Need to Decide on a washer

[yogitunes]

I am not trying to be rude, just the cold hard facts.....its not rocket science, and no magic wand....

no matter what, your going to spend time and money if you stay in your direction = but that's senseless!...and there's no need to...

we sure don't do it...there are a lot of experts here who know what their talking about, we hear these types of stories all the time....

we know how machines get scummed up, filthy, moldly, mildewed....hate to tell you, it ain't the machine!...

and we KNOW how to correct it...a little effort to bring them back, and they stay that way from there on...

you only have one set to care for....many of us have a lot in our collection, we don't spend hours cleaning and scrubbing and a slave to our machines.....some windex and wax, and they stay bright for months....inside and out!...

and you don't need to run any sort of 'clean washer' cycle....in fact, mine don't even have one, and doesn't need it either!

for the most grimy of machines, bathroom cleaner with bleach and mildew/mold remover, and a heavy dose of pool chlorine on a long hot cycle....once and done, never needed again.....total cost under $10.00

these are just my front loaders, only one set was bought brand new in 2001, the rest came in all grimed up....can you find the new ones?

 

[corgigrrl]

MattL-I don't mean to be difficult but never washing in cold just isn't an option. I would say maybe 9 out 10 cycles need to cold because of fabric instructions & my Polar fleece sheets. These things are the bomb!! But you have to wash them in cold & dry them on low to care for them properly & then they never pill.

Now you guys got me worried if I don't get a SQ now, I may not want one in the future, due to more government regulations.

Gyrafoam-How exactly does one adjust the water level?!

Also, I was wondering if maybe our water had something to do with this? We lived in a gated community that has 3 wells since 1990. We don't drink our water & have too many boil water alerts to keep up with anyway. It does leave a coral colored residue behind. We do have a filter but I still feel our water is hard so I always add borax or Arm & Hammer washing soda to each load, the latter to help with odors, usually from my son's clothing.

Should this effect the machine & it's results?

I'm hoping I can go to the appliance store today & check out the SQ. I'm doing some price checks & then we'll see which store.

 

[corgigrrl]

Yogitunes- I scrubbed that bellows with everything I had to clean my bathroom (Clhorox spray gel cleaner, Lysol Power & Free etc.) plus anything else I could find when I Googled the problem! CLR was supposed to work, it didn't really make a dent. My husband worked on it too, he said.

How would you clean this bellows?

My best answer was to start fresh with a new one & make darn sure to take care of it this time.

 

[mrb627]

I have 3 sets available for sale if your interested...

Yogi,

Perhaps you could detail the three sets you have for sale?
Or link to a post...

Malcolm

 

[brucelucenta]

Speed Queen

If Speed Queen would join the 21st century and put a heat boost on their front loaders, I would be interested in one the next time around.

 

[yogitunes]

you do realize a few things,

continue with the excess of cold washes, will only return the same mold concerns....the bellows is not the only thing that the mold has attached to, dispenser areas, hoses, the outside of the tub, plus the outter tub....if you only think its contained to one area, guess again...

piling is caused by excessive rubbing of a traditional agitator, you wont have that with a front loader...

a dryer, even on low temps, is going to run in areas of 140 to 160....so your subjecting those sheets in temps higher than washing in hot water...

the coral color left behind on your sinks and showers is most likely PH levels out of whack....I get that too when my tanks run out....but it doesn't affect washing results, it does however kill any scents from detergents...

are all your neighbors having the same issues with their washers, or just your location?..

sheets are finicky in a dryer....some will ball up, especially Queen/King with elastic all around the fitted sheet.....usually best to dry the sheets/pillowcases alone...

adjusting water levels is done at your own risk....

 

[washman]

Ordinary clean or Speed Queen Clean?

The choice is yours.

Or as Packard Motor Car once advertised "...........ask the man who owns one".

 

[washerdude]

Chiming in

We've owned our Whirlpool Duet for a little over 2 years now (Model WFW72HEDW) and we have had no issues with mold at all, or smells and boy does it ever clean well.

Couple of tips if you do want to go with another FL or start fresh.
First I've heard that you need to ALWAYS wipe down the doors and seals after a cycle including the drum. Well...what we do is when the cycle ends, open the dispenser drawer and main door, take the wet laundry out and toss it into the dryer, start it and walk away. Not once in the 2 years have I ever wiped anything down after a cycle.

Second regarding the seal, I came up with a cleaning method when we first got the unit, I like to wipe the seals down with one or two Lysol wipes at the start of each new month. At this time I also go in and wipe the dispenser housing with the wipe and then dry it off with a towel. Then I take the dispenser and in hot water I wash the main dispenser and rinse out all the softener residue (I've never once diluted fabric softener. Lastly I dry everything and off, put the dispenser back together and usually with bleach or a washer cleaner tablet, I start a "clean washer" cycle, come back 40 minutes later and I put it into a HIGH spin cycle to really help dry all the tubs out. The main cleaning of the dispensers and the seals takes around 5-10 Minutes and to be fair, I've sometimes skipped this maintenance procedure and don't do it for the new month.

Regarding cold washes, we do around 2-4 cold washes in a month for darks like jeans.

Lastly regarding the top loaders, my only one suggestion can be a SPEED QUEEN TOP LOADER and NO HE TOP LOADER. The GE is in no way a comparison to a proper Speed Queen Top loader. I linked some videos down below to both machines doing cycles.

Speed Queen Top Load:


GE Top Load:

 

[corgigrrl]

OOPS Yogitunes!!
I meant 1 out of every 10 is a cold water wash!! Big difference there!!
Also, could you please tell me exactly how to clean your machine using pool chlorine so I can try this? I don't have a pool so I have no idea what to buy or how it comes packaged. How much do you use & where do you put it in? I hope I can still find some at this time of year.
We have over 1,000 homes in our community & I have heard some people's tubs, toilets & sinks are permanently stained, so I guess we are lucky ours isn't that bad.

washerdude,
Thank for your advice! Your routine sounds completely uncomplicated & doable to me!
I was definitely leaning towards a new machine & now I think if I can get this Maytag cleaned up & follow a maintenance schedule, I can work with it. I've already learned a lot from this discussion.

btw Has anybody heard of Technofresh? Does anyone use any products similar?

http://www.technofresh.net/

 

[brucelucenta]

I think if you get your machine cleaned out and up you will be happy with it. They really are pretty good machines as washers go. You don't need pool chlorine, just plain old chlorine bleach will do very nicely. That stuff for your washer will work, but you can do it yourself with just chlorine bleach.

 

[yogitunes]

yeah, finding pool chlorine at this time of year, going to be slim....

in any case, I get it at Lowes, you don't have to buy a big bucket, they are available as a small pouch, I think it holds like 2 or 3 cups....around 5.00...

your next best bet.....Cascade Platinum powder dishwasher detergent...like your dishwasher, works best on hottest temps....and longest exposure

normally 1 to 2 cups, depending on how bad the machine is, hottest wash cycle/option....and you may have to repeat this more than once....stopping the machine to let soak, the longer is has to work on the grime, the better....

might even be best to boil water on your stove, and then add that to the machine...

 

[brucelucenta]

Doesn't it have a heat boost option?

 

[henene4]

DON'T MIX!!!

Please, please never mix chlorine cleaners with any other cleaners.

Especially with pool chlorine, don't try to do multiple things at once.

First disinfect (Chlorine)
Descale (acidity; vinegar or citric acid)
Then Clean (DW detergent).

Go only one route at once. Make sure that there is no possibility of any bigger mixing!

Chlorgas can get f-ing nasty...

 

[imperial70]

I have to concur with Yogitunes. I own a GE PFWS4600LWW (now discontinued) and I have a clean washer cycle that is really not required. I never have a smells or growth or discoloration of the boot. I wash my towels and whites in hot water. I use bleach. I have been watering down the softener. I use Tide HE turbo, All Small and Mighty as well as the All pods. I love my front loader for the flexibility. You can't get an overnight ready cycle or steam refresh cycle with a top loader.

peace.

 

[askolover]

I've had my Asko for just short of 20 years! I have never had to buy any of the washer cleaner treatments nor does it smell. I use fabric softener in every load, I have a water softener, and I use Clorox and very hot water in all my white loads. I don't think I've ever washed a load in cold water since I bought it new in 1997. The door is always left open. I can look through the spin holes in the drum to the stainless exterior tub and see that it's still shiny with no scummy buildup.

 

[gyrafoam]

IMO------

Funny how the old front-loaders never had a sanitation problem.
Of course, in those days, detergents had phosphates and the manufacturers weren't trying to peddle products for "cold" water only, everybody used either a Hot or Warm wash with a Warm rinse. Bleach was a common additive. So was ammonia.

You never saw or heard of products to "wash" your washing machine.

If the public saw the "black vaseline jelly" that forms where they cannot see they would understand where that nasty odor originates. Washers have becomes sewers for laundry.

Also, for the normal household there is not a huge difference in the operational ,savings of TL vs FL.
Because of the extra cost of a FL it would take ten years or so to get a return on that expenditure. Just not enough savings in water or detergent to make a huge difference. Certainly not as much as the people who peddle these machines like to tout, unless you are washing ten loads a day seven days a week.
And, unless it is in short supply,such as well-water, water is still a pretty cheap and available utility.

My old KAid Dishwasher cleans circles around all the newest expensive stuff because it uses plenty of water. And it cleans and dries them in about 35 minutes instead of two hours. The typical FL washer takes forever to wash a normal load. We have't advanced very much when a Unimatic will wash a load in 25 min.

I dialed-up the water levels in both my Fridgemore FL and my newer SQ TL. Both of them clean well with no sanitation problems and associated foul odors. I don't care how much water I use. I want clean laundry and dishes! I also add my own phosphates, as my water is hard in this area.

As it stands today, I can't think of one brand of TL machine I would buy over a SQ. I would rather have SQ's Cheapest TL than anyone else's best. If I HAD to buy a FL I would also get a SQ (although I completely agree with Bruce that they need internal heating).

 

[mayken4now]

Steve (Gyrafoam) "Washers have become sewers for laundry."  

 

Has to be one of the wittiest folks I have ever had the pleasure of meeting in person from AW!  

 

OMG Steve, LMAO, you are hysterical, but ya know what??????????????????  Straight to the point and you are ALWAYS exactly correct.  Your descriptions are perfect and fit every circumstance.

 

 

Good luck Ms. Lisa!  You asked, they/we responded

 

[yogitunes]

yeah, I agree, the cost of a FLer, hoping in todays standards, you get 10 years out of it, only to finally pay for itself....where are your savings?

but yeah, for doing a lot of wash, the only savings I see, or rather the advantage to a FLer, is HOT WATER.....if your not using it, a FLer is worthless...detergent used to be a savings, until the special HE formulas came out, making them cost more.....no savings there...

I went from a childhood one cycle wonder filter flo, to a TOL Kenmore with every bell and whistle on it.....for what?.....only to return to using Normal cycle, warm wash, cold rinse....never touching the other cycles.....I just don't see a need for all the fancy cycles and options....

plain jane machines seemed to last longer as well....

 

[lakewebsterkid]

Washers

We have had our Duet for 6 years now and it is fantastic. Our washer is on the main floor and sees quite a bit of airflow. I am wondering if your basement needs a dehumidifier to help? Just a suggestion. I never run a clean washer cycle because I find it more efficient and effective to run a sanitize cycle with towels. My machine sees small amounts of bleach every week and has no odors or molds. I have used too loaders that smell FAR worse than you would expect. Too much detergent, low temp washes, no bleach, and Fabric Softener are disastrous combinations. Hot water on the Normal cycle = a warm wash. Try the whites cycle for towels, sheets, whites, and rags. Adjust your laundering habits for a few cycles and see what occurs before spending butt loads of $$$. HE top loaders will not provide as clean or as fresh laundry.

 

[ea56]

I too totally agree with Martin (Yogi). I have owned 6 different FL's over the years and my current washer is an LG WM3170CW that I have used for over 18 mo. I have never had an issue with mold or odors from any FL I've owned. I wash just about every load in hot, maybe 3 times a year I'll do a load in warm, but never cold. I use bleach in every load of whites and always use fabric softener. At the end of every use I take a clean wash cloth and dry the door window, gasket and dispenser drawer and leave the door and dispenser open while the clothes are drying. On the LG there is a magnet that keeps the door slighly ajar when not in use and I think this also helps keep the machine aired out.

And I also agree with Martin about the simple BOL machines being more practical. I almost never use any of the specialized cycles. I programmed my LG favorite cycle for the Perm Press cycle (it uses more water), hot wash normal soil level and water plus. This way I just have to press 3 buttons and the cycle begins. The only thing that I would change about the LG is make it less sensitive to finding a "sweet spot" for going into a spin. Seems like it could be programmed to begin at a slow spin speed to get the load distrubuted evenly and gradually pick up speed until it reaches the max spin speed for the cycle. The long time that it takes to go into a spin sometimes seems like a real waste of time.
Eddie