Hi - My wife and I have a difficult problem. In April we bought a Kenmore 4027 front-loading Washer. It’s really an LG, and was the top one recommended in consumer reports. We have an increasingly frequent problem limited to our cotton knit shirts and blouses. The shirts come out of the wash cycle stained. There are some small spots, but the most noticeable problem are larger “spider vein” stains across the surfaces. We’ve been told some of the stains are “soap stains” and sometimes rubbing them takes them out. They used to come out with pre-treating and re-washing, but now we have to have the shirts dry-cleaned($$). However, that is always successful (I.e., none of the staining is permanent, so far). We’ve talked to Kenmore several times. Here’s what we’ve tried:
- 3 different HE detergents
- reduced amount of detergent in load to under 1 TBSP
- wash shirts inside-out
- run cleaning cycles, and drain washer, before attempting a load.
- Normal and Delicate cycles
- 2nd rinse
- Calgon (water in our town is from town wells)
- adding Liquid OxyClean2 with the detergent in the wash cycle
So now, before we do our weekly load of shirts/blouses, we clean and drain the machine, turn everything inside-out, use < 1tbsp of All HE, on delicate cycle with 2nd rinse, and the stains are more prevalent than ever.
Please understand, we did not have problem with our old, non-HE washer. We did not have problems in the first couple of months we had the new washer (despite not trying anything on the above list), and we have no problems with -any- other clothes, including sheer night gowns, cotton/poly slacks, denim, etc.
We don’t even own fabric softener, much less ever use it.
We had several calls with Sears. Each time they made a new suggestion (see above list) and would only send a tech at our risk until we tried everything. They finally sent a tech, but he had no interest in tearing down the washer. Instead he found a service bulletin that suggested it may be skipping a rinse cycle (not an issue due to #6 above) and now we’re waiting for a new control board. They will install the control board. It will probably not make a difference since we’re using 2 rinses, and we continue from there.
Does anyone have a better understanding/suggestion for us? We are SO regretting purchasing a new washer, and purchasing from Sears.
Thanks!
/j
Full model #: 40272 or 26-40272 or 02640272000 or 796.40272900