How to Troubleshoot Common Laundry Mishaps

Even with the best laundry equipment, sometimes there are glitches. Here are a few common mishaps you might encounter while doing laundry and tips for easy, no-hassle fixes — usually it’s just a matter of technique to get back on track! Consider this your how-to guide for laundry troubleshooting.

Clothes Not Getting Clean
Our new, high efficiency washers like room to breathe. Translation: Fill the drum only 75 percent full. Your machine has a MAX fill-level indicator to show exactly how much of your closet can fit inside safely. Otherwise, clothes can’t mingle with the water and soap well enough to get fully clean, and they can get damaged by getting too cozy with each other. Your jeans should not be entwined with your sweater, for instance.

Washer Error or Cycle Taking Too Long
Does it seem like you’ve been waiting on your wash cycle since last Tuesday? If your cycle is running an unusually long time, it’s likely from overloading. Too heavy a load can delay the cycle and unbalance the machine. Then your washer might start sending out distress signals with an error message.
If this happens, try pausing the cycle and rearrange the laundry. This helps re-center the tub, then you can restart the machine. If that’s not enough, remove bulkier items to run separately. Your machine will be much happier and give you back fresh, clean, undamaged clothes.

Too Many Suds or Oversoaping
Contrary to popular belief, more isn’t always better. You don’t need tons of suds to clean your clothes. In fact, too much laundry detergent causes soil to redeposit onto fabrics. HE detergents are concentrated, so a little goes a long way. If you’re using pods, you only need one per load and they should be tossed into the drum of the machine before your laundry. Be sure to follow package instructions for your detergent of choice. If you still have soapy clothes after the rinse cycle, run a new cycle with fabric softener in the soap dispenser to clear the residue. That should do the trick.

Dryer Not Heating
Are your clothes warm, yet damp? It’s likely it’s that pesky over-loading problem again. Too large a load can be split it into two cycles or two separate machines to dry. If it appears the load is of average size, your washer’s spin cycle may have not completely wrung out the clothes. Try running another dry cycle. Also, double check that the dryer’s lint screen has been cleaned. A full lint trap can contribute to drying problems.

If All Else Fails…
Machine still acting up despite your valiant efforts? Report it and request service through the WASH-Connect app – no account required. Use your phone to scan the barcode on the machine or enter the machine ID. Then select the problem description. The app identifies the exact machine, your location, and dispatches our service technicians to fix the problem. You also can go online at wash.com/service.