A common problem when washing laundry is when clothes come out badly creased. There are several possible causes to investigate.
First, make sure the drum isn’t overloaded. It’s easy to overload certain types of laundry because although you may have a large drum capacity the manufacturers only advise using this full capacity with cottons. Everything else has a much lower wash load capacity (check your instruction book). For example my washing machine has a 6kg drum, but the instruction book shows the following maximum loads –
- Cottons – Max load 6kg
- Minimum Iron – max load 3kg
- Delicates – max load 2kg
- Woollens – max load 2kg
- Silks – max load 1kg
Some of these load sizes seem very small, but silks and delicates for example weigh much less than cotton towels so it still might take a fair amount of laundry to reach that capacity. Even so, overloading may cause creasing, so make sure you follow instructions if you are having excessive creasing issues.
Spin speeds and creasing
Like load sizes, spin speeds are surprisingly low for many types of laundry. So make sure you aren’t spinning any affected laundry at too high a spin speed. This is a list of maximum spin speeds from my Miele washing machine –
- Cottons: 1400 rpm
- Minimum iron: 1200 rpm
- Delicates: 600 rpm
- Woollens: 1200 rpm
- Silks: 400 rpm
- Shirts: 600 rpm
- Denim: 900 rpm
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So you need to make sure you are washing your laundry on the right wash and spin cycles and not overloading. You should check out your own washing machine instruction book. These guides are for a 6Kg 1400rpm washing machine and yours may well differ.. (continued below)
Creasing caused by rinsing in hot water
Another more rare cause of creasing is if the washing machine is rinsing in hot water. This would seriously crease the clothes. It is relatively rare, but I have seen it many times over the years. Either the fill hoses, or water taps are misconnected. The hot water goes to the cold valve and cold water goes to the hot valve.
These days most washing machines only have a cold valve, but the wrong water supply can still get connected to it by mistake. Here are the reasons why this can happen –
1: Simple lack of attention to the job when connecting the hose pipe(s).
2: Someone correctly connects the right coloured hose to the right valve (red for hot, blue for cold). They just assume that the water running through will be the right type. However, previously someone has attached the hoses to the wrong taps at the plumbing end.
3: Someone correctly connects the hoses to the washing machine but the person who did the plumbing fitted the taps to the wrong water supply, or incorrectly identified the taps by fitting the wrong colour lever or marker. The taps have a red mark or lever to signify hot water and a blue mark or lever for cold. No attention was paid to making sure they were on the right supply, so someone connecting the hoses up correctly wouldn’t realise the water supply was wrong.
You can check by simply putting the washing machine on rinses and ensuring the water going in is stone cold, and stays cold. Don’t forget that even hot water can be cold at first until it runs warm. Also don’t check if the hot water hasn’t been on or if there’s none left in the hot water tank. If your washing machine was connected up wrong though it should mean the clothes come out warm and it will certainly waste a lot of hot water too. (More information – Should the washing come out warm or cold?)
Creasing caused by too high wash temperature
Another thing that can cause creasing is washing on too hot a temperature or washing easily creased laundry on a program at the correct temperature but with a final spin speed that’s too fast.
Don’t leave laundry in the drum
Make sure that affected laundry is taken out of the drum as soon as they have spun. Letting laundry lay in the drum for lengthy periods can also cause creasing. This is why dedicates wash cycles have an anti-crease guard where they suspend the clothes in water until you are ready to spin them and retrieve them straight away. It’s also why many washing machines have an anti-crease action after spinning by regularly turning the drum until the clothes have been taken out.
(Related links: Download replacement Instruction books (If yours is lost) | Issues related to installing or connecting up a washing machine)
A last resort option
The above article lists all of the common and possible causes for badly creased laundry that I can think of. However, if your problem has definitely not been caused by any of the above, then it could simply just be that your washing machine is causing excessive creasing. Possibly by the fact that it is not using enough water during rinses.
Check out this Washerhelp forum topic, which gives a possible solution to creased clothes and laundry. It does involve a bit of messing about but it appears to have worked for this contributor. It might be worth trying at least to see if the washing machine is at fault.
Babushka says
I have been reading this article with great interest! I have a Bosch cold water fill washing machine and I hate it! I would give it away tomorrow if I could get a hot and cold fill one. It has a mind of its own, and all my washing comes out stained and VERY creased. I cannot see how this can be ‘green’. After it has spun, I have to spin it again to make sure I have removed as much water as possible. Incidentally, my sister has a Miele cold water fill machine, supposedly the best on the market, and she hates hers too! Her washing comes out extremely creased. She is at her wits end with it, and is also looking for a hot and cold fill machine. I am going to look at the LG machines, as suggested here. Neither of us uses Biological detergents, so it would be much better for both of us to get a hot and cold fill machine.
Washerhelp says
Hello Babushka: Whatever is causing your clothes to come out creased it can’t be anything to do with whether your washing machine has a hot valve or not. Neither can poor wash results. If anything you should get better wash results with a cold fill machine.
Excessive creasing is caused by either spinning too fast for the fabric (spinning the load twice won’t help), rinsing in hot water because the hot water supply is accidentally connected to the cold water valve, or washing at too high a temperature. Another possible cause can be overloading or leaving items prone to creasing in the drum for long periods after they’ve been washed.
Only cottons should be spun at full speed, other fabrics should be spun at lower speeds so if you are using a programme with the fastest spin for laundry other than cotton you need to either manually lower the spin speed if you have a manual spin option or try a different programme.
Poor wash results can also be caused by overloading which prevents the detergent from dispersing properly. There are some general points on the topic here Laundry (washing) isn’t coming out clean (still dirty) or has marks on it (marks on clothes)
Hope that helps. A hot and cold fill washing machine will not fix those problems as the hot valve does nothing special other than add a little bit of hot water into the main wash. This can’t reduce creasing or improve wash results.
Jacqui says
I’ve found a way to improve the results of my cold fill washing machine which was creasing badly and generally not washing well. I just add more water! It’s now washing as I had hoped it would, and it’s like having a new machine.
I simply put the washing in, pour on 3 litres though the open door, hot or warm depending on the wash programme, switch it on and then pour another litre of two (again hot or warm) through the partially open dispenser draw. I add 2-3 litres of cold water on the first rinse and do the same on the conditioned rinse – which I do on ‘rinse hold’ so it always spends time in the conditioned water.
Result – perfect washing every time.
Previous to this I’d been reducing the size of load without improving results, but I can now put a ‘normal’ size load in and even get suds which means the soap is dissolving better, and can actually see at least an inch of water in the drum at certain times – and I get no creases now!
It’s not affecting the length of time of the wash or using any more electricity, but can be inconvenient to have to remember to go back, so I just set a timer to remind me to go back to the machine at various times.
I think this shows the machine is not doing the job it was designed for. It is a 7kg drum and has two holes in the back so was designed for hot and cold fill and presumably, in order to meet the energy standards, was converted to cold fill only, and the amount of water used subsequently reduced too. I don’t suppose it would be possible to adjust the amount of water it takes in, since it is cold fill and it would presumably increase the wash time as it would take even longer to heat.
Washerhelp says
Hello Jacqui: I’m not sure how much of the added water on the initial wash is making much difference. The thing to bear in mind about how washing machines work is that they have a pressure system to control how much water goes into the machine. Washing machines don’t fill up for a certain amount of time, they fill up until a certain level has been reached. Therefore, if you put 2 or 3 L of water in the drum before starting, it should just result in the water level being reached quicker and the machine taking 2 or 3 L of water less on its own.
If anything, I would expect if you put a few litres of water in to start with then if it results in wetting the laundry it could affect the absorbency level that is detected by the sensors in the washing machine. Modern washing machines often have fuzzy logic built in. They fill up with a little bit of water, then stop filling and wait to see how much of the water is absorbed by the laundry. They then top up a little more and monitor levels. They can detect if laundry is absorbent or not and adjust the amount of water accordingly. So if you put in laundry which is pre-wetted it may not react as normal and trick the sensors into thinking the laundry is not very absorbent. As far as I’m aware this could result in less water being taken in as non absorbent laundry doesn’t need as much water.
Having said all that, adding extra water through the soap dispenser once the water level has already been reached may well result in extra water being used so I imagine your results are being created mostly or solely by adding extra water in the rinses. If you are genuinely seeing much improved results by adding extra water in on the rinses then as you say this shows that the washing machine is clearly not using enough water to rinse in. It also explains the poor showing on Which? tests for the vast majority of modern washing machines regarding rinse efficiency.
It’s almost farcical to have to go to such lengths to get a satisfactory wash and I can’t imagine many people being prepared to do what you do.
GEETA says
I’ve fully automatic LG washing machine of 6.2 kg. capacity. I want to know how many shirts, pants, double cotton bedsheets does the machine take….
Thanks.
Washerhelp says
GEETA: If you don’t have the instruction book, which should give you the information you might be able to get one here – Washing machine instruction books and user manuals
The article above also gives a guide on loading for a 6Kg drum which should be similar to yours. However, guides are likely to only be given in weight rather than quantities of garments as they are too variable in size to advise on specific numbers.
Sarah Mountfield says
Please help, I have an older model washing machine with both hot and cold fill pipes. Recently moved house where there is only a cold feed pipe. I fitted a Y piece but the water filling the drum is boiling regardless of which cycle I am using.
I have a combi boiler and not sure if my cold feed is in fact on the hot tap. I’ve ruined loads of clothes, single parent and really not sure what to do.
Thank you peeps!!
Sarah
Washerhelp says
Sarah: Your y-piece is clearly connected to the hot water – not cold. If there’s no other supply tap available you need to get a plumber in to sort it out or you will ruin more clothes and waste hundreds of litres of hot water over the coming years.
Sarah Mountfield says
Thank you very much-plumber due on Saturday!!
S x