Are you having it heat the water?

No! I am using the normal/heavy cycle (cold wash and rinse) with no add ons whatsoever. The preset cycle says the estimated cycle time is 1:09. I did call GE about this and they suggested to layer the clothes in the washer to help balance the load. This made little to no difference in the time. I realize that FWs take longer but this seems extreme. On the upside, they only take about 40 minutes to dry. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Look at the times coming up for each of the settings. You should notice when you go thru the various cycles that certain options are only available. If you push heavy soil level, extra wash, or extra rinse this will add time onto your cycle. If you are trying to shorten the time, it is usually the permanent press cycle. With this cycle you won't be able to use hot water and the highest spin speed. But it should shorten the cycle time.

I also wonder if you are getting really long wash cycles because either you are using too much soap or too sudsy of a soap. If it senses suds it will pause and probably do an extra rinse.

Personally, I don't know what layering the clothes has to do with wash time unless your washer is spending an enormous amount of energy trying to re-balance. I wash from one thing to a full load of towels. FL's do take longer to wash. My new FL probably takes an average of 5-10 minutes longer than my old FL. I don't know why the new one takes longer. I do know it actually seems to be rinsing/cleaning better. The sanitize, which wasn't on the old FL, does run for about two hours once you push the extra wash/rinse options.

I have the same washer and the regular wash cycle is 100 minutes. The only time it goes higher is for the sanitary/specialty cycles or if it needs to re-balance. What does the cycle time readout say when you start the washer? I don't mind the longer wash time because the capacity is so large. I load according to the manual instructions. I have had the set for about 3 months--no complaints yet.

gini2-
Have you had any cycles take longer than the read out time? I have been tracking the wash times and load sizes for a week now and most take longer than the 1:00 or 1:09 readout. I checked to make sure it was balanced also. Other than the cycle times, I really like the washer.

I will also try less laundry soap (Kirkland He and Tide HE)

Thanks for the advice.

Being that the machine can't know in advance whether extra rinses are needed for suds control, additional tumble/distribute sequences to balance the load for spinning, water flow rates and fabric absorption for filling, etc., the initial time is only an estimate.

Mom3suns--What dadoes said. Those are the things that will cause a longer cycle than the initial indication. Are you sure the machine is perfectly level? My wash times are pretty accurate to the cycle estimates. I remember one time that it took longer.

I have the exact same problem with my brand new GE Profile 8800 HE washer. A normal load of wash can take over 2 hours to complete! So much for energy and time savings. Same as you, this is a normal cycle, no add-ons -- the unit says that it will take 1 hour. I've been timing them on my digital kitchen timer: after an hour, the washing machine still says 28 minutes; after 28 minutes, it says 18; after 18 minutes, it says 16; after 16 minutes, it says 8; after 8, I'm not even sure because I have to leave the house to do other things.

I hired a plumber to be certain that it wasn't a problem with my plumbing. I have checked the strainer (and be careful with this one, I had a gallon of water pour out all over my basement floor -- the manual says expect a cup). No plumbing issues and nothing in the strainer.

The first repairman said that I need to use less soap. Yes, I am using HE detergent, and no more than the recommendation on the dispenser cup, but he said that I cannot use more than 2 Tbsps. I have now been measuring it with a tablespoon.

Issues continued. The second repairman did not come to the house because he said I should put it through the drum clean cycle (even though I had only had the machine for 10 days). Since I was using more than 2T of HE detergent initially, maybe there was a lot of detergent build-up, and I should clean the machine before he comes out. I cleaned it and my issues continue.

I have another call out to the same repairman. Let you know what he says this time.

I did read online where someone had been having trouble and started using the Speed Wash for all their loads. I tried this. It was supposed to take 40 minutes but took 53 (still over 30% longer than it was supposed to), but better than 2+ hours I suppose.

If anyone else has experienced and knows how to resolve, please let me know!

If you really have a tough time with how long it will take. Either get a different Frontloader or a HE/non-HE toploader.

mom3suns, I think that 1:09 is 1 hour 9 minutes or 69 minute total wash, rinse and spin rather than 109 minutes.

Please try running the same cycle without clothing or detergent. See if the time is much shorter. If it is, then there is logic in the machine that is extending your cycle. If it does shorten the cycle, then run a load through without detergent and see if the cycle goes back to 2 hours or remains short. It is still operates at the hour mark, you may have a detergent problem.

You can also try running a load through on cold wash to see if perhaps water heating is causing your delay.

MRB

I doubt that after nearly 2 years she's still able to return it!