gardengrlz...check out Reviewed.com

http://laundry.reviewed.com/reviews?sort=review_publish_on,desc

I have never owned an he top loader but played with my parents' while visiting for a week. The way the items are placed in the washer is critical. Too much detergent will make it so nothing, stains included, gets rinsed out.

You said you've always had a TL washer. Was your old one he?

FWIW my mother donated the set after fighting with it for a few weeks. I don't know if it was resistance to change or it really was that bad.

Sandy, yes our old set was HE/non-agitator, so there's a little less learning curve for us.

It's funny, years ago people were saying the same things about the FL washers and now it's come back around to the TL washers.

George, I'll check out that link.

The "regular" load of whites just got done and so far, they came out clean to my standards. A load of jeans is in now in (Deep water cycle/Deep clean), so we'll see how that goes.

The good news in all this "research" is all the laundry will be done before this weekend! :-)

Garden-I would echo Msylings mom and say if you don't love the machine and are already having issues, return it while you still can! I would! These machines are expensive and you need to like what you have! I've already decided I'm getting a traditional top loading speed queen when I'm finally able to buy new machines. I love the FL"s and all the fancy cycles and what not, but in real life with the amount of wash I do (it's a lot- 5 ppl), and my other responsibilities I just don't have time to deal with all that waiting around for 1hr long cycles, and having to wipe out the gasket and rinse the drawer and what not.

Oh, that sounds awful. So sorry. Personally the few people that I know who have & use "he" top load machines are NOT happy. They all complain about some items really not even getting all the way wet, stains almost always remaining, clothes being tangled after the spin, and nothing smelling or feeling clean.

If I were to buy a top load machine, IMO, the only choice would be a SpeedQueen. They will give you a full fill, great agitation, full rinses and everything will be fresh, clean and right the first time!!

Also, Georgect is right...The Electrolux 60 and 70 Series front load machines are INCREDIBLE. The 70 Series dryer is the way to go though, the 60 Series does not have reverse(two way) tumble.

Btw, I have a Miele PW6065 Little Giant washer and T1415 Miele Dryer. The machine uses WATER for the wash cycles and rinses (2-5 rinses, you select). I could NOT be happier with the washer! I do love the dryer, the smaller size easily handles our CA King sheets or a CA King blanket...but it takes longer than a big ol' American dryer. About 15-20 mins longer per cycle.

Okay, the jeans came out to my standards too, so I'm keeping an eye on things...for now.

George, it's interesting that link you sent. They commented that the 855 Bravos XL (one step up from ours, but has the steam feature):

A Normal cycle on the hottest setting with an Extra Rinse simulates Whites cycles found on other machines, which the MVWB855DW lacks. This configuration is strong against tough stains, but uses an extra 14 gallons of water compared to default settings. It might be helpful if you want to get rid of any leftover bleach from a wash.

Neither machines have a "whites" cycle, you just kinda have to figure it out on your own. I even called Maytag today to get some help understanding how to wash whites with bleach, as their user manual says NOTHING really. Basically, you can use bleach on any cycle, it just depends on the water temperature you choose and how effective it will work.

Basically, you can use bleach on any cycle, it just depends on the water temperature you choose and how effective it will work.

Chlorine bleach works in cold water, hot water, and any point between. Non-chlorine bleaches tend to work better at warmer temps.

I own a Bravos set, 5 years old. I love my washer and have never had a problem with clothes, sheets, or towels not getting clean. I mainly use the "bulky" cycle, which puts more water into the tub. For small loads I choose the delicate hand wash cycle. Part of your problem might be hard water.

If your coming from a traditional top loader, your never going to be happy. Cut it short and save the aggravation and return it. The next best cleaning compared to a TL, is a front loading machine with onboard heat. In some respects their better than the traditional TL, and in some their not.

I have an Amana HE TL & I've also had mixed results.

The low water wash/rinse works perfect for my work clothes, dish & bath towels only (2 separate loads). When wet, they make small little balls & the wash plate works them & rolls them properly.

Larger items, not so much. So we think, add more water. Well that doesn't work with stains on large bulky items.

50 gallons of water in the traditional TL was fine as the agitator moved everything down & back up. However 50 gallons in my TL HE causes problems as there is no agitator moving clothes & floating items in the water never reach the wash plate. So it's a tub full of water & spinning wash plate barely even moving large items.

So all that being said, it makes perfect sense, the wash plate gives its best performance for smaller items & less water. But it's unable to circulate the large items as a FL or original TL.

When I wash my big throw rugs or king sized blankets I have to manually move them through the water & prewash any stains in the sink because their wash/rinse will have no agitation in the HE TL.

Yesterday I broke the golden rule of HE TL & I put powder detergent on the top of a large blanket. When it was done, there was still wet, unused powder sitting on the blanket.

Overall I'm not knocking them. Put in 25 t-shirts or 25 pairs of underwear. The wash plate will turn that load up!! But a king size thick blanket, just sits there, even though there's plenty of room in the tub for it....

Scott this is what I've read online about top load HE machines, but I've never had or used one. What about say a load of jeans...or your doggies blankets?

Yah, I used to wash jeans with my work clothes but they don't roll well and become the heaviest thing in that cycle, so now I put them in with towels. The doggies blankets are 2 twin sized and they wash pretty well too, I put them on opposite sides of each other in the tub.

Not saying it's good or bad, but it's different than the FL or normal TL's. I do more small loads now.

Just saw these on videos but the LG TL HE seems to agitate better than any TL HE I have seen. Seems to have a reasonable amount of water in them and the clothes are turning well. Maybe it was just a certain cycle it was on. Not sure I would buy one, but they seem to wash well. I am sure anyone here that has one or has had one might disagree, just saying.

I've had the Bravos XL (the one with the glass lid) for about a year now. I've had some good and some bad experiences. I love the size of the loads it takes. I did have a lot of trouble at first with wrinkled and tangled clothes. I've gotten better at selecting the amount of spin which helps a lot with this problem. For our work/dress clothes, I always use the lowest spin cycle. For towels, I use the highest spin cycle. Athletic clothes and jeans are usually on the medium one. I haven't had much luck with powdered detergents (in the dispenser), so I've gone back to liquid and had no issues.

I got the matching dryer with the steam option, loving that.

I only paid $550 for each piece of the pair, which seems pretty good and makes it easier to stomach when it dies an early death, as all these new appliances seem to do.

I'd always had the old-school TL's with the agitator, so no previous experience with the new reality of HE washers. When this one dies, I'm thinking about getting a FL. In our previous house, the laundry room was a narrow pass through from the garage to the kitchen, so leaving the door ajar to prevent mold was never an option. Now I have a larger laundry room, so my choices are more open.

I absolutely HATE my Maytag Bravos XL Steam washer and dryer!!! The washer does not have a setting that dispenses enough water to cover the clothes, even on the “deep water” setting. Dark clothes that were on the top of the load come out with obvious soap on them, so I know the rest of the clothes are the same. I use the “he” detergent with the appropriate amt. of soap per load. I like to use the “delicate” setting, but with that setting the water level is even lower. It's so frustrating. The dryer is just as bad, because regardless of the setting, we have to put clothes back in to dry. We wish we had our old set back.

I feel the same as jocarolh. I have tried everything to eliminate the need to wash jeans and darks a second time to get the white soap streaks off the clothes. My latest attempt was using the deep water cycle, hot water, diluting the 2 teaspoons of liquid detergent in the dispenser, and setting on extra rinse. I still had to wash a second time without detergent and extra rinse on the deep water cycle. This machine is junk. Unfortunately, we purchased the set and had them installed in our house for several months before moving in. I warn anyone thinking about purchasing the Bravo's XL top load HE washer to think again. The worst purchase I have ever made.

Wash jeans inside out, less streaks and I would rinse with some white vinegar in the rinse. Also the faster your spin is you may have more streaks on dark items especially jeans.

Thanks sparky823. I'll give it a try. What does vinegar do? And, that means I'll need to check on the wash fo catch the rinse cycle. I might go back to pounding the laundry against rocks in the creek.

It's supposed to help rinse out soap but a lot of people say that it doesn't. I have used it because it is supposed to help prevent fading. You can add it to your softener dispenser to keep from having to watch for rinse. It's worth a try combined with wrong side out and medium spin. Does your washer have a jeans cycle? I read that someone used an empty gallon jug, filled it with water and poured over the dry clothes. This made them weigh more when the machine does the weight calculation and it adds more water. Might not be much but worth a try.

I tried adding a gallon of water before I turned the washer on. The first thing it did was to empty out all the water that I had added. I turn my dark clothes inside out, but it doesn't help. We called Maytag, and they said to use Affresh once a month on the “Affresh” cycle. We haven’t tried it yet, but I had a Maytag washer for over 20 years and never had to do that. I haven’t heard of one person who is happy with their washer, plus we invariably have to turn the dryer back on to finish drying our clothes. These two appliances are junk!

Just in case someone reads this - it's mentioned on many other threads, but my love affair with my Maytag Bravos XL was short lived. I took my loss and bought a Whirlpool front loader after less than 2 years of fighting with it. We did all the tricks we could find and did use Affresh every time the clean washer light came on. I just don't want my glowing review at the top of this thread to be confusing.

Those of you having trouble with the dryer, have you tried cleaning the sensor? Mine worked well at first, but then started shutting off before the clothes were dry. I cleaned the sensor with rubbing alcohol on a paper towel, and it fixed the problem. The sensor is the silver strips on the front of the drum, just below the lint filter. They apparently get residue on them from dryer sheets or maybe all this detergent residue :(

I’m biding my time til I can buy a new washer. This is way too much work to use an appliance that is supposed to reduce our workload!

Yeah I know the washer would drain the water, but point of the procedure was to pour the water over the dry clothes to wet them which I would pour maybe two gallons since it will drain anyway but your clothes should be heavier after wetting them.

This Maytag is not related in any way to your old one. The one you have now is a Whirlpool, the old one was a Maytag. I have read reviews where people don't like their new top load washer and this is most all brands, not just Maytag. I will say I have a friend with a Maytag Bravos about 5 years old. She loves it. Says it works great and no problems with it so far plus they have two sons 5 and 7 so they have dirty clothes.

Realize none of this helps you but maybe just sale them and get something you like better. I would clean sensor bars on dryer and see if the vent is possibly blocked or bent preventing good air flow. Also wash your filter with some dish detergent if you use softener sheets.

oh man. We are moving and in the new house, there is a Maytag Bravo Washer and Dryer (The washer has the see in lid). I didn't note the model number.... but it looks pretty new. In the house we are selling I had replaced by Kenmore Calypso (HE non agitator TL) of about 18 years with a Whirlpool 8540 FL and it's been a learning curve. To be honest I was a little relieved to see a High Efficiency Top Loader and Maytag as well. Here's hoping it works out better for me. Not loving the comments here about the Maytag Bravo. We just had the inspections so I don't know when I will get back there. Guess I will just deal with it.

Nothing positive to say about the washer, but I've had no complaints about my Maytag dryer.

From what I've read it is all about how you load it. I have a friend that went from a 30 year old Maytag top load to a wash plate top load and she loves it. Not one problem in 6 years.

Personally I have never used one of these, but did a Calypso and it worked great, really cleaned well.

I got on this site because we purchased a MAYTAG Bravo TOP-LOADING HIGH EFFICIENCY Model # MVWX655DW0 last year, and it has begun to return to "wash" cycle after the rinse and then just sit there?! We have to manually reset to drain and spin. Annoying! I am contacting them tomorrow. Hope it's covered!

My wife bought our first maytag and I'm afraid we will never buy another. It cannot handle the load size it is built to accommodate and starts to move and make a hell of a racket! It leaves laundry soaking wet if it is not on the normal cycle, it leaves huge yellow stains on any bed linen washed in it as the motion squishes and rolls the sheets into a flat pancke with tucked undersides leaving a yellow print the same size as the drum. We blamed the dog thinking the kids had let her onto the bed. Then my wife blamed me, poor husband, for spilling coffee, but the real culprit was the machine that was supposed to be getting our whites, whiter!

DO NOT BUY THIS MACHINE! Even if it is disounted! AWFUL!!!

.

My clothes are totally wrinkled and I have tried everything I can think of to correct the problem

Iron?

I am also deeply regretting buying the Maytag Bravos XL washer (purchased January 2020). I have tried every cycle, temp, soil level, and spin speed but none of those option changes have helped. Even on “deep water wash” and adding an “extra rinse” to the cycle most loads come out with areas of the items not even being wet. Rarely does anything smell fresh. Our towels and clothes have quickly become worn and faded as well which may be due to the load coming out with items completely twisted around each other. I bought the pair from Lowe’s and they even offer a no hassle 30-day return policy if an appliance doesn’t work out but I kept thinking I could figure it out and never returned...but that was a HUGE mistake. My advice: Buy from Lowe’s but do not buy the Maytag Bravos XL.

Note: I have loved every other Maytag appliance we’ve ever bought. Just not this one.

I am not a big fan of the newer model Bravos machines. The older ones are acceptable. The one key thing is to have approximately 1/2-3/4 full drum to run a load. Any more causes excessive tangling and does not wash well. Any less doesn't wash well either. Keep us updated.

We have the Brazos MCT washer. My clothes consistenly have white spots. I have to do at least one rewash to remove the spots. The machine produces too little water to clean properly. I have had bedding that wasn't even wet after the full cycle. I now stand over the machine until it fills & then push the clothing under the water to make sure it is wet.

If you have to manually push the clothing down into the water, the water level is likely too high. What cycle do you generally use? Cycles such as Bulky, Bedding, or some of the newer Bulky/Sheets use too much water to effectively wash and move the clothing.

I have the MT HE washer with no agitator and the clear lid. The best results I've gotten for darks and lights is from using the deep water wash option on soil level heavy. I haven't tried an extra rinse yet. When I wash any blankets or sheets, stains do not come out. If I put in a maximum load of clothes, the top of the load never gets down to the bottom to get washed. Just sits on top. I have to do small loads because of this. Any help would be appreciated! The dryer works fine.

IMO the wash action on these newer HE/impeller units is too lethargic to move the load around properly ... and the capacity/size of the drum is too large.

I have an older machine of the brand (Fisher & Paykel) on which the original WP/Maytag impeller design was based. It's of a smaller capacity and stronger wash action.

Load of shirts in HE mode (wash period only). The beginning is a pretreatment, the wash agitation begins at 7:08. Wait a couple mins for the action to get going, it rolls everything over repeatedly.

Large load on Whites cycle (deep fill, wash period only). HE low-water agitation begins at 7:35. Additional filling to the deep level is at 9:51 through 11:48.

Bedspread & set of sheets on a deep fill / Bulky cycle (full cycle, includes 30-min soak). Pretreatment and deep filling ends at 12:09, then a bit of recirculation shower and agitation starts leading into the soak period. Soak ends and agitation continues at 46:00.

ETA: The 3rd video clip apparently got lost from the post. Added it now.

Another edit: Houzz board software is apparently wonky. Adding the 3rd video removed the first two. Trying again to get all of them intact. I give up if it doesn't work.

I actually like my Maytag Brovos XL washer. Yes it took me some time to get used to not having an agitator. I have taken the time to really check mine out after some time with the lint problem and detergents and all of this. So here is my theory to clean clothes in this washer. Use liquid detergent first and foremost. Hard water will make powder detergent and hard water stains etc even worse. Powder is very hard on your machine and clothing too. I personally use “all baby” it has the stain fighters normal detergent has maybe even a bit better and is much better for my sensitive skin. I also wash in the high water setting. I do not use the extra rinse due to the high water setting. Another thing is when my light goes off for me to CLEAN the washer I place the appropriate cleaning table in the washer and let it do it’s thing, I then use the wipes from afresh and while down the inside of my machine. I also have two large bread dogs that she’d like any other shedding dog and a husband that likes to put his muddy pants and grease shirts in the washer without precasting in the sink, tub or even outside with the hose. I have had my machine for around 4 years now and haven’t ever had a smell come from it that wasn’t pleasant. I am a bit OCD with cleaning so I would love to take this bad boy apart and see what hasn’t been cleaned in this period of time. Has anyone taken their Brovos XL apart to clean under the agitator plate or even to find the filters Etc? Would love to have some input about this.

Interesting videos dadoes. The shirts video looked like the action is intense, but not enough water for my liking. The next two cycles would probably be the ones I would use but without the soak if that is an option. At least there was more water to cover the load and the movement in each video looked like something was happening versus my parents Maytag HE which I have gone on record saying I loath.

I have read most of these posts, agreed with many of the problems. Here is the main issue. Not enough water dispensed, and the lack of agitator comes into play, if you "trick" the washer into more water.

Can't anyone remember, traditional TLs did not have these problems!

It all started with water restrictions, but how much water are we saving, having to rewash every load?? One post (on YouTube) suggested to fill the washer, then dump the load (start over) so that it will then sence heavier wet clothes.

For real....how does this nonsense save any water, or my time.

This "BS" goes all the way back to who we vote for.

What does it have anything to do with who we vote for? Times change everything anyway. Look back 10 years then 20 years, it all changes no matter what, who or when. Voting has nothing to do with the washer problem. Oh, maybe you voted Maytag or Mickey Mouse.

Water restrictions were going to happen one day along with all the other restrictions we have on our environment due to lack of education on preserving what we have left. We all just have to do our part where we can.

All of the water that is used in my house is cleaned and reused in my yard instead of me having to water my aerobic system does it for me. I compost what I can and do my recycling when I can, and since my home is 1925 its not exactly "energy efficient" but when I upgrade I make sure to upgrade to "energy efficient" if compatible.

Now we just need to get Maytag to answer all of our questions, but then again why would they? It just helps them to not answer, most people will just go buy another washer instead. They know that everything is made to be thrown away by the consumer. We have all gotten too lazy to repair what we have the manufactures have us under their thumbs. Make a product expensive enough to ride the fence on repairing the problem, at that point we give up and buy something new.

I think we all need to get mad at the manufactures and hold them accountable. Lets take out all of this madness from 2020 out on them instead of everyone else. Who is with me??

#BoycottMaytagBecauseTheyAreFullOfShit, #MaytagBrovosXLWasherIsAPainInTheAssToLearn, #WhatMaytagIsMadeInTheUSA-Really?, #MaytagBrovosXLWasher-Sucks....Water, #PoundingLaundryOnRocksAtRiverWouldWorkBetterThanThisMaytag

(Not real hashtags, I was only being funny about the boycott. Not trying to start a war of the washers. Please people put the rocks back in the river after you finish your wash, you know what the bible says about throwing stones.)

Tena, you are right-it wastes a lot of time. (Happy to see you here-I tried to send you a message but you do not have that set up.)

Bravo XL to machine.. Worst washing machine I have ever owned. A single set of sheets come out half wet and undisolved detergent. I washed them 3 times, same results. Even on deep water and extra rinse. Clothes are just getting wet not clean. Very frustrating!

Worst appliance mistake ever! I now have a new pretty washer that does not clean my clothes. I have so many examples of how bad it is & this is not my first appliance purchase. This was bought for my retirement new build- I now go to the laundromat 😖

cwolick-we all have made mistakes like this. My advice is to cut your losses-sell the machine, and buy something you will like better to replace it with. Don't waste your valuable retirement time because of a washing machine.

cwolick, I made the same mistake as you and I'm not an appliance novice either. The first 9 years we were married, I worked in an appliance store! One with its own on site Maytag man. I fought mine a few years, then tired of letting a cycle begin, standing and adding water with a pitcher from the laundry room sink, gave it away. I hadn't planned to get another Maytag even though I'd never had anything else, but the workhorse Speed Queens looked a little small for King bedding and I bought a Maytag 6230. With agitator (cannot quite fit a front load on pedestal under my laundry room cabinetry with under cabinet lighting), adjustable fill levels so it really does add water without my intervention. Should have cut my losses and done it sooner ;0)

my washer doesnt fill up enough to get the clothes wet makes me sooo upset