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jenbandit

Bosch Nexxt 500 series 3301

jenbandit
16 years ago

Just purchased a new washer. Boy is it different than my top-loader. Spent the weekend trying to find answers to my questions cause the salesman didn't call me back. I just don't know how the clothes would get clean when the tube doesn't fill with water to wash the gunk away. When do the spray arms spray water? When I was looking at it the only thing I saw was the arms dripping water down the middle. Is this normal? I thought they would spray. Also, if you bump the knob setting it unlocks the washer and you have to start the cycle over because you can't keep moving from where you left off? Had to wash 1 load 3 times because someone bumped it. Is this correct? Tried to wash a kind comforter on the delicate cycle and didn't work. Has anyone tried a king and what cycle do you use? How many clothes can you wash at a time? How much detergent? Does it matter if it's liquid or dry he? So many questions I can't find the answers to it's frustrating! Help me so I can enjoy this new washer!:) The cycle times are incredibly long....

Thanks!!

Comments (4)

  • plumbly22
    16 years ago

    WOW...

    Water level... you will not normally 'see' water in the tub, these are 'minimal water useage' machines,

    Arms don't 'spray' water onto the clothes, rather they scoop up water as the drum rotates and then 'disperse' it through the holes in the paddles, gravity feed, I believe.

    'bumping the knob'... I'm not sure what you mean here, are you turning the setting dial? If so that will reset the washing selection. If you are hitting the 'start' button that will unlock the door and then when you re-lock the door it restarts the cycle.

    I do my king comforters (actually all sized comforters) on a 'warm' regular/cotton setting.

    Amount of clothing per load... basically when the load is wet and tumbling it should be no fuller than the clothes tumbling from the 2 on a clock towards the 7, or from the 10 towards the 5... you can pretty much 'stuff' the drum, the water will weigh down the fabric... but beware... the 'heavier' the wet fabric, the longer the machine may adjust the load for... I found this out the hard way with a large load of very think bath sheet towels... I didn't think that load was ever going to stop...

    Detergent... make sure you are using HE (extremely low sudsing) detergent... popular wisdom is powder is better than liquid in preventing skum/film buildup between the wash tub and the outer drum, YMMV on this... you need to experiment with the detergent to find what works for you... I find about 1/2 of the detergent recommended amount works for me.

    also, cut back on fabric softner if you use it... dilute it at least 50%, or switch to white vinegar.

    Personally, I use Charlie's soap powder (less than a tablespoon per load) and white vinegar (I fill about 1/3 of the fabric softner dispenser) and I always use the extra risne option... I have family members with skin/detergent issues, so the natural soap, vinegar, and extra rinse work well for me...

    Cycle times... vary some from what is displayed based on things like ultimate size of load, amount of soap/sudsing taking place, balancing (or lack thereof), choosing the 'heavy duty' option (fill with cold and heat the water with the machine... aka 'profile' wash)... the list goes on... basically, if you don't over fill or over soap the time will be very close to what is displayed...

    Also, when you are done washing for the day, leave the door ajar, and open the soap dispenser door... both of these things will help prevent mold from growing inside the drum... this would cause a terrible stench...

    There are many owners of this machine, or similar machines on this site, so you will be sure to get a variety of answers here... Good luck...

  • looser
    16 years ago

    plumbly22 already answered most of your questions accurately.
    A FL washer does not have spray arms. The paddles do scoop up tiny amounts of water, but their main purpose is to ensure that the clothes get tumbled through the water that is at the bottom of the drum. There is just a small amount of water in the drum and it you shouldn't be able to see it. Trust your washer, it does use enough water to get the clothes clean.
    Half or less than the recommended amount of HE detergent should be enough. I like powdered detergent much better than liquids, they seem to rinse much better and leave less of a smell in the clothes and the washer.
    Why don't you prevent people from "bumping" the buttons or dial while the washer is running? You can push the start button to pause the washer and add an item. It will resume the wash when you hit it again. Nobody should mess with the dial during the cycle...
    I hope you'll soon enjoy your washer as much as I enjoy mine!

  • jenbandit
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks! Just feeling frustrated because it's so different than the top loaders. I don't have time to sit and watch it, experiment and figure it all out. I can't prevent people from bumping the dial. I actually did it myself and my husband did also. It is in a high traffic area and it doesn't take much to bump the dial. I have been reading you can use a lot less detergent, it's just nice to know how much and how full you can fill these things!:)I looked at the manufacturer's web site and it showed the "arms" spraying water out of them so I thought they were supposed to. How does the water enter if it doesn't come out of the arms? Why is Charlies powder so much better? Is it more chemical free or something? Their web page doesn't really say....Yes, it take awhile to get used to the long cycle times I expect. I guess I tought you could fill it fuller so it would take less time to do laundry....Thanks for your comments!

  • looser
    16 years ago

    The water enters the machine through the detergent dispenser and then runs down on the back of the drum to the outer drum (the tub that is around the drum with the laundry). The clothes get tumbled through the water that's sitting in the bottom of the drum. If you watch the washer you'll notice that it takes a few minutes for all the clothes to get wet. There is no active spraying of water involved. The clothes get picked up by the paddles and then fall back into the water. That way water and detergent get forced through the fabric and clean the clothes. It is a different kind of wash action than what you are used to from a TL. Yes, a FL does take longer, but it also does a better job at cleaning than most TLs do. I grew up with FLs and had to get used to using a TL. Talking about frustrating...

    I can't really picture how or where the washer is installed so that you keep bumping the dial. You should really try to avoid that. Just like you wouldn't want to accidentally reset the temperature for your oven or reset your computer.

    I might try Charlie's Soap sometime, there are a lot of fans of it on this forum. So far I have used the Sears Ultra HE powder with stain fighter, the liquid Woolite that came with the washer and a new type of liquid Tide HE that I got because I participate in online surveys. The Tide is a concentrate and I don't like it. The recommended amount is way too much and even using less than a third or so left the clothes and the washer smell like Tide (even when using vinegar in the rinse). It also left some residue (looks like grease) on some of my clothes. The Woolite is okay, but I like the Sears powder the best so far. It leaves just a slight hint of fragrance on the clothes which can be eliminated by using vinegar in the final rinse.

    You should be able to wash larger loads than with a regular TL. You can fill up the drum pretty full with dry clothes. Just don't try to push them down and cram them in. We have a hamper with three big bags for sorting and I can easily get a full bag into one load. I don't have any problems with the capacity of the washer. It is bigger than our old TL and we do sort a little better. I guess we do about four loads per week for our family of three (which includes a messy preschooler).
    With the reduced drying time I think a load takes about the same amount of time that it did with the TL and it's matching dryer. It wash bigger loads though and they do come out cleaner, so I am really happy with my Bosch. And then I get all the water and energy savings in addition to that...

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