If your clothes are stinky and not getting clean, the cause may have nothing to do with your Calypso. I don't know much about that machine, but laundry problems are usually related to the methods employed rather than the machines involved.

Why not make an effort to clean up your Calypso, if there's nothing mechanically wrong with it. I have a Calypso. bought used at a garage sale. It had sat unused for a while and was in rather-much grungy condition from the previous owners, and did need some repairs which I did myself. It's one of the best-cleaning toploaders I've used.

Try running some cleaning products through the machine, with HOT water on the Heavy cycle. May take more than one treatment, but that's less cost than a new machine. Tide markets a washer-cleaner product, find it in the laundry aisle at your grocery. Whirlpool has a product called Affresh. You can also try a strong dose of an enzyme dishwasher detergent (check the package label to confirm it has enzymes), or LemiShine.

Dadoes...Thanks for your response...The machine is mechanically in good condition right now,I think. However the well documented design problems of the Calypso cause it to retain yucky sludge water under the wash tub. I have had success using a combination of vinegar and hot water,with a bleach rinse.The success is only temporary and after several weeks,the musty odor and stinky clothes smell,especially with the towels returns. The smell is so bad at times that you can smell the open,empty washer in the adjoining rooms.It has a strong odor,similar to cat urine! Yuck! I guess I could continue to wash my washer every couple of weeks and I may have to do just that until I break down and go for the new one. Just checking out my options in advance.

sshrivastava...umm..not sure, but your comment sounds sort of snide and unnecessary. If you have had any information at all on the topic,then you may have known that the design flaws of the Calypso are well known and documented in probably hundreds of posts on this forum and others.Many other unfortunate Calypso owners have had identical issues to mine and in fact the Calypso has been the subject of a class action lawsuit.Sooo,no,I don't think the problems are related to my wash methods.

Well, JulesCap, useage characteristics *can* be related. I've been using my refurbished Calypso as my daily-driver washer for nearly a year (yes, I know that's not six years), and it's in perfectly fine, clean condition. Your cleaning routine of vinegar and bleach is not sufficient at this point. You need to use something with enzymes, which will more effectively "chew up" the accumulated smutz. Don't dismiss my suggestions without trying them! To *really* effectively clean the machine, it needs to be disassembled a little but that requires some mechanical ability. I'm very well aware of how the machine works, having disassembled mine and replaced some parts. The small amount of water retained in the tub sump is from the final rinse, at which point any dirty wash water is long-gone. There can be some residue accumulate, but using a proper dose of low-sudsing detergent, and using softener very sparingly (as in low doses and not using it on every load) helps prevent the smutz and minimizes what does occur.

[blockquote]shrivastava...umm..not sure, but your comment sounds sort of snide and unnecessary. If you have had any information at all on the topic,then you may have known that the design flaws of the Calypso are well known and documented in probably hundreds of posts on this forum and others.Many other unfortunate Calypso owners have had identical issues to mine and in fact the Calypso has been the subject of a class action lawsuit.Sooo,no,I don't think the problems are related to my wash methods.[/blockquote]

Snide? Your message starts out with "My subject line says it all!" Your subject line says "No more HE washers for me.What else is there?" You seem to be blaming HE washers for your problems, the Calypso is not the only HE washer on the planet. If you are referring to problems with that particular design, then you should say so. My impression was that you wanted a non-HE washer simply based on your experience with the Calypso. I feel my response is appropriate, and accurate, as a lot of perceived "HE problems" have to do with how people use the washers, not the washers themselves.

I had a Calypso that died. I never had smelly problems with it except the one time it sat for weeks waiting for service and parts to be ordered. Really yucky, but easily remedied with a single hot cycle and some bleach run through to clean it.

I bought a new FL (LG) and am quite happy with it. Makes me regret not getting a FL when I thought the Calypso would be the best of both worlds.

I'm not into needless waste, so I would try to remedy the problem as suggested, but if you do replace it, don't write off all HE or FL machines.

Ive had a FL for 9 years, and it has cleaned my clothes better than any traditional agatator washer ever thought about doing. Ive even had my friends ask me to wash their whites, comforters, and such in mine because their Toploader couldnt do the job. They were so impressed with the results, they went out and bought one for themselves. So to say all HE and FL washers dont clean is pure nonsense. If you never owned one, than you wouldnt know first hand. Most people who buy washers, never read the owners manual, so when they wash something and it doesnt come out to there satisfaction, they blame the machine. The key to success is not to use the proper detergent, and not too much of it. Ive got white socks that are 5 years old at least, where them all the time and they still look like new. I dont soak them or use clorine bleach or any other additives other than a name brand detergent

They don't Clean Clothes.
They don't use enough water to Clean clothes.
You have been sold down the river of Gov Bureaucracy.Sheshe - would you care to prove your wild speculations with actual facts? Please post links and data - I would love to know how you reached your conclusions.

julescap - I am in agreement with you. I own a whirlpool calypso as well. I have followed the user's manual on washing clothes. It is the worst. Washer. Ever. My clothes stink. My washer stinks. There is dried sludge underneath the washer. I have used the Tide cleaner on 3 hot water cycles in a row - to no avail. It shreds brand new clothes. It shreds towels. When we moved we had someone come and disconnect the washer and it emitted a rancid smell. We are in the market for a new washer, but it is very disheartening when user reviews are full of similar complaints. Don't have any recommendations for you - sorry - but I feel your pain.

Yes, there was a class action lawsuit against whirlpool regarding the Calypso specifically. After having it for a short time I missed my old immersion washer. It never had to be dismantled for cleaning. It never shredded clothes or left grease/rust stains. It just stopped working one day (it was 18 years old). We have 5 children and wanted a large capacity washer. We bought into the HE drivel. How can something save you water when you have to run the washer twice to get stains out? BTW, I have an HE GE dishwasher in my new house and it doesn't clean dishes either. Don't get me started on low flush toilets.

Don't mean to offend anyone here. I just wanted julescap to know she was not alone in her frustration.

I have posted many times in my own threads and others too. I have a modern HE FL Samsung and it is the worst washing machine I have ever owned. I have owned a Norge, GE, two Whirlpools and a Maytag, all top loaders. All of them cleaned clothes. I have now got a manual washer that I have to nurse through multiple cycles and rewashes to get clothes clean and rinsed. So the op has nothing to be ashamed of. He is reasoning well. Until someone figures out how to get clothes clean without water, the HE Energy Star machines will continue to have problems. Maybe one of them has figured out how to cheat on water usage and that one will work, but I have seen too many posters that either didn't know how to judge the degree of cleanness or else was too proud of their purchase to be credible here. I wanted my new machine to work. Gave my stepson a working Maytag to have an excuse to buy it. That is why I am so bitter about the mistake I made.

Gotta love these forums! Watching the pendulum swing. The they're the best thing in the world, wash the car, takes care of the dog's fleas, cure cancer and satisfies the spouse in bed to the other extreme of not even capable of being a paperweight, though usually there's a lot more exclamation points used! LOL

No doubt there's been some problems with some of the machines. I've been reading this forum since before the Hetties first came on the market. And there's always frustration to nearly orgasmic jubilation on the same threads about the same machines.

Any machine, whether a washer, a car, a sewing machine, stove or otherwise requires proper use and maintenance. The one problem I see a lot in these forums is people change to a different technology and expect it to work the same as before. They don't. There's a learning curve and some won't learn, some can't learn, some learn the hard way and some find it no trouble at all.

Then there's people who get defective machines and are told it's all in their head. Sometimes it doesn't matter what the issue is, whether it's a defective machine, pilot error or a combination sometimes there comes a point where someone just doesn't want to deal with it and wants to move on. That makes it difficult to advise because they seldom give an inkling as to what they had before that made them happy. Speed Queen has a great reputation and for that matter so does the Whirlpool direct drive units. Both have been around a long time. That might be the way to go.

One caution though, don't look for a 5 cf capacity on them, ain't gonna be there. So you might have to reevaluate your desires and rethink your priorities.

And I just noticed you don't want to spend much so that probably takes the Speed Queen out of consideration. Check the big box stores for a Roper or Inglis, low end Maytag, Estate, etc. They're all the same machine essentially.

I see people talking how HE machines shred clothes and others say non-HE machines shred clothes. I know I've had trouble with clothes damage when I loaded my machine improperly and several HE users admitted to using theirs improperly resulting in damage. And of course some say they've done everything right and nothing stays together on either. I will say this, I know people with HE machines that get clean clothes. I know people with non-HE machines (including me) who also get clean clothes, contrary to what the pendulum riders often say! :)

No matter what, brace yourself. Not many if any machines are the same as they were 20-30 years ago. So, some people might never find a satisfactory machine. Good luck.

Maytag MHWE300VW front load washer 4.0 cu ft
Some complain that the washer does not wash very well and that clothes may have an odor when they come out of the washer.
washing-machine- wizard c*m
LG WM2233HW Front Load Washer
Mildeew smell reported by some customers

washing-machine-wizard c*m

comments from owners;
This thin stank from the fist month I owned it. I leave the door open to air it out. Then you have to run empty cycles to clean the machene? what is that saving water, electricty and time?
I should not have to "baby" or CLEAN my WASHING machine!!! Still no luck...tons of mold and mildew and my "clean" clothes come out smelling musty and like mildew after every cycle.
I spent $2,000.00 on a machine that has to be babied!

LG WM2016CW front load washer
doesn't clean well enough (according to some)
washing-machine-wizard c*m
owner comments;
The washer does NOT clean the clothes at all. Very poor cleaning ability and I have tried extra soap, less soap, and different kinds of soap....it is not the soap, it's that the washer does not put enough water in the wash cycle to get anything clean!!
owner comments;
We suspect that this washer does not use enough water to do the job properly. So, we tried to use the setting with extra water without success. We now pre-wash everything which requires two kinds of detergent, a HE dry powder and HE liquid with semi-success. We now add bleach to all of our white's which does work somewhat. We've tried to reduce the amount of detergent and increase the amount of detergent. Heavily soiled, clothes just do not get clean.

Samsung WF419AAW- 4.3 Cu. Ft. 12-Cycle Ultra Capacity Steam
washing-machine-wizard c*m
owner comment;
The worst machine I ever bought. Clothe don't come clean or feel rinsed.

Forum Consumer Reports or*g

smelly laundry

the problem with front loaders is not air circulation, it's the fact that the new efficient washing machines are NOT getting the clothes clean - all in an effort to save water...

Smelly laundry is a problem for us also, with our one year old high efficiency washer. I purchased it based on very positive Consumer Reports endorsement and for the first time in 40 years of doing laundry have clothes that are not totally clean, laundry that smells, unless I run a special cycle to CLEAN my washer before using it and laundry that often needs to be re-rinsed because of leftover soap suds. I paid $900. for this machine and it's been nothing but a huge disappointment. Wish I could have my old Maytag back!
Forum Consumer Reports or*g
WHY DID MY NEW WASHER BREAK SO QUICKLY?

SALLY:

The biggest problem with today's washers has to do with the addition of increasingly complicated electronic controls, touchpads, sensors, and circuit boards to washing machines of all price ranges and designs.

*********************************************

JOHN:

Digital controls are needed to meet ever changing stringent energy...

sheshe, you make it clear that your mind is made up, and that you are not interested in objective results.

Consider this: every commercial laundry uses only front-load washers. If you stay in a hotel, your sheets certainly were washed in a front-loading machine. The napkin that you wiped your lips with in a fine restaurant ertainly was washed in a front-loading machine. If you take your cotton dress shirts to a dry cleaners, the cleaners will wash, not dry clean, them in a front-loading machine.

Take a field trip to your local laundromat. No front loaders there; laundromats favor front-loading machines because the customers of laundromats abuse the machines, and front-loaders are more robust. Repair bills go straight to the bottom line, so if you are a laundromat owner, you want to minimize repairs.

So people whose income and careers depend on the laundry that they handle getting very, very clean, and people whose business profits depend on reliability and low maintenance costs, both use front loading machines. The professionals have made their choice.

Sheshe - these are nothing more than anecdotal experiences or opinions expressed by frustrated users. If this were a widespread problem we would clearly see far more complaints than we do. The number of dissatisfied front load users here on Gardenweb are very much in the minority. You would also think that Consumer Reports would declare front loaders a major failure, but every year they consistently give them high marks.

As Cynic said quite eloquently, you can't just keep doing what you're doing when switching from a top loader to a front loader. There is a learning curve and you need to know how to properly launder your clothes in very little water. You know, I've read some complaints from people about front load washers as well. But after digging much deeper into the problem you usually find that improper laundering techniques are at fault.

Nine times out of ten with these cases you'll find one or more of the following:

• Fabric softener (lard) used in excess
• Too much or too little detergent used
• High proportion of cold water washes
• Homemade soap-based detergents used in hard water

A major disaster waiting to happen, in my opinion, is insufficient use of detergent combined with cold water and fabric softener. If you don't use enough detergent to suspend soils and wash them down the drain, that soiling will re-deposit onto the clothing and washer parts. Then you hit that residue with fatty fabric softener and you have a wonderful substrate for mold and mildew development. The situation becomes much worse if you have hard water and are using homemade detergent made out of soap flakes. This will coat your machine with a "ring around the bathtub" type of scum, which will keep building up until you've ruined your machine.

If front load machines are truly bad, I would have also had a bad experience with the three front load machines I've had - Neptune, Asko and Miele. All of the machines have performed well and provided me with clean clothes. In fact, after years of washing in top load machines I barely recognized my clothes when they came out of my Neptune. Clean, bright and stains that I've lived with for years disappeared. The same holds true for the Asko and Miele I now have. If front loaders are all bad, I should be as frustrated as some of the others here. Perhaps I'm just dirty, blind or too stupid to tell the difference?

In the laundromats around here the machines are all older models that I assure you are NOT energy star rated. There is a lot of water sloshing around with a lot of suds in them. No wonder people who have owned their machines for 10 years or so are enthusiastic about them. The old technology is no longer available. If the laundry, dry cleaners and industrial washing establishments had to meet Energy Star requirements they would go out of business.

Staying in business and protecting the environment are not always compatible endeavors, but more and more people are finding ways to make conservation a profitable enterprise. However, we should all do things in our everyday lives to minimize our impact on the world around us. If we all do that, the planet will be a much nicer place for all of us.

sshrivastava, unfortunately we live in a "all about me" society. Many people only care about themselves and have very little regard for others. It's, "what's best for me" and (you know what) everybody else.

People believing that their older toploaders didn't collect sludge and residue would be surprised how much muck was in there if they'd seen the machines disassembled.

I think we should all give up automatic washers. When I was little, my mom used a washboard and two stationary tubs to wash the family clothes. When we got rich enough to buy a washing machine she got rid of the ringer and hung the washboard on the wall of the back porch. We were in heaven.
We filled the machine with hot water and soap and the first tub with hot water and bleach. We put the white clothes in and ran the washer for about 20 minutes and put them through the ringer and into the bleach. The second load of white clothes went into the washer and ran for 20 minutes and then we used the ringer to ring the first load and add it to clean hot water in the second tub. Then we wrung the second load of whites and put them into the bleach. By then the wash water had cooled enough to add the colored clothes to the washer so we put them in. When 20 minutes were up we wrung out the second white clothes batch from the bleach tub into the hot water with the first bleached batch. We pulled the plug on the bleach and ran it down the drain.
We then filled that tub with warm water and added bluing. Wrung the rinsed white clothes from the second rinse into the bluing. We then ran the colored clothes through the wringer into the water of the second rinse that had cooled off enough and we added dark jeans and socks to the washer. We ran the white clothes through the wringer and into the laundry basket and took them to the clothes line and hung them up. By then we had to drain the bluing and refill the tub with warm rinse water. We put the light colored through the wringer into that water and put the dark colors into the first rinse water after the bleach. Then light colors were wrung and hung and the dark colors were wrung into the last rinse and wrung and hung. We dumped/pumped all waters and wiped out the washer.
That was the most energy efficient system. By the end, the wash water was always the color of chocolate milk.
Now, my Norge automatic, would dump the wash water into a stationary tub and syphon it back after the rinse cycle. You could use it as many times as you wanted. That was pretty efficient too. Maybe we should really be considerate and just go back to what my momma did.

How much water did that use?

Wringer machines are still available. :-)

Home Queen Wringer Washer

Probably 60 gallons for the weekly wash. 10 gallons for each of 4 rinse waters and another 20 gallons for the washer. But the clothes were clean and free of soap. Detergents were not invented then. The best soap was Duz. "Duz does everything" was Proctor and Gambells motto. It was really good because it had so much phosphate to soften water. It was eventually replaced with a similarly formulated detergent called: Tide".

I'm just barely able to remember my Mom had a ringer washer ... no thank you ... I'm more than happy in my front load world.

Clearly there are some bad HE washers out there. For example, how could user error explain the reported cases where a machine fails to entirely wet down the load? I guess sshrivastava is admitting as much, as his "Nine times out of ten" leaves 10% of the problems due to causes he didn't list, such as a bad machine (poor design, or sample defect). And if there's really a 90% chance of a random HE washer being good, it isn't so unlikely, statistically, that one could own three HE washers and encounter no bad experiences. A sample of three washers that includes one Asko and one Miele probably isn't a random sample, anyway.

As for problems caused by cold washes: We know from discussions here that wash temperatures are being progressively "dumbed-down", to the extent that a user-selected "warm" wash may end up being cold. And even in machines which would allow a truly warm or hot ATC wash, hot water lag in the plumbing, combined with an absent or programmed-to-be-ineffective internal heater, may lead to a cold wash in spite of the user's intention.

The point is that the OP was painting all FL machines with a broad stroke based on their experience with the Calypso. That's like judging all FL machines based on your experience with a first generation Neptune. The Calypso was obviously a bad machine otherwise there wouldn't have been a class action lawsuit. That doesn't mean you need to go off the deep end and back to a water wasting non-HE top loader.

S..Stava - I agree with you. I had one of those 1st gen Neptunes. The think that made me finally trade it in, was repair bills, nothing more, nothing less. To this day I continue to use a FL and as you know from another thread, just ordered a new set. I haven't had issues w/mine.

There is a big difference between commercial washers and
home use washers, no comparison really in quality.
I do not understand what the water issue is.
Some people don't have to clean really dirty clothes either.
So they may not notice.
Here I am
with 3 ft of snow to shovel. Australia is flooded.
We have too much rain most all the time. So we have to live
with dirty clothes and stand under trickle showers? Most all water
get recycled naturally. I also understand that there is
more water in some places than others. The water here isn't
going to magically turn up in Arizona? Is it?

Here is a link that might be useful: tired of trickle showers?

sheshe- sure there is a difference between commercial machines and residential machines. However, I haven't had an issue w/FL's. Don't know if you know of any one who plays Ice Hockey. My DS did. That equipment reeks when they are done, I mean you can't get within 25 feet, the smell is so bad. My FL would erase it completely. Totally fresh. My DS and DH both rebuilt several walls around our house, in the mud and muck also worked on cars. The FL handled those with ease. Muddy dog towels from wiping paws, are not an issue either.

So while some may have clothes with little soiling, I am not that person. Sure there are loads I do that are lightly soiled, but there are also loads that are very soiled.

Another thing my FL takes care of with ease is the bedding from my DH. He has ALS and is confined to bed most of the time. Accidents happen, but while they can be a mess to clean up, the laundry isn't an issue.

There are shower heads that will make less water seem like more.

Hope this helps.

OP, I am truly sorry about your situation. I have heard negative things about Calypso washers, including the class-action lawsuit. dadoes seems to be able to work miracles; if he lived near me, he'd be my go-to repairman for things my DH couldn't do. If you identify any other problem, he may be able to walk you through the repair here.

Have you tried the product called Smelly Washer (linked below)? I have read a number of testimonials from people who say that when the other products for cleaning washers didn't help, it worked.

I have an HE washer, but it's not a FL. It's a TL Maytag Bravos and I absolutely love it. I can wash huge amounts of laundry in one load -- 2x to 3x more than I could wash in my former regular TL, which, when I bought it, was the largest on the market. Some of the Bravos wash cycles use very little water; others use more -- like the Handwash and Bulky cycles. But it sounds like you don't want to spend that much money, which is understandable.

Hopefully, the Smelly Washer product will take care of your problem. A disclaimer: I am not in any way, shape, or form connected with that company, I just hope it will help.

All the best to you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Smelly Washer

Well I would say your FL is working for you and I am glad it
is!!! Hope it continues to and I must say I admire your fortitude. The less is more magic
shower head.
I guess I haven't found that one.

In my opinion, after disassembling and refurbishing one and using it as my daily driver for the past 2.5 years, Calypsos are NOT bad machines. They were too newfangled for the majority of consumers at the time they were introduced (they were the first HE toploader on the market) and Whirlpool didn't anticipate the range of misuse and misunderstanding that would follow. Used properly and with due care, they perform VERY well.

Just sayin'.

dadoes, I never knew to recently that you had a calyso washer. I have watched Utube vidoes on them and I can see why yours cleans so well. If I had the space for it, I wouldnt mind finding a used one, but they are rare to find. I guess people just junked them. our statement is true about misunderstanding/misuse. I was all set to buy one back in 2001. till I seen the HE3t, and that won me over. Im glad yours is working good for you

I bought a FL Duet in 2004........At first I didn't think there was enough water......I thought something was wrong. I read the manual....Said that was normal....Common sense told me to leave the door cracked.......I've never had an odor.....It washes and rinses well....Still working......Here is a video of mine draining/spinning/rinsing if you want to see it

Here is a link that might be useful: Duet washer~ drain/spin/rinse

Did you clean out the trap in the f/l machine. I think they all have one. I cleaned my trap, then ran a empty load with borax on hot water to clean out the machine. Never had a problem and used Arm and Hammer liquid soap non-he soap for a year. Now using Tide HE soap because "the wife likes the smell" and I caught it on sale at Target.

All "HE" products are crap. When the main cleaning ingredient is WATER then high efficiency = LESS CLEAN! plain and simple.

clothesWasher81: All "HE" products are crap.

Well .. no. Not by a long shot. Assertion does not create truth no matter how strongly expressed.

cW81: When the main cleaning ingredient is WATER then high efficiency = LESS CLEAN! plain and simple.

"Simple" does not necessarily equate with truth, either. Most bumper stickers are wrong; many bumper stickers are 180 degrees wrong. But all bumper stickers are plain and simple.

Some of the very best automatic washing machines -- where the only criterion for "best" is how clean the laundry gets -- are HE machines. The proof is in the results.

Dadoes said: "People believing that their older toploaders didn't collect sludge and residue would be surprised how much muck was in there if they'd seen the machines disassembled."

We just finished a home repair of our 25 year old Whirlpool Gold TL washing machine (replaced the transmission and a coupler), and other than the oil leaking from the old, worn-out transmission, there was absolutely no muck or sludge anywhere to be found.... and we had dissembled the entire machine three times in three weekends. This old Whirlpool was built correctly, nothing leaks, no smells, it's been a great 25 years and hopefully we will get another 25 years from it.

CupOfKindness,

This is the tub of a Whirlpool washer of the same design as your machine, before I cleaned it during a refurbishment project.

Cupofkindness:What brand of detergent did you use? Liquid/powder? Softener or bleach?

I'm so glad the original poster's question has been so accurately and precisely addressed.

So seriously, instead of a giant pile of tangential pro or anti water posts, can the question be addressed?

Are there any
"good, large capacity non he washer(s)"?

Speed Queen agitator toploaders are touted by many as the greatest old-style washer since ... well, since whenever.

Word is they will be redesigned within the next couple years with electronic controls and some changes to reduce water consumption.

BTW, my Calypso is still running flawlessly ... coming up on six years soon.

I know this is an old thread, but wanted to tell you I just bought a new washer and dryer. I had really bad luck with my last set of expensive ones. This time I bought a set of GE..... washer $549 and dryer $449. The washer is non HE, dryer is but only because it has a sensor option if I want to use it. They were so cheap I bought the extended warranty and still came out ahead. They are just great, I look forward to doing my laundry now.

The worse washer ever. Not only does it take an hour but after all that my clothes still come out dingy & smelly.Forget about my whites...I have to go to the laundromat to wash my whites because with this H e it's useles. I don't care how much people say that we're not doing the laundry right, they're talking out of their A hole, I'm just throwing it out there about these machines. Save water? Not only do I waste more water & electricity having to wash & rewash my clothes just to get it half clean! But the time it takes just to do a load. People don't take a risk with these washers, you'll regret it. Don't fall for their lies like I did unless of course you can afford to throw your money away. Honestly, my old washer had an agitator which the top agitator broke, so I was doing my washes with a broken down washer & I the truth my clothes came out super clean & smelling fresh even though my machine was broke & out of balance! Just stick to agitator machines, no such thing as saving water or electricity with these H e's Lies, Lies Lies

Rose - Someone on another forum just bought a new Maytag front load washer and dryer. They reported back on the different cycles, etc. Some of the cycles actually use a deep rinse, at least I know the allergen cycle does on his machine and I think another cycle as well. I would check all the cycles because I know on a lot of machines, normal is the most stingy cycle because that's the cycle the use for energystar rating and they know that's what most people will use as default to wash clothes. The next washer I get is going to be a Maytag or Whirlpool front load washer whenever my Duet dies that's over 10 yrs old now, but I'm going to make sure certain cycles are on the machine I'm buying because I know those cycles use more water.