Dog Hair: Would this ruin a brand new Electrolux Washer/Dryer?

13 years ago

I just installed a brand new Electrolux washer and dryer at my new apartment - still under renovations and not ready to move in yet, but i thought that i ought to do a "test wash/dry" to see if the machines work. So...I did that today.

I thought i was being smart by bringing to my new apartment a twin-sized fleece blanket that my dog uses, plus two towels that he lays on every night at bedtime. So, a total of three items: twin sized fleece blanket, two cotton towels, small load.

Yikes. I had neglected the fact that my dog, a whippet, is short haired and his hair is like short "white pins"! I have white short hair everywhere in the washer, its drum, the edges, the rubber sealing gaskets. Likewise, the dryer has white hair everywhere too! Of course, the dryer's filter is heavy with a layer of hair, almost like a wool flat "fuzz ball", so I cleaned that out immediately after the drying cycle.

Did I do any harm to my brand new machines? This is my first ever cycle!

One would think that this is not the end of the world since when I used to wash new cotton flannel sheets for winter use, the dryer's filter would catch a ton of cotton fuzz for the first wash or two. But, since these brand new Electrolux machines are totally new, and the highest end of washer/dryer that I've ever owned, I feel kind of bad that I sort of "mistreated" them during their very first cycle! I hope that I didn't do damage.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thx.

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Comments (10)

georgect
13 years ago
Nahhh...mistreating these machines would be if you put some bricks in there and ran it through a cycle...dog hair or cotton fuzz not so much.

Buy the way...did you run your "Installation Cycle"? (Page 12 of the Installation Instruction Manual).

You may want to (if you can) shake out heavily covered items with animal hair outside first so you don't have so much hair left in the machine (this is where classic high water level top loaders excel).

As you play with your washer and learn how each cycle works (some cycles may use more water), you can use those cycles to wash the doggie items or heavy fuzzy items.

I wish ALL front load washers had a "Water Plus" option to help with really dirty or "fuzzy" items to help wash/rinse these types of things away. I've written to Electrolux and they don't see the need for the added feature for additional water use.
gates1
13 years ago
Your machines will be fine. As for the additional water plus option, it is on the Neweast model of the Wave Touch. It is clearly stated in the owners manual, as I Have read it online.
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georgect
13 years ago
Really gates1....I'll go check out the online manual.
(Checking while typing this.)

That's awesome, I'll have to tell my friends about this find.

They added way more options since I last looked at the original WaveTouch machines online manuals.

Thanks for the heads up on this and all the other options E-lux has added.
dualref
13 years ago
Over time, washing machine manufacturers have let the dryer do the lint & dog hair removal from clothing instead of having the washer do this.

To clean out the dog hair from your washer, use a nice fluffy & dry microfiber cloth and wipe your drum, gasket et al dry. The dog hair will stick to the cloth and shouldn't take more than a minute or so to do.
gates1
13 years ago
Georgect, it is on page 24 under options, where it tells you you can add more water to any wash cycle. I just their customer service doesnt know much about the machines.
eieio8
Original Author
13 years ago
you know what's funny? this is my very first wash on the best machine i've ever owned. i've always had low-end Maytag or similar (top loaders).

the funny thing is: i saw how little water was used and i actually didn't feel confident that it was enough to do the cleaning job sufficiently! i know it's merely based on a suspicion, but it certainly didn't look like enough water. i couldn't really tell how clean the 2 towels and one fleece blanket got because they weren't that dirty to begin with, but this Electrolux machine certainly used an incredibly small amount of water to do the wash. yikes.

anyone else feel the same way? again, i'm not saying it didn't do the wash properly - i'm merely saying that it certainly looked like "too little" water was used.
georgect
13 years ago
I hear what you're saying eieio8.
That's why I'm stoked that the WaveTouch Steam now has the "Add More Water" option.

You can try this to manually add more water (I read this on another forum)...
"Start the cycle you want normally. Let it fill and agitate for a few seconds. Then, cancel the cycle and select the hand wash cycle. Start it, and the machine will fill with substantially more water. After this has happened,cancel the hand wash cycle, and return to the cycle you want to use and press the start button. You will then actually see the water the laundry is plunged down into while it tumbles."

Let us know how that works.
gates1
13 years ago
When I got my FL and did the first load of clothes, I thought the same thing. NO way will it clean the clothes, but it does trust me. Your using a highly concentrated soap solution on your clothes and the tumbling action forces the solution through your clothes. That why it is important to use HE detergent, so avoid having all foam in the wash tub which is harder to push through clothes. My FL washes better than any conventional top loader out there, and I dont have an agitator beating up my clothes anymore. That was my main reason for switching to a FL 9 yrs ago, I got tired of having my clothes ruined by them, and I certainly do not over any washer I have ever owned
akrogirl
13 years ago
We have lots of dogs, cats and horses, lol. We haven't killed a W/D set yet ;-) You will be just fine. Enjoy your new machines.
whirlpool_trainee
13 years ago
I'd run the Tub Clean cycle and add extra water so you get a cleaning action like in this Mexican Duet washer. The cleaning cycle on the Electrolux uses way too little water from what I have seen on YouTube.

The low water level can clean even very dirty loads: see here.

HTH, Alex

Dog Hair: Would this ruin a brand new Electrolux Washer/Dryer?

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Dog Hair: Would this ruin a brand new Electrolux Washer/Dryer?

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