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Dinamarie
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- First reviewJanuary 1, 2015
- Last reviewJanuary 1, 2015
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Dinamarie's Reviews
LG 4.1 Cu. Ft. High-Efficiency Top-Loading Washer: Efficiently launder a wide variety of items, from delicate clothing to bedding, using this LG top-loading washer, which features 8 wash programs and 5 temperature settings for flexible operation. Complete your laundry at any time of day, even at night while others are sleeping, thanks to LoDecibel quiet operation. SmartDiagnosis technology allows you to troubleshoot issues using your phone.Measure Twice, Deliver Once Learn how to measure your space and check connections for a new washer and dryer. Watch the video ›How to Prepare for Delivery and InstallationLearn how to get ready for the delivery and installation of your new washing machine. Walk the path, check your hookups, order new parts, and empty your old washing machine.Watch the video ›
Customer Rating
1
Works best for VERY SMALL loads (for HE rating)
on January 1, 2015
Posted by: Dinamarie
UPDATE: I returned my LG Wt1101 and am returning to a conventional washer with a central agitator. The fact that this huge washer is DESIGNED for small loads and has no effective setting for more typical medium-sized loads was central to my decision (see technician advice, below). The first thing I did with my new machine was to re-wash many of the clothes I'd done with this LG HE washer because they reeked of soap and fabric softener.
ORIGINAL POST I've had this washer for two weeks and am still deciding whether to keep it. My complaint, like many other people, is that the water level is so low that clothes are not pulled down into the wash water. After an hour on the phone with a LG technician, I learned this: the different cycles are designed to use different amounts of water. Ignore the given names (e.g. Cotton, Heavy Duty) and think of the cycles in terms water levels.
He said that two cycles, Cotton/Normal and Heavy Duty, are designed to add water only up to 1" above the silver knob in the center bottom of the tub. That equals 5" of water measured from the deepest pockets in the bottom of the tub, but an average of only 4" throughout most of the tub. If you put in more clothes than this, the clothes on top might not get pulled into the water. I put in six long-sleeved t-shirts and the top one did not get pulled down into the water in the Cotton/Normal cycle. Apparently this [stupid] design helps LG qualify for the low water/high efficiency rating on this machine. It would take 54 minutes to wash those six shirts.
Two other cycles, Bright Whites and Pure Color, are designed to add a bit more water. I measured it as 2" from the top of the silver knob and 6" from the deepest pockets in the bottom of the tub, averaging about 5" deep throughout the tub. In addition to the six long-sleeved t-shirts, there was enough water to add three lightweight sweat shirts using the Bright Whites cycle. Together, this load was smaller than what I could do in my old-fashioned 2.4 cubic foot washer with a central agitator. The was cycle was longer than an hour.
One cycle, Bulky Items, is designed to fill the tub and it does. It works well for large loads.
The technician recommended always using small loads and selecting Bright Whites, or using very large loads and selecting Bulky Items, and then manually setting the water temperature, agitation, and spin speed to create the wash I want. There are buttons for water temperature and spin speed; the Soil Level button sets the agitation (more "soil" adds more time and uses a stronger agitation; it does not add more water like I thought). There is no easy way to wash a medium-sized load on this machine because the cycles provide too little or too much water.
He also said it's important to use the Fabric Softener button if softener is used in the Cotton/Normal or Heavy Duty cycle (the manual also mentions this). In those cycles, the default setting uses a spray rinse that will not remove fabric softener from the clothes. Again, this is a trick to reduce water consumption in order to qualify for ratings; it does not provide an effective rinse. By pressing the Fabric Softener button, you override that default and the rinse will "fill" the tub with water in normal rinse fashion. Apparently the other cycles always "fill" the tub during rinse so the Fabric Softener button is not needed for them.
The last thing he said is that the Load Sensing period that occurs before the wash begins is simply an attempt to distribute the clothes evenly; it has nothing to do with judging the weight of the load or assessing how much water will be required. By the way, I've washed some heavy items and have never encountered the unbalanced load problem that others report. I think the trick is to load the clothes as if there were a central agitator in the middle, spreading items around the edges of the tub.
So the bottom line is this: this huge capacity washer works best for very small or very large loads, and the "smart" specialty cycles need to be overridden for almost every load of laundry. I'll try a few more loads now that I have this information but I'm not pleased.
One last word of advice: the washer does not have a way to filter and remove lint or dog hair from the water. I washed a load of dog bedding and then, as I explored this topic of water level, I ran several loads of just water (no clothes) to see how much water entered the tub. Even after filling, spinning, and draining several cycles of water, there still was dog hair floating in the water. The only way to remove it seems to be doing another load of laundry and having it stick to clothes, and then being removed by the dryer. The matching dryer, however, is great at removing lint and dog hair as the clothes tumble dry.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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