Washing Microfiber in HE Washer?

Johnny 5 said:
This is sort of a timely thread for me, because somewhat recently my HE washer appears to no longer be able to run the self clean cycle.. Is a regular wash almost as good as a self clean cycle?
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I'd get it serviced. On mine at least, the Self Clean cycle is quite different from any of the other ones. Whatever's wrong with it might be something simple, and/or it might be something that'll eventually start messing up the cycles you are using.
 
Accumulator said:
I'd get it serviced. On mine at least, the Self Clean cycle is quite different from any of the other ones. Whatever's wrong with it might be something simple, and/or it might be something that'll eventually start messing up the cycles you are using.
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Thanks for the sound advice. Sometimes, it still helps to simply be told, and it doesn't hurt when it's from someone you'd trust. :smile:



I'll get on it soon.
 
Maybe for us folks who do not have top loaders it would be more effective to put our dirty MF in a 5 gallon bucket of hot water with Micro Restore and let it soak for a while then throw it in the HE machine with Tide and Bleach alternative.



I did find out when I was washing smalls loads (3-4 hand towels) the less soap the better in an HE machine. I'm talking like 1Tbl spoon of detergent for a small load. The towels came out much cleaner and fluffier than before. This is contradictory to the old top loader where more soap was always a good thing.



One of the best detergents I have found is All small and mighty, it is free of dyes and fragrances and is #1 recommended by dermatologists for allergy sufferers. I used this excluslively unitl I read that Micro Restore adds moisturizers to the Micro fiber to keep it soft and absorbent???





Im going back to the All detergent and Clorox 2, with an extra Rinse cycle and main wash set on Hot.



I also have 3 WW towels that no longer absorb? Not sure why
 
lazzman- Yeah, IME some WWMFs simply become less effective after a while, no matter what you do. But I've sometimes brought them back by washing in very hot with no detergent.



And yeah#2, IME the HE washers do better with small loads. I suspect that it's a matter of having more water (relative to the size of washload) even though such washers supposedly self-adjust. Whenever I do a big (but supposedly not too big) load, things just don't turn out as well as when I do a small one.



And yeah#3, that presoak in MicroRestore oughta help too, but you'll have to be sure it (and the regular detergent you use) gets rinsed out.
 
I agree that today's front loading HE washers, overall, don't clean as well as the old (really old) top loaders, with one exception...



It's been bantered about for years... how you shouldn't wash MF's in really hot water. But I wash my MF's in my front loader on the Sanitary (EXTRA hot water) cycle, with zero problems. Sanitary cycle, max time, extra rinse, no fabric softener, Tide Advanced powder. Regardless of how nasty the MF's are going in, they are clean, soft, fluffy coming out of the dryer. I wash my Megs Soft Buff 2.0 pads the same way.



The cycle takes a bit over two hours (and that's just the wash. throw another 45 minutes on that for the dryer time).
 
I'm pretty happy with my Maytag 2nd gen HE. I use it on normal, hot water, extra soiled, pre-soak and extended spin modes. What has really helped is my soap mixture.



In the main soap container -- regular detergent

Pre-wash container -- 2-3 teaspoons of dawn dish detergent

Bleach container -- 1 cup white vinegar



Even really soiled towels come out clean in one pass.
 
SuperBee364 said:
I agree that today's front loading HE washers, overall, don't clean as well as the old (really old) top loaders, with one exception...



It's been bantered about for years... how you shouldn't wash MF's in really hot water. But I wash my MF's in my front loader on the Sanitary (EXTRA hot water) cycle, with zero problems. Sanitary cycle, max time, extra rinse, no fabric softener, Tide Advanced powder. Regardless of how nasty the MF's are going in, they are clean, soft, fluffy coming out of the dryer. I wash my Megs Soft Buff 2.0 pads the same way.



The cycle takes a bit over two hours (and that's just the wash. throw another 45 minutes on that for the dryer time).
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Sounds like somebody else is doing this the same way as me.
 
Sounds like I gotta get me one of these HE front loaders. It's interesting hearing the different ideas about washing because there's such a variance in MF quality that of course the washing process can produce wildly different results.
 
lostdaytomorrow said:
Sounds like I gotta get me one of these HE front loaders..
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Heh heh... whereas, after having had mine for a few years now, I sometimes think "I gotta get me (another) one of those direct-drive agitator type washers while they're still making 'em" ;)



If you're washing clothing/household textiles, and such stuff never gets too dirty, then OK. If you're washing detailing stuff, work clothes, and so on then I'd really think twice.
 
lostdaytomorrow said:
because there's such a variance in MF quality that of course the washing process can produce wildly different results.
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  • local water quality has an influence
  • the soap you use can have an influence



We've had our Whirlpool Duet for a number of years and have had excellent results with it.
 
Dan said:
I'm pretty happy with my Maytag 2nd gen HE. I use it on normal, hot water, extra soiled, pre-soak and extended spin modes. What has really helped is my soap mixture.



In the main soap container -- regular detergent

Pre-wash container -- 2-3 teaspoons of dawn dish detergent

Bleach container -- 1 cup white vinegar



Even really soiled towels come out clean in one pass.
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Hey Dan, I used to put white vinegar in the bleach container, too. Then someone sent me a PM on here (during one of the old "how to wash MF's?" threads). He said that laundry soap is alkaline. Putting vinegar (an acid) in with it decreases it's cleaning ability. He did have a point, but I have no idea exactly how badly it effects the cleaning ability. Now, when I use vinegar, I add it to the fabric softener dispenser, as it gets added during the rinse cycle instead of the wash cycle (stuff added to the bleach dispenser is added during the wash cycle, along with the soap).
 
Roger that, I've always been doing that. MFs stay plush. I notice when ones that were always totally lint free start to lint, ( after years of service) that's when it's time to demote them to grunge duty and begin to look into getting a new batch for paint.
 
SuperBee364 said:
Putting vinegar (an acid) in with it decreases it's cleaning ability.
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That's been my understanding, too.



And I'm fairly certain you want to add the vinegar to a rinse cycle that's not the final rinse. (I'm not sure how many post-wash rinse cycles these modern machines do, but I sense there are at least two, maybe more, after the wash cycle when running the NORMAL cycle.)
 
When we did the addition to the casa DaGonz ( wifey wanted a new entryway and 1st floor laundry room, and I wanted a better garage ) i inherited the old washer/dryer in the basement for my detailing microfibers and other toweling. :grinno:



For really grungy toweling that needs washing, I bring it to the firehouse when I'm working and run the towels through the turnout gear washer/extractor.
 
DaGonz- Hey, I bet the firehouse washer comes in handy! Makes me miss the unit I had at the dealership building..



I also bet it's really handy having the old washer/dryer at home for such stuff too.
 
SuperBee364 said:
Hey Dan, I used to put white vinegar in the bleach container, too. Then someone sent me a PM on here (during one of the old "how to wash MF's?" threads). He said that laundry soap is alkaline. Putting vinegar (an acid) in with it decreases it's cleaning ability. He did have a point, but I have no idea exactly how badly it effects the cleaning ability. Now, when I use vinegar, I add it to the fabric softener dispenser, as it gets added during the rinse cycle instead of the wash cycle (stuff added to the bleach dispenser is added during the wash cycle, along with the soap).
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Interesting. It certainly works better with the vinegar for me. I also use it on "sportswear" that can get uber funky. With detergent alone, some of my padding still reeks after a wash. Add the vinegar and it smells fresh and new. I need to do some more experimenting now....
 
Dan said:
I... I also use it on "sportswear" that can get uber funky. With detergent alone, some of my padding still reeks after a wash.....
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I have some "seat cover shampoo" from Wet Okole (came with the covers I used in the MPV) that works well on rubber/etc. stuff that retains, uhm....organic odors. Never tried it for MFs though, pretty pricey stuff IIRC, even by my standards.
 
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