illinigirl:

I see nobody has answered your questions, so I will take a shot.

I do not have your washer, but as far as I can tell from the parts diagram, it does not have a dedicated steam generator. I assume the steam comes from the built-in heater heating the wash water.

I believe it is common to not see any "steam" during the steam setting. One way you could verify that the steam option is doing something is to measure the water temperature using an instant read thermometer. When the steam light first lights, pause the machine and take the temperature of the water in the bottom of the drum. Restart the machine, and in 10 minutes, pause it again and take the water temperature again. It should be warmer. That would indicate that the heater is working. I would be curious to know if you felt any steam (warm moisture) when you first open the door after the 10 minutes.

I have an older model, which has an internal heater. It is used on some cycles to be sure the wash water temp is warm enough. When I use the stain treat option, it fills the washer with warm water, and then uses the heater to increase the wash water temperature over an extended wash time. The idea is that some stains (like blood and chocolate) require cooler temperatures, and others (like grease) require higher temperatures. I believe that is the same logic behind your steam setting.

As far as the holes in your paddles, my guess is that they are supposed to scoop up water from the bottom of the tub and then release the water out of the holes as the paddle rotates over the top of load. Perhaps running an empty rinse cycle will make it easier to see if water comes out of the holes as the paddles rotate across the top.

Joe

thanks for the answer.....i do not have a thermometer, but if i ever get one I will try that....as it goes I *think* i have heard some steam periodically coming during the steam cycle...it is very faint sound so I wasn't sure.

Like your machine, my old machine had the 'stain treat' cycle, and i really liked it. I was disappointed my new machine did not have such a cycle, but it would be good if the steam feature was an adequate substitute.

i bet you are right about the paddle holes.

thanks again for the answers :)