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rnmomof2

Clothes coming out of washer how they went in?

RNmomof2 zone 5
9 years ago

Just ventured over here from Home Dec to ask a question. I have a Maytag Centennial HE top load washer. I have had it for5-6 years, I don't truly remember.

Here's my gripe. I need help choosing what cycles to use. I have college girls who are occasionally home. Other than that it is just my DH and myself who each do our own laundry separately. Most of the female loads are truly not "dirty" they have just been worn.

On the normal cycle the clothes come out tied up frequently. I understand this is from high spin speeds. But in the same load there will be a few items that come out in the same position they went in with accompanying particles of food , etc still in place. I am able to "fool" the washer and make it fill to the top, which I do on every load.

What can I do to get my washer to truly agitate the load to tumble the clothes and get them clean?

Comments (18)

  • dadoes
    9 years ago

    Spin speed has no relation to tangling. Clothes are pressed against the basket wall during spin but otherwise are stationary in relation to each other, so cannot tangle then. Tangling occurs before spin, during the the wash (and/or rinse) phases when the clothes are tumbling.

  • RNmomof2 zone 5
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Okay, I misspoke. Any clues then on my problem?

  • hvtech42
    9 years ago

    Did this issue recently come up or has it been happening since you got the washer 5-6 years ago? How are you loading the washer? It's very important that the top of the impeller be unobstructed.

  • RNmomof2 zone 5
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    It has been like this I believe from the beginning. I try to place items around the impeller horizontally versus vertically. Pants going around the washer versus smushed down in one spot. I think that may also be to try to balance the load as well.

    Any thoughts on what I am doing wrong?

  • dadoes
    9 years ago

    Items (slacks, pants, jeans, sheets, etc.) should not be wrapped around the drum & wash plate as you are doing. Each piece *should* be dropped in as a bundle (but not smushed), with items placed/spaced evenly around. Fill the spaces between larger items with smaller pieces. For example, if you have four pairs of jeans to wash, visually/mentally divide the drum into four spaces with a pair of jeans placed in each section.

  • RNmomof2 zone 5
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Loads of whites usually just get dropped in and come out as one tangle of clothes! :-( I think some loads get dropped in and others not so much so. But if the washer does the water conservation stuff, part of the laundry is sticking out of the water if it is dropped down into the washer. It will still get clean that way?

    My lid does not lock so I can open it to force the washer to fill all the way up, which I usually do.

    Also, my impeller is tall FWIW.

    This post was edited by rnmomof2 on Thu, Dec 25, 14 at 23:33

  • dave1812
    9 years ago

    top loaders suck. I am so glad we ditched our TL for a FL. We never get tangled clothes and they are a hell of a lot cleaner when washed in a FL.

  • dadoes
    9 years ago

    Also, my impeller is tall FWIW. Please explain further what is the meaning of that statement. Does your machine have a traditional agitator rather than an low-profile impeller?

    Providing the model number of your machine will clear up any mystery on what exactly is the mechanism of it.

  • RNmomof2 zone 5
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    It was late last night and I could not think of the word agitator. My machine has the traditional tall agitator versus a low profile impeller.

  • hvtech42
    9 years ago

    This sounds like one of the later direct drive models with auto load sensing.

  • sandyslopes z5 n. UT
    9 years ago

    "But in the same load there will be a few items that come out in the same position they went in with accompanying particles of food , etc still in place."

    This makes me wonder if the agitator is working at all. Shouldn't clothes be moving around enough so that they wouldn't keep the food particles and still be in the same position that they went in? But the tangling of some clothes shows there's some movement like the spin cycle is spinning.

  • hvtech42
    9 years ago

    Figure out how to defeat the lid switch so you can watch the wash action.

  • sandy808
    9 years ago

    I beg to differ that top loaders "suck". It depends on the brand and model. I still have a Duet front load washer I kept to wash king size quilts in, but I would never choose to go back to a front load machine after years of using them. I love my Speed Queen old fashioned mechanical dial top loader.

    Certain items will tangle once in a while, and I have seen absolutely no difference as to whether it was a front load or top load washer. How severe the problem is, when it does happen, depends on the design of the washing machine. Some are worse than others.

    And my clothes are WAY cleaner coming out of my Speed Queen. In a fraction of the time. Including ground in garden dirt.
    But....we are all entitled to our likes and dislikes, and are fortunate enough to be able to make a choice.

    mmomof2, perhaps your washer is not getting enough water in it to get your clothes clean. It doesn't sound to me like you are doing anything wrong. This is why I like the Speed Queen top loaders. I can choose the water level, the temperature, and the cycle I want. I don't want a computer or anyone else dictating that to me. My washer and dryer get the job done...efficiently. And I'm smart enough to turn the dial to "mini" if I'm doing a small, special item, so as to conserve water.

  • dadoes
    9 years ago

    Agitator toploaders should follow the same procedure of not wrapping items around it .... sheets, jeans/slacks, etc. Drop them in spaced evenly with smaller items between.

  • hvtech42
    9 years ago

    Yes, even though it's been almost 20 years since I switched to front loaders and I wouldn't go back for anything, I agree suck is a strong word. Folks, both front loaders and top loaders get the clothes clean. If yours isn't then you either have a bum machine or you're doing something wrong.

    I will say though that if your clothes are getting cleaner in a TL than an FL you were probably doing something wrong with the FL. It's funny how different the use and care procedures can be. When I had family from Europe visiting back before I switched to FL, every load they tried to wash in my agitator TL was damaged and poorly rinsed/cleaned. They just didn't know how to use an agitator TL, much like many Americans don't know how to use an FL. The difference, though, is that it makes a lot more sense for Americans to learn FLs that it does Europeans to learn full fill TLs, given that they are a dying breed. When agitator TLs are completely discontinued (which could happen sooner than you may think) the transition is going to be painful for some.

  • beaglenc
    9 years ago

    What Sandy said. I've had some things tangle and twist but not as bad as in the Bosch but they always come out clean in my Speed Queen. Mmomof2 you have done well putting up with that machine for so long, better than I would have. If you can afford it, why not treat yourself and your clothes to a new one. Ihave the 542,which I believe is being dropped in 2015. the 432 is not. Check out the Speed Queen web site and compare,. The two are basically the same but with more flexible cycle choices on the 542 which is why I chose it.

  • cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
    9 years ago

    Sounds to me as if you are overloading.

  • dave1812
    9 years ago

    Either you people have owned only poor-performing front loaders, or you haven't used them properly, or you and I are living in alternate universes. The PHYSICS of how clothes are cleaned in a front loader, dictates that they will come out cleaner than in your average top loader. If your front loader has way too much water during the wash cycle(s), clothes won't tumble correctly (the MAIN reason a FL cleans so well is the tumbling), or by having a unit that uses far less water than it SHOULD be using, in which case cleaning results will be problematic. Another reason for poor cleaning in a FL is if the unit doesn't get hot enough for the type of load (a pretty common issue, giving all the regulations), in which case you are going to have problems with grease-laden items. You have to choose the right cycle and you have to own a unit that works well, but if you take a properly functioning FL and a TL, the FL is going to clean far more efficiently and completely, due to the way fabrics are tumbled. Sure it takes longer for loads to run, but so what--we aren't running a race.

    We owned a properly functioning Maytag TL long before Maytag dipped in quality. It never could clean greasy rags well and left a lot of black residue in the tub (at the water line). Our FL never has residue and that's saying a hell of a lot, given the nasty, greasy rags that are periodically washed in it. The one thing I did do to optimize cleaning in our FL was to SLIGHTLY increase the water level. No amount of water level choices, cycle times, water temp choices, ever gave decent results in any of our models of front loaders. Sloshing clothes around in a tub of water just isn't going to get them adequately clean, as compared to tumbling in a horizontal drum with properly sized paddles and the correct amount of water (too much water will keep the clothes floating above the height of the paddles, preventing them from being lifted up and over).