Speed Queen AWN432 cleaning quality

[eemac]

I bought a Speed Queen AWN432 about three years ago. It's been mostly fantastic, especially since we did the water level adjustment.

But I've been a little insecure about the cleaning quality on the Speed Queen. The wash cycles seem awfully fast.

I accidentally used one of The Good Towels to clean some grime and algae off my car. This is a crime roughly equal to grabbing someone's prized sports jersey and getting barbecue sauce all over it.

I looked at the suddenly-filthy towel, realized my mistake, and let myself be sad for a minute. It would never be one of The Good Towels again.

But I dropped it in the washer with all the others. The settings were all standard: extra-large load, heavy duty wash, normal soil level, 150 degree F hot water from the tap.

It got COMPLETELY clean. It fits right in with the other good towels again.

I have no more concerns. The Speed Queen is great!

 

[yogitunes]

proof positive....with proper washing techniques, a traditional Speed Queen TLer can give you fantastic results every time...

there are times you may want to pause the wash cycle for roughly 30 minutes for heavily grimy loads....

on TLers, I would like to see the final spin be a bit longer....

but none the less, enjoy that machine, it will be with you for a very long time...

 

[appnut]

Congratulations!!  And I echo Yogitunes' sentiment!!

 

[corvairgeek]

Going on the same amount of time with our 432

Don't like the cycles as well as our beloved 19 year old Whirlpool DD (I might have saved it, if the suspension spring mounts weren't nearly rusted through, besides the leak, timer, broken coupler and broken clutch), but I have found the spin drain only of the SQ to be superior. I always had to clean the scummy ring away when washing filthy towels and rags from the garage with a neutral drain, but not with the spin drain.

 

[supersurgilator]

I agree! I've wanted a Speed Queen for the past 25 years or so. I finally broke down and got a TC5 last October. I cannot tell you how great of a performer it is. I had items like pillowcases and such that I thought would never come clean, they came out of the Speed Queen looking brand new! I also was leary of the short wash times, mainly because the GE this replaced took an hour for cycle. It was an agitator machine but it didn't clean well at all! I almost feel like I'm back in the 80's with my Speed Queen and its no nonsense performance. I do feel like the clothes are wetter than with the GE but most loads still dry in around 40 minutes or so, so I'm not going to complain. Its a small price to pay for the excellent cleaning ability.

 

[mrsalvo]

Have had my 432 for about 3 years now and it’s chugging along. I like the fast cycle times and it cleans really well. I do think it’s rough on clothing though with larger loads, sheets and towels have some frayed edges that I didn’t notice with previous washers.. Hem lines on jeans as well. For this reason I try not to load bigger loads past the 2nd hole in the agitator.
As much as I’ve liked the SQ, have been contemplating getting a FL, was announced earlier in the month water rates are going to increase this summer and were not getting a lot of rain this winter. South central Texas can get dry!!! Maybe get an LG. Had $200-300 water bills Aug-Oct, but I did some landscaping as well and lots of yard work. I’m going to be weighing this carefully this year.

Barry

 

[70skid]

Good Agitator Washer

Excellent ! I get similar results from my 05 Kenmore Direct Drive. It can wash the hell out of clothes and get it done fast. The amount of clothes loaded and the water level is important though. I bet your wash had a lot of turnover and a lot of turbulence in the water.

 

[filterflo58]

Yogitunes we chatted years ago, Tony from NY. I had your email ...here is [email protected]..lets chat.

 

[Chetlaham]

In simple words: Best washer ever!!!!!!!! lol

 

[gusherb]

It seems to perform better than I personally give it credit for, or take for granted anyway. Anytime someone stays over and uses it the first thing they comment on is how well it cleans.

 

There are a few things it's not as good at as a machine with a longer cycle time (and tumble action vs agitation), such as oil stains. But I got my coat drenched in transmission fluid the other month and still managed to get it out with a pre-wash. 

 

One thing naysayers like to criticize it for is poor rinsing, and I find that to just not be the case at all, the fact that laundry detergent scents are very faint after washing anything is one good indicator as to how it's doing with that......HE machines tend to leave very strong detergent odor on clothes. 

 

[combo52]

Traditional Speed Queen TL washers

I completely agree Jonathan, I have never had a single customer complain about rinsing with this washer, in our service area there are over 10,000 of these washers that we are factory service for and no complaints about cleaning or rinsing.

 

That said there are some complaints about harsh agitation and redeposited lint and grit left in the wash basket, but these are pretty rare.

 

John L.

 

[iiijohnnymaciii]

Agree with rinsing as well.

I can fill tide powder detergent up to 4 1/2 and only need one rinse. If I select 2 rinses the water in the 2nd is always crystal clear and not needed. I was weary of only 2 min of rinse agitation, but obviously the engineers wanted to minimize harsh agitation as much as possible and found that these machines could thoroughly rinse in 2 minutes. Anything more was unnecessary wear and tear on clothes and the machine.

 

[gusherb]

The only time I’ve ever had lint redeposit in the wash basket is when washing brand new towels. They put off so much lint you could make a new towel out of it. As to the agitation harshness I was wary of this when I first got it, and even saw more lint than before in the dryer lint filter initially, but in 5 years I’ve seen no extra wear on my clothes. I think not overloading it tremendously, and using enough detergent is key here.