Just letting you know that there ARE washers out there with numerous lengths of wash cycles. I have four wash options on my Neptune...along with options for pre-soak, stain cycle and extra rinse.

Wish I could get my water bill down $20 per month.
Then it would be just $5 - $8! LOL!

I'm frustrated with my washer as well. Of course, I bought the next to the cheapest washer they had. We are gone quite a bit from home and at the time I just couldn't see paying 3 times more for a washer that was going to set unused for 7/9 months out of the year.

One reason I didn't buy the cheapest is because I wanted a washer that would use hot water. I don't use it often, but when I do I want hot water. Also, I wanted a delicate speed. The washer said it had two speed. I learned the difference between speed and cycles the hard way.

Although it states and the options have hot water, it only ran hot water for a few seconds, then switched to cold, with a result of warm water.

I called the company, they sent a repairman and he told me that was the way the machine was designed. He said something about, 'they thought if people aren't going to conserve on their own, etc.'. That sorta incensed me. I called the company and told them to send another repairman or another washer. The next repairman told me it was, in fact, designed that way - but there was a little thing that could be unplugged and I would get all hot water. He did and I do have hot water when I need it.

Then the delicate 'speed' is not delicate at all. The agitation is the same as the regular agitation. It just agitates for a few seconds, then sets for a few, etc.

I will never buy another washer without knowing exactly how the things works.

My DIL has a front loader that uses a tiny amount of water. It works very well. When the clothes are through spinning, they are almost dry. It only takes a short time to dry them in the dryer.

I like it, but I just need a top loader sometimes. It would be nice to be able to afford two washers - top and front loader.

My washer gives one a choice of 4 - 14 minutes of wash time ... and there's a designation of "Extra" above the 14 min., but I don't know how one operates that, as I never wash more than 8 min. (in that I hardly ever do dirtifying work - the inside of the collar is about the dirtiest part that I have to deal with).

Could that last be spillover from a dirty mind, do you think? Quite likely the folks who find my sexually-related jokes and stories less than edifying would agree.

Hey - but life is sorta fund, don'tcha think? (That was supposed to be "fun", but tthat's theway it came our, prior to editing - honest!). (Didn't edit thatlast bit).

ole joydull ... sorry, that's supposed to be "joyful"!

P.S. Looks like I need a laundry soap with more brighteners!

Or - maybe should wash my mouth out with it?

o j

P.P.S. The name thing was writ that way a-purpose.

o j

"but I just need a top loader sometimes."

ladytexan, for what do you NEED a top loader?
Just curious, if you do not mind sharing!

First, you need to learn how to treat glass. Dipping glass into boiling water is a recipe for disaster. Glass is a supercooled liquid. Hot glass has no structural integrity. You can't heat it, and then manipulate it with force (shoving something into it), and expect it to not fracture.

If your husband isn't reading the instructions and doing the laundry the way you want it done - HOW is that the responsibility of the washing machine maker????? Either do it yourself or teach him how to do it. My machine has the prewash feature too. Sometimes I use it for heavily stained rags, but mostly I don't. It's just a click away.

Read the fricking instructions! That alone solves 99% of problems.

Sorry, you'll get no sympathy from me.

ilene, LOL, sometimes our "bright ideas" aren't. I am sure you are now thinking, what if i had just put in the votives WITHOUT trying to melt that wax?

Now would be a good time to look around in discount stores, Freds, Dollar Tree, etc for some small votive holders that just might fit your holder, maybe not in green, but at least you would still be able to use it.

ladytexan, we don't buy top of the line equipment because the more bells and whistles the more that can go wrong. Our whirlpool washer and dryer has lasted over 20 years; we just replaced the dryer - and will replace the washer when it no longer works. I either don't wash delicates in the machine, or I enclose them in a pillow case penned closed.

Gosh, Mary C., eat a cookie or something. I know it was a dumb thing to do, OK? I said so in the OP. I wasn't asking for sympathy so I won't miss it if you don't have any. ;)

When we replaced our old washer, I was working all day, and tutoring grandkids in the evenings. DH did the laundry to help out. You don't look a gift horse in the mouth. And I do believe it isn't my fault if the wash cycle isn't long enough because it's kind of hard to tell that when you're buying, and I'm not sure the salespeople would've known, but next time I buy a washer, this is something that I'll ask about.

Yeah, Calirose, I don't buy top of the line equipment, either, cause it's more expensive and more things to go wrong, as you said, and also more things to figure out.

Lady Texan, the pillowcase does it for delicates for me, too. I even know someone who puts her washed lettuce in a clean, inside-out pillowcase and runs it through the spin cycle! I've never done that so I don't know....

My washer gives me 4 different fill levels 1/4 to full, has a gentle spin but I never use it. The only thing I wish my washer had was an extra rinse cycle option. But now that I'm way more careful to measure the detergent, it's seldom needed anymore, and saves detergent.

I too wish I could cut my water bill by $20/mo... I'd be getting a check from the City!

Wow, where the heck do you all live that your water bill is already less than $20?? Mine was running $50-something a month and then they got a rate increase that would push it into the $60 range. We're being billed $40-something now. If we use no water at all, we're billed $24.

OK so maybe this is the deal... My water bill combines water, sewer, garbage pick-up, street lights and mosquito spray into one bill. So I guess I'm not just paying for water. Of course they estimate the sewer charge based on how much water we use, thinking what goes in must come out, I guess....

The only thing I wish my washer had was an extra rinse cycle option.

cynic, For years I have just turned the knob to the rinse cycle after the wash was over and it fills and rinses again. I have also turned the knob to just spin again too for heavier items. Our present washer is over 12 years and is still going strong, the one before that was over 20 years old, and still worked when we bought new. . Years ago I asked a washer repairman if it would hurt the machine and he said it wouldn't. He was right.

Ilene, where we are, the water co-op starts the bill with a $16 administrative fee. Actually, all of our utilities have an administrative fee, except for the phone. What amazes me is I had cheaper utilities when I lived in California with the much maligned SoCal Edison.

Ilene,

You're looking at things the wrong way. Your husband did the laundry and the only thing that bothered you is the wasted water. I take that to mean that he otherwise did a good job - he's a keeper. If the washer really bothers you, save that $20 a month to put towards a new one. Yes, get a new one even if yours is not broken. An appliance that gets lots of use should be one that you enjoy using and does the job the way you want. The old washer could be sold or donated to a worthy person in need.

Ruffian, that's a good idea, saving the $20 for a new washer.

Yes, DH is a keeper. That's why we have been married since 1967. Together we raised two children and we are just finishing up raising a couple of grandsons we adopted.

He was a welder for many years. He did physical labor in the heat and the cold to provide for his family. Then he had to retire early because of degenerative arthritis in his knees. I worked to provide insurance and to pay for his quite expensive medications because he also had high blood pressure and had had a stent placed in his heart. My employer paid for my insurance premium but I had to pay for DH's and for the DGS'. I was paid twice a month and for awhile I brought home only $200 each payday because of my huge payroll deductions. He qualified for Disability and a year later Medicare kicked in. It was like getting a big raise! We worked very hard, both of us, to raise those grandchildren, to see that they got an education, got to participate in sports, and got to have some advantages they wouldn't have otherwise had. They came to us with issues from the rough start in life that they got. Now they are 18 and 19 and DH and I are both retired. He was finally cleared for double knee replacement and that was done this summer. We both suffer from arthritis and the physical reminders that we are no longer young. I have arthritis in my back that causes painful muscle spasm attacks about once a year, and otherwise "talks to me" every day. But we hang in there together and support each other whenever the need arises. That's what the marriage vows mean.

When I say I 'need' a top loader, realize it is just my 'need'. I do a lot of soaking and I just feel the need to be able to see those clothes sitting there soaking.

I use a mesh bag for delicates as well, but I just like to use a more delicate cycle for wearing clothes, sweaters, blouses, etc. It's no big deal, it's just what I like. The fact that the machine said it had a delicate speed and didn't upset me.

I'm really cheap, in our 48 years, I have only bought two new washers. My washers have always been used ones and work very well. I have a older Maytag I bought to use at my son's place, and I intend to bring it home and use it. the newer one will be stored for if & when this one goes out.

My dryers last a very long time since I seldom use them.

Ilene - Back to the candle wax ;-) If you put the glass in the freezer for a few hours (I do it overnight or longer) the wax should pop right out. I hold the upside down glass with a towel and with the other end of the towel in my other hand, tap it into the towel. If it is stubborn, GENTLY use a knifepoint or ice pick to loosen it. I've found that the longer I leave it in the freezer, the easier it is to remove.

Ilene,
you have my deepest respect. Your grandchildren are truly blessed.