I have to get a new washer and I'm extremely concerned with how well it will clean Grandma's urine soaked pants and washable pee pads. Because she's a side sleeper, her diapers leak, sometimes more than others. I use the washable pee pads in bed and in her chair as a backup in case the plastic ones move.
I've read many complaints about how these HE washers have so little water that they don't clean clothes properly. I thought I'd check here before buying one in case anyone has any tips.
Towels...yes I found out a while back that soap is the culprit when it comes to smells. Too much soap and not rinsing completely. So, I put in less soap and less towels per load. When I first found the problem, I soaked and ran them thru a vinegar cycle. I also found my detergent wasn't as good as I thought. Arm and hammer. You could feel the baking soda on the towel. I switch back to original Tide and have had no further problems. I don't like additives, like softeners and oxy. If you use softeners, even dryer sheets, I would stop. They tend to keep towels from absorbing water. I dry my towels on low and they come out pretty soft.
I recently had to replace the dryer at the cabin. I called a local appliance store and told them what I needed. When I told them the location, a place with frequent power outages, and very hard water, they said to avoid any machines with sensors. Brown outs fry the boards and hard water coats the sensors.
I was able to buy a basic timed dry, 3 temp machine from them.
My washing machine is 16 years old and has needed one repair. I had a leak in the pump. Turned out a Bobbie pin got into it. I use the soak cycle for my grandson’s diapers.
I think when we move I will add the W/D to the sale and get an top loader. I miss being able to soak my towels in bleach water and I definitely feel a film on them. Also, if you don't keep the washer dry--meaning OPEN to dry out, it gets funky in a day or two. I don't like the look of the washer door being open all the time.
I know my SIL has the same W/D I do and her laundry room stinks of old urine as mother still does a few loads of laundry a week and they cannot get the smell of 'sick urine' out of her clothes, and by default, out of the W/D. Mother uses too little detergent and doesn't do a separate rinse with vinegar or something to control the smell. I think by this point, she simply cannot get the smell out. It's really the only 'chore' she has anymore, so YB just lets her do it--and then runs multiple cycles with pet smell detergent. The whole family uses this W/D system and so their 4 adult daughters ALSO smell faintly of urine.
I have just gone to doing very small loads on the longest possible setting.
This is my 3rd set of W/D in 40 years. I MISS my old Whirpool top loader. Real basic, but wow, it did a great job on the 20 loads a week I had when the 5 kids were home.
Probably you will have to soak the urine soaked stuff in a separate basin for a day or so, and try to see if you can hang them out in the sun. I did washable diapers and that's how I did it. They were always snowy white and no smell.