It depends on how hot your water is. Newer machines monitor the temperature and add cold if the incoming hot is too hot. It also will add hot if the incoming cold is too cold (below about 68F). Hot is defined as around 120F.

ok but if I want a hot wash, why would it think the water is too hot? We do have our hot water tank pretty hot, as we no longer have small children. But the reason I set it so hot is because I like using hot water, and I don't want the washer adding cold to it. Oh well, if I want a really hot wash, I'll just use the sanitize option I guess.

I got the same washing machine, also from Lowes a couple days ago and just did a load of laundry. I'm selling my Whirlpool Duet because my clothes were shrinking (probably the dryer) from too much hot water filling into the Duet and the fact that my clothes were wrinkled and bunched up. Now, I've observed this:
1) clothing just as wrinkled
2) Not quite spun dry as much as the Duet
3) Still puts in hot water

I messed up. I also am not getting any suds at all. The dispenser tells you to move it down for liquid and I did this, but the liquid seemed to seep through the other passage. The washer did not show it soaped up.

The best washer I had was the first Duet/HE3 bought at the Sears Outlet Center but it tore my clothing (probably defect in the drum). Clothing was clean and unwrinkled and the machine was otherwise perfect.

So I should have bought the LG. For $718.00, I made a decision. I thought the onboard heater would control the water temperature and I was wrong. I have bad appliance Karma. I bought a cooktop that is a gas, non adjustable one and the the flames are so strong they practically burn my pan and food on higher, and don't cook it through on higher or lower. So I give up. I am a decent cook and never ever had an issue with a gas stove. I just give up.

-Wendy

Mountaineergirl what you are probably experiencing has to do with the child safety feature. This is where it locks and then runs some water with a couple of turns. Then it unlocks and sets for a few seconds before continuing on. The idea is to get the kiddy wet and give them a small tumble, then the door unlocks and he can scramble out. It will always run that first test with cold water (don't want to burn the little darling). If you pause it will also go thru the same routine.

My old FL Maytag did not do this. Don't know if it's just a feature on the Samsung (I have the 218) are a requirement on all new FL's.

Haha! visual image of kid scrambling out of the washer!

Yeah my other ones were Maytags also, the dispenser was on top and you could tell instantly that hot water was running into the washer. well your explanation makes sense.

wendykarla - I'm sorry you're not having good luck with your samsungs. I am really pleased with mine. I had 10 days of laundry piled up waiting on my new ones so I loaded it up and still have had not problems with wrinkles. I washed my scrubs on the perm press setting and they were perfect. The load of jeans had no wrinkles either. They were spun as dry or dryer than my Neptune. I used the high spin setting on everything except the perm press.

thanks for your replies!