Sanitize or Allergene cycle for sheets and towels. Hot/boiling water works; I'll only consider washers with an onboard heater. Double and triple rinse; I won't buy a washer without multiple rinse options. Get a washer with super high spin speeds to extract as much soapy water as possible with each rinse. The drive toward energy savings, specifically less water and cold temps, has resulted in filthy laundry with detergent residue. If the detergent were really being rinsed out with just the standard cold wash, one rinse cycles, why would so many people need "Free and Clear" detergents? I actually read advice online that said when your towels start to smell bad, you know it's time to replace them. Huh? Send them through the sanitize cycle with a commercial laundry detergent instead. If washers have gotten so energy efficient that we're throwing out perfectly good towels, you have to wonder just how much eco-savings we've achieved.

I have a 2014 LG front loader and my wife has been using white vinegar with every load, not a lot, just poured into the fabric softener and bleach dispensers (we didn't know about not using vinegar in the wash cycle which is when the bleach dispenser is released).. Two years in, the dispenser drawer started to leak out of the front. Then rust streaks started to appear under the dispenser. .. A few more years went by and I decided it was time to take the washer apart to clean the door gasket and try to find out why the dispenser was leaking.. What I found was the hose that goes from the back of the dispenser to the tub was badly deformed, looking like it was partially melted. The crumpled and restricted hose obviously caused the dispenser fluids to back-up and leak out of the front. .. Once I got the front door panel off, I could see that the lower main tub drain hose was also deformed and restricted. I was surprised the washer still functioned. Upper hose Lower hose The only products that have gone into the machine are liquid detergent and vinegar (vinegar was also used for the tub clean cycle). This is regular white vinegar you buy at the grocery store. I found this on LG's website: Can vinegar damage your Washing Machine? Yes, vinegar can harm rubber parts inside a Washing Machine, which will eventually lead to leaks if used too often. Whilst washing your clothes with vinegar is a cost-effective, natural way to soften and deodorize fabrics, avoid using it in your washer too frequently. Only use it sporadically when deep cleaning the machine. Can't be 100% sure, but the vinegar we used is the prime suspect. I replaced the hoses and stopped using vinegar. So far, the issue has not returned. Perhaps LG (and others) should make higher quality rubber for their products?

When I used a homemade laundry soap mixtures in the past (I've used it longer than the Duggers have been around - off and on since the 1980's - and in one episode of the Duggers I noticed giant bottles of TIDE in use..... I guess that episode was brought to us by TIDE - LOL). I also used vinegar in each rinse to aid in removing the soap residue. Since switching to Charlie's Soap, I only put vinegar in the rinse for kitchen towels and bath towels since they may have soap residue from use and the vinegar rinse would aid in removing any soap left. I probably don't need vinegar at all, but when we got new water hoses for our F/P, I asked if there was anything I could do to help prevent repairs and they said to use vinegar in the rinse. Then he explained what part it would help (but I don't remember now what it was). So I continue to add vinegar to those two loads. I never use fabric softeners - sheets or liquids. Even dried on a line our clothes and towels are soft. Just an FYI moment concerning using the homemade mixtures (bar soap, washing soda, borax, etc...). Soap WILL build-up on your clothes after a period of time, especially if you have hard water. This build-up will cause fabric to deteriorate. Homemade soap mixtures don't work effectively in cold water (detergent manufacturers and care labels define cold water as 80-85°F - our cold water from the tap is currantly 62°F). Whites will start to look gray. -Grainlady

"Miele W1, Miele Little Giants or Miele Professional will all provide proper heating of the water to the temp selected. No need to set house common water heater to an unsafe temperature." Miele has temp options Cold tap, 85, 105, 120, 140, and sanitary 170. Very customizable, and heater wastes no time going to work. Most machines you have no idea what the temps are at all period. If a huge drum which most do not even utilize is not important to you, Miele is the bomb. It will hold as much as a full size top loader.