Shout out to the modern washing machine – that amazing, spinning innovation that tackles the toughest stains while being gentle enough for delicate fabric! While washing machines are built for years of hard work, there are some laundry habits you may be doing that may be harming the efficiency of your appliance. Here are a few tips on how to prolong the life of your washing machine, from the repair and maintenance experts at Westside Appliance Repair.

Do not overload the washer:

Do you have an “if it fits” mentality when it comes to putting clothes in your washer? When you overload your washing machine, clothes won’t be free to move around during the spin cycle to get clean. They will just get wet… and then get dry! Clothes in an over-full washing machine will not receive the equal amount of laundry detergent it needs, and water may not be able to properly soak your garments. Your clothes will not get as clean as you’d like them to be.

Also, overloading your washing machine adds extra stress to the motor and tub bearings. Stressing the washer could through your spinning drum out of alignment, working hard to perform its functions with the extra weight. The excess wear and tear on the motor will cause your machine to fail prematurely.

Garments should be placed in your washing machine lightly, placed in piles without pressing them down in the tub to make room for more. Never fill your machine up past the top of the tub, and consider aiming to only fill it up 3/4s of the way. Sorting your clothes by color and fabric material can help to keep your loads smaller.

Use the proper soap for your washing machine:

If you have a high-efficiency washer (which most washing machines are these days), you need to also use a high-efficiency soap. High-efficiency soaps are designed to create fewer suds because high-efficiency washing machines are designed to use less water. Look for the “HE” (high efficiency) label when shopping for your next detergent.

Using the right amount of detergent can not only go a long way in preserving the quality of your clothing, but it can also harm your appliance as well. Using too much soap can make your garments look dingy, causing colors to fade and material to stretch. It can also cause control errors on your washer and cause cycle failures from too many suds during a load. Also, avoid overly concentrated detergents that advertise having 6x the cleaning power of other soaps.

When was the last time you replaced your washer hose?:

Have you been using your current washer hose for 5+ years? If so, you are at a greater risk of a flooded laundry room and major water damage. Along with natural wear and tear, your washer hose can also loosen and kink from the washing machine’s vibration. Older washing machines use approximately 40 to 45 gallons of water per load. New, high-efficiency washers can use 14 to 25 gallons per load. With water pressure between 20 and 116 psi, washer hose failure can cause damage to your home in a matter of minutes.

If you haven’t checked your washing machine hose recently (or noticed signs that it is starting to leak), save yourself thousands of dollars by replacing yours today! We can install it for you as a solo maintenance appointment, or tack it on to another service such as a dryer vent cleaning, gas fireplace cleaning, or appliance repair.

Contact us if you have any concerns about your washing machine today! At this time, we only service washing machines in Central Iowa (appliance repair services are unavailable in Sioux City at this time).