I think I have managed to accumulate a lot of knowledge over the years in regards to laundry. Not to say that I am an expert, as I am sure there are some who know a lot more than me. But I think I know more than most. So I thought a series of posts about what I know, generally speaking, would be good.

Following, then, is what I have learned about laundry (in general). I’m sure this list will grow as time goes on.

1) The hotter the water, the better. I discovered this when I owned my Maytag Neptune. I didn’t think that I would use the sanitary cycle much (155-ish degree wash), but found I was using it more and more with each passing week, especially on durable materials and whites.

Whites, omg! At the Laundry Room Forum at GardenWeb, there are many users who tout the advantages of a really hot wash cycle. I was skeptical that simply using much hotter water would have much effect, but I was wrong. I never had to use chlorine bleach in my machine when I did a load of whites. I simply used my oxygenated ecoVantage, in conjunction with the sanitary cycle, and occasionally some OxyClean, and my whites came out blazing white, as if they were brand new. I cannot overstate the benefits of very hot water.

2) Higher spin speeds aren’t always ideal. This is especially true with synthetic or blended fabrics. Wrinkles!

3) There is such a thing as not enough water. Again, something I found with my Neptune. I washed my big poofy blanket once a week. The first time I washed it, it just didn’t feel very clean. Washed it again, and examined it after pulling it from the washer. There were dry spots towards the center.

So I decided my washer needed a bit more water. Hmm… an empty Tide bottle! Gave it a good rinse, filled that puppy with water, and poured it through the dispenser and into the tub. Problem solved.

The newer LG washers offer an extra water feature, which seems to be a good idea. Also, on most frontload washers, the machine will add extra water to the permanent press and gentle cycles.

4) Be skeptical of high-efficiency top load washers. Fisher & Paykel would be the exception, and probably the only one. The machines priced above the Fisher & Paykel washers (Cabrio, Oasis, Harmony, Bravo) tend to get mixed reviews, more negative than positive. The top load machines priced below only earned their HE status from the Department of Energy by manipulating wash temperatures and water levels, creating an ineffective wash.

5) Speed Queen and Fisher & Paykel are the only top load washers I would recommend anyone to buy.

6) Dryers matter. Maybe not as much as the washers, but dryers definitely have an effect on the end result.

I am currently using a POS Frigidaire dryer. It’s tiny, bakes the clothes dry, and clothes are always getting caught along the top of the drum. (That really pisses me off.) I have to be sure to take my clothes out before they are completely dry (which takes forever), otherwise they will be very wrinkled.

The bigger the drum, the better. The higher the airflow the better.

7) It is stupid to rely on cheap rubber supply hoses. Think about it for a minute. The only thing keeping millions of gallons of water from flooding your house is a thin wall of rubber.

Example: a nice, young couple purchased their appliances from me for their new home. Everything was delivered and installed. Immediately after closing on their house, before they even moved in, they left on vacation for a couple weeks. They left the fill valves to the washing machine turned on. Hoses burst, water runs into the house for over a week before the decorator pops in to finish something and notices the water. House has to be gutted and rebuilt, before they even spent one night in it.

Turn the valves off when you leave for an extended period, and don’t use the rubber hoses that come with the machine.

And yes, I did try and sell them braided steel hoses, and they declined.