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maries1120

Survey - FL cycle time for set of sheets

maries1120
10 years ago

Something seems off on our new front loader. One set of queen size sheets is taking 1:30 although the display after it senses the load is indicating 1:10. The only setting that seems to impact time is soil level and this was using Light rather than the default which is Normal.

How long does your front loader take to wash one set of sheets?

Thanks.

Comments (10)

  • oregpsnow
    10 years ago

    I use the "Normal" cycle for just about everything including sheets and it takes an hour, give or take 5 minutes. The time remaining on the display can be 5 minutes too much or too little, but it never varies more than that.

  • miele1966
    10 years ago

    What cycle are you using, and what brand of machine do you have?

  • maries1120
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    GE (new RightHeight) - using the towel/sheet cycle. It gives you an estimated time with the default settings. I changed to Low Soil and that reduced the time. I didn't use any special settings like steam, soak, or extra rinse. Once you hit start it tumbles the load with no water to do a load sense. After that you get a time the load should take. That was 1:10 for one set of sheets but actual time was 1:30. Other loads had a similar extra 20 or more minutes than the Load Sense time. Our first load was towels and that took 2:30 but we are hoping we did something wrong. We do towels again tonight and will put less in although why have a big drum if you have to do more loads to keep the length of time down? GE came back and said we must have low water pressure which I know is definitely not the case - at least not up to the time it gets to the machine.

  • aamassther
    10 years ago

    It sounds to like you need to level your machine. Installers still don't take the time to level correctly. I've seen them just do the press down to feel if it's solid and say good enough. To properly level you need a level and patience to do the often fine tweaking needed. Once that's done, you will find that the machine uses less time to complete its cycle.

  • maries1120
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks. I hope it is that easy. We set the anti-vibration up and tonight is going better -not as far off.

  • erinsean
    10 years ago

    I use the Quick Wash cycle on my FL for sheets. Takes about 32 minutes. I have a Whirlpool FL. Normal cycle takes 59 minutes.

  • miele1966
    10 years ago

    Check your manual, and see if there is a way to re-calibrate your sensor. You washer is behaving like it is supposed to. The displayed time at the beginning of the cycle is only an average time. One set of sheets is certainly not a heavy load. Seems to me the sensor is too sensitive. But I am just guessing, here.
    While I am here. I will caution most of you about Quick washes and Normal cycles. Quick wash is NOT meant for regular washing. The main wash is too short. Front loaders take longer to do the same job as the old thrashing top loaders did in a short amount of time. Sheets, especially, need a longer time to remove the unseen body soil. Normal cycles are what the Energy Guide and Star are based on. The majority of customers will use Normal and think nothing of it. Normal cycles are "dumbed down" Meaning, the water temperatures are much cooler than selected. Hot fill on a Normal cycle of most every modern front loader is only about 90F. Thats barely warm. Rinse water levels on normal are also extremely low. Resulting in bad rinsing. Using Normal cycle will only give you comparable results to a top loader. I know the other cycles are longer. It can take adjusting, but the results will speak for themselves. Cycles like Heavy duty, Whites, Sheet/Towels, Sanitize, will provide a hotter target temperature, better rinsing, and more through cleaning. Just keep in mind that it takes high efficiency washers longer to clean such a large capacity of laundry, too. It takes much longer to clean a 20 pound load versus a 10 pound load.

  • maries1120
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Miele1966 - GE checked it out and the problem was that the delivery guys didn't level it. The front was a half inch lower than the back. That was throwing off the balance during the spin cycle. The higher the spin cycle the more time it was taking above what it should.

    Thanks for the info on the different cycles. That is good to know that there is a reason to use those and not just default to normal for everything.

    I can get used to the longer wash times now that they aren't as long as they first were. I am pleased with how well it cleans. I didn't believe there would be that much of a difference.

  • georgect
    10 years ago

    That's great to hear Maries1120.

    Hard to believe 1/2 an inch did that.

    Is your machine really on time now from the estimate at the beginning?

  • maries1120
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Some finish a little early and some finish a little over but not by much. Sheets and towels take the longest but less than before. After the description by Miele1966 that isexpected and makes me want to continue to use those rather than Normal for towels and sheets. Our clothes were on the Activewear or Normal cycle and those were done in about an hour or less.

    Drying time for all loads is less than we had before.

    I just wish I could hear the signals to know when the machines were done but I'm sure I will get better about judging that after we use it more. I've been using the timer on my phone for the dryer but the machine has stopped already before I get there.

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