Most disappointing wash ever

[arbilab]

Took some bed and bath 'linens' down to the Maytag commercial frontloader, AFTER running an entire cycle with only hot water and bleach to kill all the geezer cooties and mold from leaving the door shut. (Much to my demise, I live in a HUD retirement building. Roughly the equivalent of a poorly-maintained Howard Johnson motel, minus the housekeeping.)

Very disappointing results. Everything smells OK but that's the best than can be said. I dosed it very generously with Tide liquid HE, but since Maytag FLs have no window and commercials won't open during the cycle unless power fails, I have no idea whether I matched detergent to soil.

Towels came out alright but whites and even pastels came out visibly yellow. With the machine I own but is prohibited in this building, I would have prewashed at 100F then again at 120F. But with the sanitizing cycle and the dryers to follow I was running out of quarters so only did the 120 cycle.

Speaking of quarters, the Maytag commercial coin acceptor is junk. Each coin takes an average of 4 insertions before it's accepted. The Maytag digital display is low quality. My GE microwave is twice as old as these, and also twice as bright.

The machine makes all kinds of noises, the worst during spin. Even with the fluid ring balancer and a mixed load which was never a problem for my ElectroFrigiWhite (no balancer), the whole cabinet heaves.

I don't know if it's the washer or the Tide liquid causing the lousy results. Or both. But washing for 60 years in round numbers I have never experienced such blatantly poor performance.

 

[frigilux]

Roughly the equivalent of a poorly-maintained Howard Johnson

Yikes! Most well-maintained HJ's are nothing to write home about.

On topic: A friend used to live in an apt. building in Minneapolis that had a fleet of commercial Maytag Neptunes (no window in door). I found the wash portion of the cycle to be too short to take care of anything but light-to-possibly-moderate soiled loads. Her whites were dull and gray, and the "hot" water was probably only around 110-115 degrees at point of entrance.

I stayed with her frequently, and would do laundry while she was at work. Hers used a swipe-card rather than coins.

Was not impressed with them. Wouldn't care for a front-loader without a window. Opening the door to check the suds level was done at your own peril!

 

[yogitunes]

I was gonna ask if we were talking about Neptunes......

but there you may have the problem/issues.....water not HOT enough, and cycles way too short...thats the problem with coin laundries that they control what each phase is limited to...

and ashame too, the are already saving so much compared to a TLer, why go even more....

some offer a Super cycle for roughly 50cents more...just wonder if that would help...

I was gonna suggest your first loads be whites with bleach....and the rest can be colors, but throw in some ammonia....stick with the HOT setting, chances are its only WARM...but have witnessed water conditions turning colors when bleach was added...

I wonder is it possible to sneak in a portable unit, maybe a Maytag A50, or even something like a Danby or Avanti...something that would roll and you can hide in a closet...

for seeing one in use, Avanti's impressed me, for all the cycles and capacity...

 

[pierreandreply4]

have you ever tough that some commercials washers

have you ever tough that maybe depending on the brands or model that some commercials washers there setting might be set to cold water wash that may be option 1 or option 2 depending on the number of residant using the washer the hot water thank might be empty as in not engough water so water entering the commercial washer might be cold but this all dependens on how many resident use these commercials washers

 

[pierreandreply4]

or you can buy a washer dryer like this of vintage era

or you could buy a vintage portable whirlpool washer that you roll to the kitchen sink with matching dryer that you roll to a window so its vented outside unless you buy a indoor venting system?

 

[arbilab]

Yes it's a "neptune". It says hot wash but it could be lying and fudged down to 100. I'll stick my finger in the fill stream next time to see. Not that there's anything I can do about it.

House hot water is 120F, and I ran the sink until it got as hot as it could before starting. If one doesn't, one gets cold wash no matter what is selected. I think I'm the only person in the building who knows that. Laundry is on the first floor and water heaters on the third.

Bleach--even oxy--destroys more fabric than I can afford to replace. I never bleached before to get out body oils. And bleach just turns them colorless, it doesn't necessarily remove them. Whereas I NEVER had this problem before in 60 years, with both TL and FL machinery, with powder and liquid--even discount--detergent.

I'm beginning to think this neptune is just a POS. Yeh it's a point of sale but I mean the 'other' POS. Besides the display and the coinbox and the noises and the poor balance and the sorry results, it spends a disproportionate amount of time just sitting there doing nothing.

I own models similar as pictured above which work fine, but privately owned equipment is prohibited in this building. The structure is so flimsy it probably could not support machinery on the upper floors, which creak when walked on.

An AW member is sending me some REAL detergent--STPP and Persil--to undo what the dryer has now baked into my sheets and Tide liquid couldn't possibly budge. What a great community!

 

[warsh]

The Maytag commercial washers orbital top loaders and neptune are crap, and actually made me despise Maytag. I lived in a couple of complexes with them, and when I was able to get a household washer, there was much difference in my clothes. They had them in the college I attended, and when I went home (parent had a Norgetag BTW) it was a BIG difference in my clothes.

Now in defense of Maytag, they did have one of the helical old school drive ones in one of my complex along with the others, and I'd wait for that to come open because it washed well. I was pissed when they got rid of it.

I find GE top loaders (both filter flo and newer ones with fast stroke) to be the better cleaners. I would choose a Laundromat solely based upon if they had a filter flo or not when I was going. (As a matter of fact, I found a GE for $20 at a Goodwill that I use in my house now for a washer.) Speed Queen/Huesbch (sp?) top loaders are great, but I was not impressed with their front loaders. Far as front loaders at washerterias: Wascomats and Milnors performed best to me.

 

[arbilab]

I owned a helical Maytag, whatever '06 came in acavado (sic), never a problem with it. And several BD Whirlpools, no problem with those either except when the belt broke which was a bit of a chore to sort. Used GE consumer and commercials (and fixed one) in the course of renting.

I NEVER had a problem with laundry RESULTS until this neptune commercial. And I've been doing laundry since 1955.

 

[strongenough78]

Speaking of front load washers. A few weeks ago I went to a laundromat that is equipped with IPSO front loaders. I planned to wash some sheets a blanket and some whites I needed. I already planned on using the front loaders for the sheets and blanket, but I was going to use the one of 2 Maytag top loaders for my whites as I have had bad results from washing whites in a front loader before. However both of the top loaders were taken and I didn't want to wait for them, so I took my chances on the front loader. I must say I was very surprised by how clean my whites came out. The washer I used reminded me of the Speed Queen front loaders as the control panel is similar to the Speed Queens. I selected hot with heavy soil. They don't use much water at all as there is no splashing whatsoever. So I was already disappointed. They do the pulse spins between the wash and rinse cycles and the last spin is fairly high then goes into I believe 1000 rpm for 3 or 4 minutes. When it was done and I pulled out my whites, everything was clean. I was super stoked about it. I'm just sorry to hear you had a bad experience though. If they had at least these IPSO washers or Speed Queens, your wash would have come out much cleaner.

 

[jeff_adelphi]

Neptune commercial washers

I have been maintaining 16 Maytag Neptune commercial washers in a local condo. These have a 2 minute prewash then drain fully and refill for the wash. If you add the detergent at the start of the cycle most of it will go down the drain before the wash begins. Next time you start one of these washers listen for the drain pump about 2 min. into the cycle, then add the detergent when it starts to fill for wash.

 

[logixx]

The Neptunes I used some time back in 2006 at a dorm in London were programmed not to spin until the final spin... (only some sad attempts at distributing a perfectly balanced small load). My friend ended up washing some laundry by hand as even steaming hot Super Wash cycles couldn't produce acceptable results. 

 

I'm glad I had Speed Queens.  While the Neppies had ATC to provide a warm wash, the SQs did a much better job overall. 

 

[arbilab]

I'll have to watch for the prewash programming but I don't *think* these have that. If they did the instructions should include re-adding detergent. And, the towels came out OK, which they shouldn't if all the det went down the drain after 2min.

Yet another problem with institutional machinery, it can be programmed--or MISprogrammed--to do things that make negative sense.

The laundry has more conventional Maytag TLs but those are rough on large items like towels and sheets. Why I used the FL. But my preliminary conclusion is that the MT FL has insufficient agitation for thread-dense yet light fabrics like sheets. Maybe that's why--besides being too cheap to pay for glass--they didn't put a window in them. They didn't want anyone seeing the pathetic action. Grandpa Fred is rolling in his grave.

 

[tomturbomatic]

"--besides being too cheap to pay for glass--they didn't put a window in them. They didn't want anyone seeing the pathetic action."

Sort of like the AMPs which kept the pathetic action hidden, but no Neptune of the original design had a window. The inner door was connected to damping snubbers to help control the drum. Of course, if they had gone with 4 shock absorbers under the outer tub instead of two in the middle, unbalanced loads would not have made the thing fishtail and Maytag could have put a window in the door instead of putting in that useless panel. You have to remember that Maytag, when they developed the Neptune, spoke as if they were inventing the front loading horizontal axis washer in all of their advertsising and sales literature, as if Bendix had not invented the tumble action automatic washer and as if Maytag themselves had not had a horizontal axis washer in the period between the two world wars.

 

[mich]

Okay...

Have you tried reaching behind the machine, and turning off the Cold Water fill line

One has done this while in Hotel Laundry Facilities, and has gotten a true 135*F Wash.

Maytag Commercial Top Loader, (9min Wash) now that is something to see. It cleaned as well as a FL, with STPP spiked detergent

 

[yogitunes]

it was told to me by Maytag's customer service that of all people interviewed, everyone didn't think a window was necessary, and since did not feel a need to see the laundry being done......you want to talk pathetic, thats the main reason all Maytag TLers didn't work with the lid open, so no one would see the difference between the Wringers and the Automatics....

they sure as hell didn't ask me!

but, my how the times have changed, all FLers seem to have them, including dryers...

same thing for pedestals.....for decades dryers were on the floor....now with the washers being FL like the dryers, people seem to feel a need to raise them...curious as to why?

heres a video from our own Ben....and I can rig mine to run with the door open too, plenty of water and great wash action....I have 5 sets, and a stacked unit....plus a few spares....outside of a few needing bearings when I got them, they all run top dollar...

 

[arbilab]

I figured it was a 'focus group' decision, where they only ask people who know nothing about laundry. Have to see yer surfactancy to gauge it. But how many people do we have to ask to find one who knows how to do that? Other than here I mean.

No access to the valves. Or the model plate for that matter. So unknown where these fit in the Neptune evolution. The door DOES 'heave' during spin. So does the rubber flap on top where the additives go into the water stream. Beside the bearing noise, the machine really looks and sounds like it's aching to dance.

 

[pierreandreply4]

from what i can speculate

here is a speculation that i can make from your problem 1 you can not acess the water valve so this makes me think they they might have the cold water valve open fully to max and the hot water valve not fully open to avoid high electric bills from hot water use this is option 1 and second if they hide the model number those might be some of the first generations of neptune washers and they might be near the end of there life time use and that the landlord or owner of these commercial neptune is not making sure the washers are repaired or top conditions aspecaly if the barings makes noise.

today most front load or top load washers no matter the wash temp use requires both water valves to be open i know my mom has a summer cottage she has the neptune model in this pic with sanitize cycle and quick wash cycle with matching electric dryer and i know if the wash temp is set to an atc temp it requires both hot and cold water valves to be open credit to norgechef for the pic i have save and using here.

 

[yogitunes]

yeah....these machines sense for water supply from both faucets.....

if their that far gone....you almost want to sabotage them, no seriously, they can't last that much longer, something is bound to finally snap beyond repair....then they may have to finally replace them...the down side you may get an even worse machine to use with only drops of water....which is the lesser of the two evils?

 

[pierreandreply4]

arbilab here is my advice

arbilab the best advice i can give you would be to start a petition that would request each app units to be renovated so that they can have outlets for washers and dryers this way you could have your own set frontload or top load and you would get your laundry clean the way you do do not forget that with commercial washers anyone can use those they are like public machines so anyone can use them and if like i stated in my post above i think you would be better off having a petition sign so that each resident or owners can have there own washer dryer in there own app and it would avoid having to wait up on a commercial washer that cleans poorly.