Aeg Not Washing As Well As My Old Washer Dryer.

[kee]

I read your piece on overloading.

I've only had one previous washer dryer (the hoover six express 1300) and I admit I used to wash nearly all my clothes (including woollens) on one setting - 40 degrees for cotton & mixed fabric (because as I understand it's hard for anything to shrink at 40d?)with a fast spin and hot dry. If it was more delicate items i'd put it on the cool dry, slow spin, but l never bothered about the supposed weight limit (don't most people)and always 9/10th filled the tub, although I ususally took some clothes out like woolies before drying. It goes against instructions & was probably quite wrong but the clothes seemed to come out alright most of of the time for the 10+ years I used that washer.

Recently though I've bought the AEG L75480 washer dryer (Which best buy!) and started by doing the service wash on the hottest wash as instructed, no problem seemingly, then did my first wash, which was the cream throw on my sofa which i'd just spilt stuff on. It's by far the heaviest and dirtiest item I own, and needs regular washing. I used to wash it in my old machine which only had a 6kg capacity (the throw weighs about 4-5 kg) and dried it for about 20 minutes as well even though it filled up the tub! (another supposed no, no)

The AEG doesn't have the options of my previous machine,only 40d for wool, handwash and delicates.
I decided on the wool program although the throw is twice the supposed max, but like i said it never bothered my previous machine.
Anyway I tried it (reducing the spin to a 1000), but when it got to the spin it was horrendous! It made a noise like a pneumaric drill and worse jumped halfway across the room, I changed it to 400 rpm but it was just as bad so i had to stop it before it finished the cycle. I could still open it though which i don't think I could on the previous machine. When I got it out it smelt a bit soapy and the food stains etc were still there although I'd put stain remover on. And it was wet because i had to stop the spin.

Now the machine wasn't professionally fitted so that's possibly why it's jumping all over (not level) but generally
What I want to know is why my smaller, cheaper, old machine washed the throw much better?

Wrong program?Is there any program that would work?The label says handwash but that ain't happening (and it machine-washed alright before). Is there one program you can use for most of your everyday washing? And can you fill the tub? If not, what's the point of the larger capacity? Is it a con?
I want a program that I can do most clothes on like before! Or was I just lucky nothing went wrong with my old machine? Maybe it was better that I thought!

I've currently got a large damp grubby throw slung over a clothes horse which wasn't what I envisioned. I shall be doing a second wash later after it's been levelled properly, hope it goes better.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

I've written about large capacity washing machines before where I point out that unless you use them to wash much bigger loads they aren't necessarily a good buy. It seems like a great idea to have the extra large capacity available for duvets and occasional large washes but if most loads are normal in size the drum can be under-loaded, which is uneconomical and can result in out of balanced loads.

It may be that this load filled the old drum, but the new bigger drum can't balance it because it's just one bulky item, the worst kind of load. I mention in this article that large capacity drums are more likely to refuse to spin some smaller loads - Not spinning small loads or a single item

Having said that, the washer shouldn't spin at all it it detected the load is not balanced properly. One thing you could try is adding a few more items of something appropriate to balance the load out properly.

[kee]

Well that's a bit of a bummer as I mainly bought a larger machine to wash my throws! What items do you suggest to balance it? I don't have anything remotely similar, only a cotton rug which is nowhere near as big, or just normal clothes. If I put another throw in would that work? But then wouldn't it be too heavy? What causes more damage, an unbalanced load, or an over-heavy one? Most washers should be able to wash throws surely?

Also, if the washer is vibrating and banging about should you stop it? Would it be better to spin on the lowest speed (that didn't make any differnce for the throw I have to say). The manual says you shouldn't set the spin lower than that set for the program.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

It depends how big they are and what they are made of but unless very heavy when wet and very large you might have more luck putting more than one in. many items drop down substantially in bulk when wet. Are there any wash labels on the throws?

Unbalanced loads are by far the worst because they can destroy a modern (flimsy) machine, which is why they all have the out of balance protection preventing spin. You have to use your own judgement regarding the vibrating and banging, if not too bad it shouldn't cause any issues. However, counter to what people instinctively imagine putting more in (within reason) can often result in less vibration. It's not the weight that causes banging and vibration but the load being out of balance.

[kee]

Hello again! My brother who fitted the machine (and claimed to know what he's doing) thinks he MAY have left the transit bolts in the back. Is this one?

If that's so, could it have damaged it leaving them in? Unfortunately, he must have chucked the spanner and plastic caps away and we can't get them off, do you think AEG would send me some more for free? Cheers.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Yes it is. Leaving the transit bolts in will cause excessive vibration indeed. It stops the suspension from working so all the movement is forced into the cabinet. Just undo them with a normal spanner, and check the instruction book for full instructions on what needs removing. That looks roughly like 10 mm.

[kee]

Hello, I got in contact with AEG and they said they don't send out the accessories for installing if I don't have them. The plastic caps that are supposed to go in the holes after you've removed the bolts, are they just cosmetic or do I need them? (no longer have them)

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

I'd just tape the holes up with something, the plastic doesn't do anything special, just closes the holes up.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Various causes of washing not coming out clean

[edhorwood]

This is a true story, but it may surprise you. My Mother in law had a new machine delivered and my Father in law fitted it. I was on the phone to her one day and heard an awful banging in the background, so I asked what it was. She said "It's my new wonderful washing machine. When it spins, it follows me around the kitchen like a noisy pet dog". The next day I went round to her house and offered to have a look. I removed the lid and to my shock there were bolt holes in the top of the drum casing, but no bolts and the concrete weight was missing. I asked my Father in law what he had done with it, and he said it was round the side for the dustmen. I recovered the weight, found the bolts and refitted it. It was then as quiet as a mouse and didn't move an inch. Boy did he feel an idiot.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Crazy. I once had a woman come to buy a new filter for her Hoover tumble dryer as her old one had torn. She produced a lovely half inch thick wad of multi coloured lint exactly the same shape of the filter from the centre of the drum, which had never been cleaned. Lint had built up over nearly 10 years into something she thought was a filter.