Question - New Whirlpool Toploader

[rp2813]

Neutral Drain & Spray Rinses

Appnut Bob, I always thought the neutral drain was designed to reduce stress and strain on the motor and belt. My mom's 70's Kenmore was the first and only washer I ever knew to use a neutral drain but the subsequent spray rinses didn't occur until the tub was up to full spin speed and it did a good job.

My own late 90's Amana is a complete disappointment except for tub size. One 15-second spray rinse doesn't even begin to do the intended job. No spray rinse at all during final spin. I know every time I pull a load out of that machine that I'm throwing still-soapy clothing into the dryer but it seems no amount of extra rinse cycles will produce a non-sudsy product out of the drain hose. I'll never buy anything made by Amana ever again.

Ralph

 

[DADoES]

I think there was way more strain on the motor, belt, and clutch from the constant sudslocks than would have been caused by a spin-drain, LOL!

 

[appnut]

Ralph, my Lady Kenmore was at that time the brand new Driect Drive design and I was immediately disappointed there was no spra rinses between wash & rinse and only one at the beginning of the final spin. I can relate to you pulling suds stuff out of your Amana. The lack of spray rinises is a thankful result of water savings (yeah right, forces you to use a 2nd rinse at least in some cases).

 

[smokey2367]

Maytag lint filter

My washer has a "self-cleaning" lint filter under the agitator. I'm just stubborn--I like to see how much lint is being collected. I do get quite a bit of lint on the manual filter with towels & blankets.

 

[gansky1]

The "lint filter" under the agitator does very little in terms of catching lint that has been released from fabrics while washing. Most of those passive lint filters were simply for advertising value and if you've noticed, very few, if any machines even list a lint filter in the features. In fact, the WP's now use four little rubber plugs in the holes under the agitator that must do little more than slow down the already tiny water currents between the tubs. The detergent's suspension agents should be good enough to hold small amounts of lint in suspension in the water until it is removed from the machine.

Which brings us to spin-draining vs. neutral draining. There are certain advantages to a neutral drain - it gets the load settled lower in the tub which will usually balance better than clothes that are spun up onto the sides of the basket. The trade-off, IMO, is that all the dirty wash & rinse water are strained back through the load far more than with a spin drain. Think drip coffee filters. Many times, you can open the machine and see suds & debris (hair, etc.) lying on top of the load. WP/KM used 4 sprays after the wash and rinses to flush away this crap in the belt-drive machines but I guess decided it wasn't important in the DD's. I guess the dryer can remove that stuff. Now, if you get any spray-rinsing, clothes up on the sides of the tub will benefit more from this spray than lumped at the bottom.

 

[llmaytag]

Spin-Drain vs Neutral Drain then Spin

Interesting to read, I agree with much of what's been said, though I really don't have any test data to refer to.

It seems to me a spin-drain offer advantages beyond flushing the suds out through the sides rather than draining down over the clothes. Seems spinning to extact water would be most effective spread across as much surface area as possible and a spin drain spreads the clothes farther up the tub than after a neutral drain. The spin-spray would be most effective passing through fewer layers of clothing. Also, perhaps it's easier on clothing pressed against the tub with fewer layers of other clothing against the layer on the tub.

Beyond what seems to be better for the wash and the clothes, having a spin-drain rather than neutral drain and spin, provides the opportunity to simplify the machine. You necessarily have to have a drain when you spin, so why have a separate phase or mode for draining alone? That's why I like the Maytag. Only two real phases or modes. A motor turns one way, the gears/transmission agitates. The motor turns in the other direction, you spin and drain. Iti just seems very elegant to me.

 

[gansky1]

I'm a Swirl-Away draining fan myself and the beauty of the Maytag is it's simplicity. That's not to say they can't have their own set of problems, and many do as evidenced by the pictures above, but as far as draining goes, spin it out!!

There is very little wear and tear on a properly designed machine to spin the basket while draining - that's what a clutch is for - to keep the stress off the motor, belts, etc. while the basket reaches full speed.

 

[llmaytag]

Clutch

And that's the beauty of the Maytag design, there is no clutch! That's why you have to use genuine Maytag belts. The belt and the transmission pulley provide enough slip as the tub comes up to speed.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I have been doing spin drains in my KA since 1992 and have not lost a coupler yet. Turning a full solid tub is a far different and heavier task than spinning a perforated basket in a tub filled with water. The older spray rinse pattern in the KA direct drives was two lengthy sprays between wash and rinse after the motor shifted up to high speed. After the drain of the deep rinse, when the load was at the bottom of the tub and any bubbles and film from the top of the water were on top of the clothes, as soon as the washer started spinning, there was a long spray rinse that showered down on the top of the load to wash the gunk away. Another spray rinse followed. Both of these were during the initial slow spin speed. After the second spray rinse stopped, the motor shifted to high speed and there were no more spray rinses. There was also a later modification in the fill flume. Instead of being shaped to produce a water pattern that had almost a 140 degree curve that flared forward at the opposite ends to cover more of the load sitting at the bottom of the basket when the last spin started at slow speed, the new flume provides more of a flat spray that is directed toward the back of the basket to be pulled by centrifugal force into the clothes.

 

[sillysuds]

Lack of spray rinse

I, have a Estate washer by Whirlpool,it has just two spray rinses in the final spin. are the newer whirlpools going back to four? I hope so. Thank You.

 

[llmaytag]

New WP

My New only only gives two. One at the start of the final spin, and one shortly afterward. None on the second rinse, (I always use the second rinse). My Maytag did one long spray shortly after the beginning of each rinse, first and second.

 

[jlhain]

Maytag Performa Ultra Care 2 LAT2500AAE

Hi. I am having problems with my Maytag Performa Ultra Care 2 LAT2500AAE. The agitator moves the same way the tub moves when the tub is in a wash cycle. I can move the agitator clockwise by hand,but not counterclockwise. The motor is hot on the bottom where the transmission connects to it by the belt. The washer won't spin out, and it won't stop filling at the set water level. The transmission does spin, but I don't know if it is supposed to spin faster