Front loading washers

[DDH]

I have a Duet also, and I love mine. I did have a problem with my (and I know this is going to sound weird) permenant press always having a smell to it. I couldn't stand it and it was driving me crazy that only these clothes were smelling and I could not figure out what was wrong.
Finally I started leaving my door open and I try to remember to put the washer through the cleaning cycle once a month like it recommends but I know I miss times. Anyway, it has stopped. I don't know why it was ever this way or why it stopped but I no longer have a smell problem with my clothes.
The only thing I could think of was I quit stuffing the washer with clothes and started making two loads out of my permenant press. That's the only thing I ever had a huge amount of and I guess it just wasn't getting them clean since I was stuffing the washer.
It still washes a whole lot more at once than my top loader ever did and it saves tons of water.

I get irritated the the detergent is more expensive, but other than that, I love it.

[Irulan]

My Duet 4.0 is getting delivered/installed on Friday.

[xeney]

We don't wash diapers, but my husband's work-out clothes get pretty rank. We started adding Febreeze laundry additive to those washes, and that made a difference.

Unfortunately that is not an option with the diapers -- additives like Febreeze can really affect the absorbency. Plus I try to avoid things with scents, and it frankly makes me angry to spend this much money on a washer and then have to add things to mask smells that it is not removing.

I just made a habit to press the "Cold" button whenever I wash. I do that to save money on heating the water. Nothing has shrunk, though, even on warm. Maybe my water heater is not up enough (the former owner put a partition around it and I've never even seen the stupid thing).

Sounds like we have different versions of the machine -- if there were a "cold" button it would be easier, but it's that little button you have to press multiple times to get through the cycle of options. There is nothing wrong with it, it's just an annoying interface and I am irritated that "warm" is the default when most people wash on cold for the reason you point out, to save money. And our water heater is turned WAY down because we have a toddler who likes to adjust the water temperature in the bathtub.

I should stress that I am not comparing the Duet to a top loader. We have not had a top loader for about ten years. But it is nowhere near as good at cleaning clothes as our old Kenmore was. We really wish we had had that one repaired a fourth time rather than buying this machine. After two months, our towels (which looked like new in the Kenmore) look like old rags, and our diapers stink, and I hate this machine.

As soon as I can afford a new one I will probably put this one on Craigslist.

I hope yours works out, Irulan. I really wish we hadn't bought ours.

[Tuckervill]

My friend with cloth diapers always put baking soda in the wash. She bought giant boxes of it from Sam's Club.

My Duet wash has a button that says something like "Hot Wash/Cold Rinse" Warm Wash/Cold Rinse" and "Cold Wash/Cold Rinse". It defaults to the middle one (warm) and when I press it, it goes down the list, so it goes right to the Cold/Cold. Once I trained myself, it became second nature and I don't even think of it anymore.

Karen

[tulip]

Borax is also a very good laundry booster. It is sometimes hard to find. Mule Team Borax is the brand that I use.

[Becky]

I'll toss in my two cents for washing soda added in with the detergent. Like baking soda, but stronger. Even DH's funky cycling clothes smell ok after a wash with this stuff.

[tribogota]

just one more, love my front loader, whirpool, 13lbs, small, so sometimes I have to do more loads...love it so much that I hate to wash when I visit my mother who has a top loader, seems less clean. I have had it for 5 years and definitly wears down the clothes less, I can even throw in bras.