Front loaders and soaking

[lunamama]

So we have had a new set of front loaders for a few months now. I love them except for one thing. I haven't figured out a way to soak. I like to bacout my towels every so often because they can get stinky here and there.
Anyone know of a way to do this with a front loader?

[ChetMC]

What I Do

For really bad stains, I'll sometimes put Oxyclean in the soap compartment, run a hot water wash with extra water, and then turn the machine off once the wash part of the cycle is done. Oxyclean keeps working for six hours.

When I turn the machine back on it remembers where it was in the cycle, but them I turn it to drain, and then run a fresh wash all the way through to wash out the oxyclean.

[larablue]

If your machine does not have a program for soaking (mine has), than I would suggest stopping the machine during a cycle.
You can either add water bei program, or you can fill it directly in via the soap thingy.

[zebra15]

These type machines don't soak well. (let stuff sit in water). Soaking is just one more thing on the list that I dont like about front loaders. When I have my own place again (no roommate) and my own appliances there will be NO front loaders!

[ChetMC]

???

Originally Posted by zebra15

These type machines don't soak well. (let stuff sit in water). Soaking is just one more thing on the list that I dont like about front loaders. When I have my own place again (no roommate) and my own appliances there will be NO front loaders!

I haven't had any problems at all. An Oxyclean soak in the front load works the same for me as one in the bathtub.

And if you can add extra water through the soap try, how is it any different than soaking in a basin?

[BBerryBliss]

I just stop ours during the cycle and let it sit. I have an extra water feature with mine as well.

[justmama]

my front loader doesn't soak well. There is a "soak" cycle but it's part of "soak/rinse/spin" and things soak for like 15minutes before it spins out. Not real effective, and it's not very much water. So if I need to soak something, i do it in my bathtub or sink in the kitchen first. It's just more efficient and easier. I could just shut off the machine after it wets the items and let it sit, but it's not sitting in water like I want it to. It's just a pile of wet fabric sitting in my machine. I don't feel like that's "soaking" enough. So I like to submerge things in the sink or bathtub depending on size and then wash it or rinse and spin or whatever in my machine afterwards.

[greenluv]

I've never been a fan of soaking in the washer-either front or top loading. One doesn't use enough water and the other can use way too much. I solve this by having a dedicated soaking bucket. With a new baby in the house, I'm soaking clothes now way more than I have in the last 7 years.

[cristeen]

For stink, I'd recommend what I have to do with diapers. Heat and more water. I have to add 2-3 gallons of water to my diaper loads because otherwise there's no water to actually agitate. Sit and watch your FL sometime as it starts it's cycle. When it's finished filling, open the door and check how much water is left. For something as absorbent as towels (or diapers), I'd be willing to bet there's not a whole lot. I just fill a bucket with hot tap water, open the door and dump it in. So long as it's below the level of the door, it's not a problem. If you need to add more than that, you can pour it into the detergent cup, but I always wind up wearing it that way.

With my dipes, I do a first (cold) wash, which gets the surface stuff out, and then a second HOT wash, both with extra water. And just by switching to this method, I've managed to remove the stink problem I was having.