I had a GE profile top loader with agitator. Thank you for this advise. I do hesitate to use hot for my permanent press items, but will try now. When u say "sanitary " what do u mean? Allergene cycle? I have to see if my machine has the aanitary one. I know it has allergene

Citing the model number of your LG (instead of just referring to it as an "LG" -- there are numerous LG models) would be helpful so responders to your questions can determine the features it offers. Allergene cycle may make use of an onboard water heater, depending on if the machine has one.

Before running temperature-sensitive items on a potential high-temp cycle, I suggest you use the cycle of question on non-sensitive items such as cotton kitchen and bath towels so you can check what happens during the cycle. The door won't open to check it directly if the temp get high enough to be a possible danger but you can feel the door glass to get a reference.

That's a good point. I have LG WM8000HWA washer and gas dryer DLGX8001

You obviously have some education and a learning curve. That happens to be an excellent machine with excellent cleaning! I have one I know. That machine has both a pre wash and auto soak cycle, steam, allergen, and sanitary settings. The later heats to a hair shy of 160F. The cleaning results will be superior to your GE because of temperature alone. Read the manual, experiment, and hang out here.

Do you sort your clothes?

What detergent and additives are you using!

What cycles and Temperatures are you using?

If your trying to achieve the ole 30 minute cycle end to end like your old machine, chances are you will get poor results in modern FL.

Yes it was supposed to be an excellent machine and it does have a Prewar homes cycle, but I noticed that it prewashes clothing with cold water. So I don't find that effective at all. It does not have an auto soak function. I got this year's model and I'm not sure if it was present previously, but this machine definitely does not have an auto soak cycle. I think it would help tremendously if it did. I have used HE detergent from the beginning. I tried to Tide HE, tide pods, I did buy Costco brand pods as well. I also have to use hypoallergenic detergent, so I used all clean and clear HE. I read the manual cover to cover several times. I still don't feel that I get that he's out that I need. I am not looking for a 30 minute cycle at all, I don't mind that the cycle is long, and totally appreciate the savings with using less detergent. However, I like my clothes clean and I don't feel it does it 100% of the time. I sort my clothes and now pretreat all my stains which I didn't have to do before except in extreme situations. I am open to any suggestions and or tricks you may have.

So far I have used cotton/normal cycle for my cottons, permanent press for non-cotton items, I've used heavy duty for large loads, and I very often use hot temperature setting, and extra soil setting on the washer and I always give it one extra Rinse. I've used towel setting as well as bright whites. My additives are usually include liquid bleach, and more Oxyclean that I was advised by the customer service to put a little bit inside the machine itself.

I can't comment on machine but......Prewash should always be in cool water as hot will set stains. Which oxyclean do you use? Im asking because if you need hypo detergent the oxyclean on the shelves arnt very hypo. Do you use oxyclean in the same load as Chlorine Bleach? Sodium Percarbonate and Chlorine cancel each other out so id use one or the other.

Thank you. I don't use ocy lean on hypo cycles. And I don't use bleach and oxy clean together. Are you aware of hypoallergenic oxy clean?

I have this machine too. Normal is the cycle that uses the least water. The "hot " temperature for the water is warm by the standards of your old machine. Depending on the hardness of your water, the amount of detergent recommended by the detergent manufacturers is way too much for a front load HE machine. I have soft water and use no more than 1 TBL of powder or 2 tsp of liquid detergent for a "normal" soil level. If you have lots of suds in the drum during the wash cycle, you're using too much detergent. This might account for the scratchy sheets. Amazingly, the cycles I use most often are bulky and comforter (or your equivalent) because they use the most water and have more built in rinses (2 IIRC). If I want a hot wash, I use the steam function. I don't find either the soak function or the prewash particularly helpful. I do like the express wash where you can get a hot/warm wash and rinse before running a regular cycle. I also use the turbo wash cycle for an extra warm rinse or as a prewash. Given the lack of water, I also run extra like 2 rinses for delicates to make sure all the soap is out.

I have laundry in our house for people with allergies and very delicate skin. My favorite detergent is the All free and clear liquid (with no enzymes) in small amounts. It does a great job with no reactions. The powder All is all right too for those with less fussy skin. I like Woolite Extra delicate for special lingerie and other super delicate washables. Yes, I wash almost everything including silk and wool and handmade knits.

One more question: Have you checked the temperature in your gas dryer? I don't have a gas dryer, but I understand a gas dryer can run extremely hot. Since the clothes come out of the washer well wrung out, even a modest time in a hot dryer could add a crisping effect.

If you look through some of the older threads, rpsinfoman has worked up some wonderful information or workarounds for this machine. The large LG WM8000HWA is the same machine as the Kenmore Elite 41072 (also built by LG for Sears). Take a look, there's much better information than the useless machine manual.

Good Luck

I have an LG FL washer, different model. Try setting soil level to heavy for every load. Mine takes forever to completely saturate the load and normal or light soil doesn't give much wash time once clothing is actually wet. Prewash would be your soak cycle. I always use either water plus or add extra rinses. I also have an Asko that takes much less thought. This LG replaced a less miserly one and there has been a learning curve just switching to a newer model. Alergen cycle for whites, warm for dark clothing and hot for light colors. Cold is just too cold.

@angela I don't think the new LGs have the add water option any more. Oxyclean can be used in the detergent drawer if you're using a powdered detergent. Otherwise, it goes directly in the drum before the clothes. Oxyclean is a bleach, I've never heard of a hypoallergenic bleach. Certainly if you are sensitive to any of the components of Oxy you shouldn't use it. I've found thorough rinsing is the key to using any chlorine or oxygen bleach. Other bleaching agents are lemon juice, sometimes baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. You have to experiment on what works for you and certainly one size does not fit all.

Remember Normal and Heavy Duty are energy star cycles and DO NOT use the on board heat, the temperature in these cycles is dumbed down to around 40C unless the steam option is used.

Selecting Allergen will get you an automatic 133F wash temperature. There should be no problem getting clothes clean with the detergent and bleaches you are using. This is particularly good for WHITE WORK, Towels, Sheets, T- Shirts etc.

Bulky or Comforter will give you the highest amount of water, and if STEAM is selected will run the load to 143F. Again should be no problem getting clothes clean.

Sanitary is another very hot cycle used for disinfection or optimal temperature. It could reach 72C.

You are correct that particular model lacks an auto soak cycle.

Bright Whites is just that, HOT by default but not that hot unless STEAM is selected. The default temp is around 111-115F and it automatically adds a third rinse.

Normal a great cycle for Perm Press, casual dress and business, colors, and anything that requires aggressive wash action with a cooler temperature. Default runs around 40C if HOT is selected and the onboard heater is disabled. Adding STEAM will run the temp up to 155-159F.

---Some other things use a detergent with build in bleach and activator if your using oxygen bleach. Typical Oxy Clean will work but the bleaching really doesn't activate fully until the water temp is 140 or hotter. The combined product works much better at lower temperatures. If your using Chlorine Bleach, use a straight detergent without oxygen bleach, and don't use Oxy Clean with the Chlorine.

-- Perhaps it would be easier to ask you what types of loads are not clean? If your getting sub standard results on all loads, it's time to look at your water source, water hardness, evaluate your detergent and amount your using, choosing correct water temperature and cycles. Simply don't make Heavy Duty and Normal your go to cycles, and honestly I believe that's the problem here.

OxiClean CANNOT go into the detergent cup with the detergent. Says so on the package. It's a no, no in terms of interactions though it's counter intuitive since they are both in the tub together.

What I've been doing as a work around is dissolving OxiClean in hot water and pouring that in before adding detergent. So the Oxi is activated when it goes in.

Poppy214 - thank you very much! I will certainly look for that thread. Sounds exactly what I was looking for. I agree with you, that extra rinse is very important especially for delicate items. I now rinse twice just to make sure that all the detergent is washed out. I also think All clean and clear is a good detergent. And I try not to put more than 2 tablespoons for a large wash. Can you tell me more on how you use the turbo wash water cycle? I thought that if you use to turbowash it's just a shorter wash time. So do you wash the clothes first using turbo wash, and then run a regular cycle? Is this better than running the express cycle or almost the same? I usually turn off the turbowash because I want to run the cycle at full length.

Thank you so much to all of you in this forum ! . I am really grateful for all your comments and suggestions. I've been trying different things here and there, but realize that I'm still unhappy with the machine. Of course I blame myself because I should've done a better market research before buying it, but again I had no idea that I can run into difficulty with one of the top-of-the-line machines that some of my friends own and seem to like. Out of curiosity, what machine would you buy today? I will have to buy a second washer/dryer, I'm looking for stackable. Someone mentioned Asko. Is it a good washer?

@Angela As noted above, the turbo normal cycle has a relatively "more agressive" tumbling action with a cooler wash temperature. I use it to prewash with and without detergent laundry that is stained or heavily soiled items. It's really good for things like dirty bath mats or scatter rugs the pets walked mud across. After the short cycle I use a regular long cycle to finish the load. The second cycle usually is higher temperature and more water like bulky cycle. You have to see what works for you.

Sounds like a good idea. I'll try it.

In case anyone is searching for info on LG Washer--I recently ordered an LG FL 3670 which does offer the XTRA WATER option but does not have the TURBO-it has a SPEEDY cycle which cuts wash time... I wash lot of beach towels and king sz bedding (thin comforters) and wanted something I could add water to... Haven't taken delivery and have no idea how it will work in real life--reviews ranged from 4.6 to 4.3 to 3.3 on various applicable selling sites... Lot of the negatives seemed to come from poor installation complaints...or maybe versions of different models even...