Some Helpful Hints About Washers
Washing machines and dishwashers are made to last, but sometimes they need some help from their only human owners. The following are some helpful hints about common problems you may come across with your appliances and solutions as to how to prevent them. After reading this, however, you are on your own.
Clothing that fades has nothing to do with the performance of your washer; it concerns unstable fabric dyes. Avoid clothing labels that warn: ”designed to bleed” or “wash before wearing” as these are the earmarks of volatile dyes. Pilling, which is commonly found on the fabric surfaces of sweaters, slacks and shirt collars can be minimized by washing within a shorter time frame and by turning the garment inside out before laundering.
If your clothing is coming out of the washer stained rust, yellow, orange or red, it may be caused by rust. If the stains are concentrated on white clothing, the culprit could be a rusty hot water heater or water pipes since white clothes are usually washed in hot water. Ask your appliance repair specialist how to remove these stains, as chlorine bleach won’t cut it.
Lint is a common problem with the washing process but any reputable appliance repair specialist will tell you that excessive linting can be caused by improper sorting, overloading, not using enough detergent and static cling. You may need to re-launder the garment and dry it thoroughly in the dryer to remove excessive lint.
Dinghy clothes may be the result of water that is too cold. When a garment manufacturer indicates that the fabric must be washed in cold water, it is actually 80-degree temperatures they are referring to. Detergents do not dissolve in colder water and their cleaning agents are not activated. You can change the outcome by adding warm water for at least part of the fill cycle.
Tangling is expected to a certain extent because the washer circulates the clothes, which need to roll over during the wash cycle in order to get clean. The chances of tangling increase if you wrap shirts and sheets around the agitator and wash only one type or size of clothing.
If you overload your washer, clothes cannot circulate and detergent often becomes trapped within the folds of the fabric. Always place clothing loosely in washtub up to the top row of holes and no further. Do not push down the load to make room for other clothes.
If clothes are taking too long to dry (more than one half-hour or so) the problem could be: improper dryer venting, an unclean lint filter, improper dryer settings, overloading and /or a poor washer spin cycle.
If you can’t figure it out, call in a NYC appliance repair specialist.
The Appliance Doctor is there 24/7 and can be reached anytime at
1-800-339-0353 or www.appliancedoctorx.com.
