores. The small place in my garage isn't very satisfactory and my utility room is small so I wouldn't get to take advantage of machines I restored. Maybe some day, if I'm lucky. :)

Brian

p.s. The dull spots on your tub may be hard water deposits. They may come off eventually, depending on what they are. Try laying some terry cloth towels wet with vinegar over them to soak or rubbing the spots with some light cut swirl remover.

Sorry, I ment Roger, not Floyd.

[this post was last edited: 3/28/2015-11:12]
 
PLEASE

DO NOT SOAK WITH VINEGAR IN A PORCELAIN WASHER TUB! The most vulnerable part of the porcelain coating in a washer tub is at the edge of the tub holes. Vinegar will damage that in no time and then you will get orange spots on loads when you use chlorine bleach or if you allow clothes to remain in the tub after the cycle is finished.

If you want to see if those spots might be mineral deposits, wipe them with a vinegar-soaked cloth and instantly rinse them.
 

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