Hi Everyone,
I receive so much great feedback and advice on this site, I thought I'd pass along something that I learned the hard way. When our washer died last spring we purchased an LG High Efficiency washer. I liked the high capacity and was all for the idea of conserving water. Unfortunately, going into this purchase I did not know that the wash cycles take an hour minimum, and with most settings taking even longer -- some are as long as an hour and 40 minutes to complete. I also discovered that you cannot wash anything that is labled water resistant or waterproof, even if the label says "machine washable." This means that I cannot wash any of my son's outerwear jackets, or his winter parka, or any of my winter jackets. I am so irritated that I did not have this information in advance. I did some homework before buying but never saw anything about this issue. I did double check with customer service and they confirmed that I cannot wash the jackets because they apparently float to the top during the cycle. So now I have to either wash the coats by hand when they get muddy or splashed with salt, or spend $$ at the drycleaners. Triple dislike :-[. . I'm passing this on as it might be something to consider if you're thinking about buying an HE machine.
Thanks everyone. For those who questioned the point of not being able to wash anything labeled 'water resistant" or 'water proof', that language is taken directly from the owner's manual, which states, in bold type, "Do not wash or spin any item labeled or known to be water-proof or water-resistant, even if the product care label on the item permits machine washing. Failure to follow these instructions could result in severe damage to your laundry, your washer, and/or property damage as a result of abnormal vibration of the washer."
I also contacted LG customer service, and they confirmed by email that I could not wash any jackets that are water proof or water resistant because, in their words, "the items float to the top" and do not spin properly. My washer is top loading, so perhaps that adds to the problem.
Regarding the length of the cycle, the times are preset by the machine; you cannot manually adjust the wash time. I do not do
large loads, but even small loads will take an hour or more, particularly if you select the cold wash setting.
I will never buy an LG or high-efficiency washer again.
I have a he washer and love it. I wash most of my clothes which are lightly soiled on "express wash" which takes about 30 minutes. Clothes come out clean. I wash my water resistant or water proof outer wear in it successfully. How can it float to the top? The drum is tumbling. The washer spins clothes extra dry so it takes less time in the dryer. It uses less water and less detergent.
I've had a frontload whirlpool He washer and dryer 7 years now. Love 'em. I wash everything in them with no problem.
I have an LG HE front loader, unless I set it on sanitary with an extra rinse and heavy soil, I don't come anywhere near 1 hr 40 min... most loads are 54 minutes. I wash coats and such all the time in the winter as well... sorry you're disappointed, but maybe try changing some of your wash settings? we're on 7 years with our set, and I really like it :)
L.,
I think you should just try washing the jackets in the washer, but wash them with a few other similar size, bulky items. It works just fine. I have never heard of this problem nor have I had the problem. I wash my kids jackets or my winter down parkas and ski jackets with a couple of towels.
I have had an HE machines for 15 years. I bought the Maytag when it first came out in 1999 and have moved a lot and have purchased I think 3 HE machines now. I currently have an LG too.
There are shorter cycles on my machines, for smaller loads or hand washables.
I wonder if you wash extremely large loads, and that's why your cycles are so long? As the machines pre-weigh the loads to determine how much water is needed to wash.
Also, if you still have a problem, you don't need to go to an expensive drycleaner. Ask a neighbor to wash a load or two, or go to a laundromat.I love using laundromats while vacationing. I get all the laundry done in 2 hours flat.
I don't like my front loader HE washer...I usually wash everything on the quick cycle with a second rinse just to get it done faster. I didn't know about the water resistent thing, but for what it's worth...I've washed plenty of outerwear and jackets and had no problems...ignorance is bliss I guess.
I miss my old washing machine....much less of a hassle.
I love my Whirlpool HE Front Loader. The wash cycle does take longer, but it spins everything so dry that the dryer time is less than half it used to be (huge energy saver). Since the capacity is so much higher I am doing fewer loads and spending less time doing laundry overall. I have washed all of my family's outerwear with no problem. I would never go back to a top loader!
HI L., You're a wonderful person to share your experience with us. I will be buying a new washer and dryer in the future and knowing your experience is very helpful. So sorry to hear you've been disappointed with your new wash machine. That really stinks.
If it's high efficiency, how is there enough water in it to make the jackets float? Does the manufacturer say not to wash outerwear or is it personal experience? Not trying to argue, I'm truly curious!
I have the Whirlpool Cabrio Platinum HE Washer/dryer set. I LOVE them. Just because the number on the display says 75 minutes, that is NOT the actual run time of the load, at least for me.
The only problems I've had is with big bulky blankets and not have it set to the bulky setting.
I would highly recommend my brand. I wonder if it's just your machine?
I have the Samsung HE front loader, high capacity and I love it. I do not have to use any "special wash" to clean it or leave the door open. I do run a good bit of laundry through it. I was told by the sales rep that if I started washing less, just to run a cup of vinegar through a cycle. I typically do wipe down the clear door but that is out of habit because I had a Maytag front loader HE that I HATED .
Mine has a Quick Wash feature that is anywhere from 25-35 minutes depending on the soil levels I program into it. I can use any water temp I want as well with the Quick Wash.
As for the other cycles, you are correct, they do last about an hour. If I choose the steam cycle, it can easily be 1.5 hours but I know what I am getting into when I choose another cycle.
I cut SO much washing and drying time when I discovered the Quick Wash feature. I can have a load of towels done with washing and drying in about an hour. Same with my sheets. I do wash a LOT in cold water as well.
Hopefully you have this feature and it can help you. As for the outerwear, I have no idea because I don't own a heavy jacket or coat here in Texas! Everything we have is lightweight.
I love my old fashioned top load with agitator washer.
As long as I can buy that type I'll never get anything else.
I miss my top loader too! I hate having to leave the door open so mold doesn't grow and make the washer stink. It annoys me that I have to wash the washing machine with a special cleaner. The wash cycles are ridiculously long and quite frankly I do not want to conserve water when washing my clothes. As a result I end up doing a prewash and extra rinse which takes almost 2 hours and probably doesn't save any water since I am doing extra cycles.
I'm with Jennifer T. only I have a Kenmore HE2+ and it is also about 7 years old. I've not had any problems with long cycles like you describe (the longest one is 80 minutes, but that is a setting for "whites") unless I add a 2nd rinse.
Maybe the technology is even more refined these days, or maybe it is particular to the particular make/model you have. I don't know.
Sorry you are having such a time with it. But thanks for sharing. It is good to know which things to look into when planning a major purchase like that, and I would never have thought about water-resistant items. Just wouldn't have occurred to me.
You learn something new every day!
Thanks for the tips. I may be in the market for a new washer soon as my daughter just broke mine.
Thanks for the tip. I have a 13 yr old top loader and I just keep getting it fixed. So far, I'm really happy it's still going.
My only real beef with our HE washer is that I can't control the amount of water used in a wash. Even if it's a tiny load or one jacket or whatever it doesn't let me set it for a lower amount of water -- really wasteful. Otherwise, the saving grace is the "quick wash" cycle-- yours doesn't have one? I would check with the maker to complain and ask frankly if there is a trick to setting it for a shorter wash cycle; they may know a way to do it that is not in the manual, possibly involving switching off the wash at a certain point and setting it by hand to drain/spin.
I too dislike the very long cycles for some settings (like the "bulky load" setting that takes over an hour).
I hope that when you called customer service about the outerwear issues you let them know very clearly that it makes you angry that you cannot use the washer for outerwear. If we don't let companies know that kind of thing, they won't improve their products. Sorry it's an issue-- it really makes the washer far less useful.
I absolutely HATE my LG front-loader (alse HE). It is awful.
I still miss the old-fashioned set that I inherited from my grandma. After that I had a Whirlpool top-loader set that lasted forever too.
Stuff is just made differently now - and not for the better imho.
ETA: Just noticed that yours is LG too. Maybe it's LG (??). But I always thought LG was a good brand???
