Quirky washer?

[ryner1988]

Hey all.

So here I am again with a question for the masses.

As some know I now own a new Whirlpool washer, model WTw4816FW, to be specific. So far, I like it quite well, but I'm wondering if something that happens relatively often is just a quirk of the machine, or if it's user error and something I can therefore correct.

I'll preface by stating that the thing hardly ever gets out of balance. Throw a huge load of jeans and sweatshirts in there, it does just fine on the spin cycle. Same deal with towels, even today when I washed my bedspread with a sheet and four pillow cases, it handled that perfectly well. Problems occur with this one blanket I have. It's not even that large of a blanket either, it's just got a thick, rough braided sort of material. It's just heavy, but not necessarily large. In fact, it only fills the machine about halfway, but for some reason, if I add anything else with it, whether that's sheets, or another medium size blanket, the machine bangs around and gets all crazy on the spin cycle like it's about to fly out of the closet. When I wash it by itself though it does fine. I guess I just thought since the thing can handle me filling it nearly to the top with jeans, it could handle me putting in other items with a blanket that only fills the machine halfway, especially since I can do that with my bedspread and be ok.

Are some blankets just weighted weird and therefore can only ever be washed on their own? Or is this washer just persnickety?

Thanks,
Ryne

 

[henene4]

Some loads and some machines just don't mix. It gets really weired sometimes.

Same with dryers. Same loads sometimes get dried perfectly, sometimes balls up.

 

[appnut]

Just because the machine has "the capacity", doesn't mean it works well with full loads of faviours types.  I've learned the same thing with my front loader.  Honestly, you know the solution, just wash it by itself.  Don't get all hung up about how much in volume the machine can handle.  That doesn't mean it should always be filled with laundry.  Bulky items produce unique situations.  Some garments and machines work better with unusual situations/combinations. 

 

[ryner1988]

Bob, I'm sure you're right. It really does seem that every washer has its own unique set of "rules" to follow and you just have to learn that as you go. My old Maytag would get out of balance over loads that this washer handles fine, and vice versa. It's pretty interesting, actually, the way that sometimes not even two machines of the same brand are the same.

 

[vacerator]

I have one as well

going on 6 years now. It does not do well with one large item. Add a towel, or two to balance the load.

 

[washdaddy]

when you have a load in the machine and one of the items outweighs the other you are going to have balancing problems.

If you want to wash a fuller load just make sure that the items in the machine are of similar weight and perhaps size .

 

[vacerator]

Ryne,

I have one of those smaller size Berkshire blankets and I wash it on hand wash and low spin by it self with no problem.

 

[murando531]

I have the same exact washer in storage waiting for the day I have a larger laundry room that can have multiple machines in service. It's just a couple of years older with a different control panel and the water level selections. I absolutely love that machine and it is a fantastic performer and like you I nearly NEVER had balance issues. It spun at high speed with heavy loads of towels or jeans effortlessly, even if they were slightly uneven.

However, we have this one blanket that has kind of a heavy pile shag texture on one side, and it holds an absolute ton of water, so naturally it's so heavy that no matter if it looks perfectly distributed, the sheer weight when it first begins to spin can give the machine difficulty. I would always just wash it alone and keep an ear out for when it went into spin just to be on standby if I needed to intervene and redistribute it. Other than that, I never had a single issue with that machine. It's still the best choice in top load agitator washers for those wanting a deep fill machine that will wash-spin-rinse-spin like a traditional washer, plus a gentle but powerful agitation motion and the dual-action spiral.