Fleece Front Loading Machine & Fleece Problem

tmb_3410 · Jul 26, 2009

Hello all,

I am sorry to start the one millionth thread on fleece problems, but I did some searching and could not find an answer to my problem.

My apartment building just switched all of their machines over to fancy, new, High Efficiency front loading washing machines.

Today was my first time using the machines with my guinea pig fleece and it was a disaster. The fleece came out very rough, and was not fluffy and soft like it used to be with my old washer/dryer. It was also sticking to itself like it would if it were full of static. And the edges were curling inwards, instead of everything lying flat.

I was wondering, could this be because of any of the following issues, and if anyone has any experience with these HE front-loading washers I would really appreciate it.

-Could it be because I used too much soap? I used the same amount I do in a normal machine.
-Could it be because I did not use vinegar? (I normally do, but ran out of vinegar)
-Should I throw in half of a dryer sheet with the dryer cycle?
-Will https://www.dezignaweb.com/seenontv/images/DryerBalls-Body.jpg dryer balls help?
-Should I put the machine on a different water temp setting? (I had it on "warm" not "hot", or should it be on delicates?)

Thank you so much in advance. I am pretty frustrated and hope that I can figure this out before my next washing cycle.

NicholsS10 · Jul 26, 2009

I don't have experience using HE washers and dryers with fleece, but I did use them when living in the dorms. So I know that when it comes to laundry detergent, you are suppose to either use a HE laundry detergent (it will say HE on the bottle) or use a fraction of the amount of the regular laundry detergent. So, that COULD be one of the problems, but I'm not sure.

Peggysu · Jul 26, 2009

I'm thinking that not using vinegar might be the problem. I've used those types of machines before and haven't had a problem with my fleece curling and such. Try using less soap as well, no dryer sheets. Dryer sheets will affect the wicking properties of your fleece.

akstrohm · Jul 26, 2009

I would not use dryer sheets. I let my fleece air dry and haven't had any problems with static (even in WI winters, which says a lot).

gooberific · Jul 26, 2009

I have a front-loading HE washer. My fleece comes out nearly perfect each time. There's no getting it back to what it was when I first bought it, of course, especially after a year.... Here's what I do in reference to your questions:

As was said, you need to use a fraction of the detergent. I use about 1/3 of the "regular" amount of All (dye, fragrance free kind that hubby uses).

I put a bit of vinegar in after the detergent or in with it, so it goes into the same cycle and gets all bubbly. I also put it in the fabric softener slot.

No dryer sheets, not even half.

I've never tried dryer balls with my fleece.

My water temp stays at cold/cold, normal. One could argue that my place in AZ has pipes close to the surface of the ground and therefore my water is warm.

Sometimes when the weather is different, I get more static. But what really helps me is shaking them out like you would a blanket, a few times.

tmb_3410 · Jul 26, 2009

Thanks everyone for the quick responses so far. I've done some more poking around online and it does seem to be that I used too much soap. My normal laundry came out fine the day before, so I assumed I was OK to use the same amount for the load of piggie laundry.

I usually put the vinegar in the softener slot, but I think I might try mixing it in after the detergent as well.

tmb_3410 · Aug 9, 2009

I just wanted to update this so that way in case anyone looking for answers to a similar problem to mine can see how things turned out for me.

-I bought Tide Free High Efficiency detergent (Tide Free is free of dyes and perfumes), and so far it seems to be working very well with the fleece. I currently have a load in the dryer, so we'll see how that comes out, but my last load using the new HE soap came out very well.

-In order to get rid of the excess soap deposited in my fleece blankets (caused by using regular detergent in an HE washer), I soaked them in the bathtub, aggitated them with my hands (to bring up the soap), rinsed the blankets, soaked again, and then rinsed one last time before wringing out the fleece. (I would recommend repeating the soak/rinse cycle in your tub until all the suds are out of the blankets.) The total process took about an hour. Afterwards, I put the fleece in the dryer as normal. It helped restore the softness in the fleece, and took out many of the rough patches.

-I am still using vinegar with my washing.

-I am using dryer balls in my dryer in order to keep the fleece fluffy, and it helps to get rid of any hairs still stuck to the fleece.

Hope this helps someone in the future

Thanks again everyone for your help!!!

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Fleece Front Loading Machine & Fleece Problem

tmb_3410

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NicholsS10

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Peggysu

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akstrohm

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gooberific

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tmb_3410

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tmb_3410

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