washing machine preferences
 

My HE washer made my prize quilt fade. Anyone have advice on the best washer for quilts and fabric prep?

Putting aside any questions about how a washer made your quilt fade... my answer is hands down, a Speed Queen!! I watched and researched for about 4 years, just waiting for my front loader to die. There are videos on Youtube where you can watch an entire cycle of many different machines - how they agitate, how full they get, etc. As a quilter, I knew I wanted a top-loader that had an option of completely filling the tub with water. I got the model TC5000. It's a workhorse. Our clothes now actually smell clean.
I have a quilt top I made years ago, before I knew one of the fabrics was a bleeder. I had to decide if I wanted to quilt it and *then* treat the bleed, or fix the bleed first, then quilt it. If I quilted it first, I'd have to deal with the extra weight of the batting and backing. If I didn't quilt it first, I'd end up with a mess of knots from the raw edges on the back of the quilt top. I decided to fix it before quilting. I filled the Speed Queen with hot water and a dab of detergent, put the top in. After it stopped filling but before it started agitating, I quickly unplugged the washing machine. I let it sit overnight, then plugged it back in and held down the cancel button. After the cycle canceled, I then hit the drain-and-spin button, which it did, and when it was finished I laid the top out on the family room floor to dry. All my bleeding fabric was fixed, and there were *no* loose threads or knots from the raw seams on the back. I was so happy!

Pardon my ignorance ......
but how does an HE washer make a quilt fade,
any more than any other automatic washer?

Doesn't the fade-ability connect more so to the fabric?
where dies that are not fully "set" (may be the wrong word technically)?

HE Washers
 

I have a Maytag front loader that I absolutely love. Have had it for about 8 years and it is still going strong. I don't believe it is the washer that makes the fabric bleed, it is the temperature of the water and maybe the detergent. I wash my quilts/quilt tops on "small load" with a warm/cold setting. If I have any concerns that the fabric may bleed, I always add a color catcher. For detergent I use "All-free". In other words, I have not had any problems as long as I stick to the above mentioned process.

I don't understand why a front load would make a quilt fade any more than a top loader would.
But on a different note: I detest my front loader. Can't wait till it dies!! Can't soak anything except in my
wash tub (good thing I have one). Never thought of it when I bought the HE front loader. Never again!
I'm going to get what Peckish has. I've heard a lot of good things about that one.

I've never been eager for an appliance to die until this one haha

I have a new Maytag washer and dryer. I absolutely hate it. It does not use enough water even though the tub is huge. I doesn't get my clothes clean. It says that it is gentle on clothes, but they don't tell that the machine speed is slowed way down which results in a very long wash cycle. And, I think it is this slow washing rate that doesn't scrub the fabric of dirt. The tub is huge and very deep. I'm short and have to get on my tiptoes to get the stuff at the bottom of the tub out. Everything is preset, so I can't do a timed wash.The dryer is ok, but it doesn't always get my clothes dry, especially towels. So, I have to check the load to see if it is actually dry before taking the clothes out. The ling trap does a poor job of catching lint. The lint gets into the air duct and gets around outside the filter. The air filter exits outside the house and the link that escapes the filter ends up outside.

Obvously, I don't like this machine!

So,

And you know what you have just done ....... jinxed it to work on and on and on and ........... ;)

Mine is just like yours, for the longest time I was sure I had not replaced the filter correctly.

Penny, my dryer started doing that same lint thing. Lint outside the house near the dryer exhaust vent. We solved the problem by moving the dryer away from the wall a bit. Somehow, it had been pushed back far enough that the vent hose had a severe 90 degree bend in it. When we straightened it a bit, the lint stayed inside where it belongs.

Peggi, thanks for that info. I'm glad to hear you're happy with the Speed Queen. I've been following earlier washing machine threads here, and that was one of the more popular brands mentioned. Also, it seems, it's an easy brand to get parts/repair if necessary.