Picked Up an LG TrueSteam and Sidekick

[mark_wpduet]

Honestly

for people who know how to do laundry properly, I doubt powders vs liquids even matter. But people who do laundry who do not really know what the h!!! they are doing, that's when you run into problems. Using cold water for everything, too much or too little detergent, too much fab softener. Shutting everything up when the laundry is done. Things like that. I've been using powders for a long time so I just continue to do so because I'm too lazy to switch - I'm just used to what dosage of powder to give certain loads I guess is why I continue to use powder.

 

[washerdude]

Powders vs Liquids

Powders have been used by our family for years, my Mom was introduced to tide powder by a friend a good 30 or 40 years back and we still use tide powder up to this day in our 2 year old Whirlpool duet.

In our old Whirlpool/Inglis top load, we used powder and the results were evident, clothes came out clean all the time, one day we got liquid to try it out and my Mom told me that it would not clean at all, boy was she right, there was a clear difference, clothes seemed dingy and some stains still stayed.

Fast forward to now where we also have a front loader, we did the same test, while the did come out CLEANER with liquid in our duet, the powder still did better. And if i recall, we tried Persil proclean liquid with a load which contained a shirt with ring around the collar and was washed on the normal cycle. It failed to remove it, but as soon as we switched back to the powder it was 100% gone. Adding a funny story, whenever I use anything but tide powder like that one time I used Persil liquid, my mom notices immediately after the load is washed, I don't know how she does it, probably because of the years of use she can tell the results -LOL-

But coming back, personally I think powder does work better than liquid myself just by that ring around the collar shirt. The only exception for use of liquid is when a comforter is being washed, or a load of darks which are washed in either cool or cold.

 

[washerdude]

Furthermore

I've read using powders in front loaders helps to contribute to mold prevention and it seems true, we've had our washer for 2 years and there are no smells, mold - anything.

 

[mark_wpduet]

Ya

but there are a lot of people here who use liquid in their FL washers (for years) and do not have mold problems too. I tend to think it's because they know how to do laundry properly, thus they don't have the issues that so many people have with their washers. I think your run of the mill person who just throws it in, turns it on cold, and leaves probably uses liquid. This is sad to say, but I think more people do NOT know how to properly do laundry than there are people who do. I will admit, a long time ago, I did not do laundry properly and used cold water often. But even then I always used hot with whites and bleach as well and it was a TL washer. Most people are not going to come to a forum learning new things about doing laundry because they just do not care. I can't say that a blame them most people hate doing laundry. Even I sometimes dread doing it.

 

[rapunzel]

Growing up with front loaders and powder detergents in childhood, mold and odors didn't exist. Maybe it is the new enzyme formulations and low wash temperatures that promote biological agents to build up inside modern machines. The use of plastic outer tubs may also contribute to this problem.

 

[bobbi]

Just updating some stuff. I got my hands on some for Shout dupe and have that treated load in now. Will report how that worked out.

Secondly, got my Sidekick fired up this morning to run a small load, and it's a no go. It just beeps and bounces around between cycles. None of the buttons respond, except the Power button, which only responds initially to start the machine. Tried the SmartDiagnosis thing, but since the buttons don't respond when pushed, I cannot get the necessary communication between machine and app.

I can only recommend the Sidekick when you only want to wash in cold and not use bleach with. We tried different things to get the machine to fill with Warm, but it's still ridiculously cold water. The water doesn't even get tepid.

 

[bobbi]

The Spray n' Wash dupe helped, but did not make everything come out stain free as I had hoped. Next on the list to try is a citrus degreaser.

My husband looked at the Sidekick and determined that water had gotten into the electronics board. It seems that sometimes there is a door leak on the LG FL, and this had dripped down onto the Sidekick because I had it pulled out. No more leaving it pulled out. The Sidekick is working now. Whew...I'm relieved.

 

[wayupnorth]

I have always used Lestoil as a stain removal thing. I use it for general cleaning, once I can open the windows. I want only one that can do all the jobs. Clean paint off your hands, Lestoil and nylon scrubbie, clean this or that, Lestoil. Works for me and thats my clinical test. Your results may vary.

 

[Unimatic1140]

A friend of mine gave me a 2007 LG washer with a broken door hinge. It had corroded to the point of not moving, I was able to fix it by taking it apart and oiling it.

While I rarely use this machine, when I do I always select the "water plus" option along with an extra rinse as it does make a difference in rinsing. Is the water plus option still available on the latest LG models? I would have thought they would have discontinued that now.

 

[logixx]

Yes

Water Plus is now only available on their top loaders.

 

[littlegreeny]

I've been researching LG front loaders and the water plus option is still available on the WM3270 and WM3670 models.