Manufacturers today offer a variety of special cleaning cycles to efficiently clean your laundry. Learn more about how each cycle works.
LG 6 Motion Wash
For improved cleaning performance, six different custom washing actions are included for top- and front-loading washing machines. The front-loading machine includes features like stepping motion to gently optimize cleaning, and scrubbing motion to help dissolve stains and others. The top-loading machine includes features like WaveForce to quickly spray clothes with detergent, and compressing motion to remove excess water from clothes and others.
LG TurboWash
Designed for more efficient washing and rinsing, TurboWash machines feature twin nozzles that powerfully spray clothes with a concentrated detergent solution for fast penetration. Then, a high-pressure nozzle above the door sprays tiny water particles through the clothes during high-spin speeds to help rinse clothes faster and more effectively.
LG Allergiene
Offering powerful cleaning for hygienic results, this sanitary cycle is certified by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America and the National Sanitation Foundation.
Whirlpool 6th Sense
Delivering outstanding cleaning and fabric care, 6th Sense technology adapts to every load, providing just the right amount of water for every load.
Steam
Many manufacturers offer a steam option to gently eliminate dirt, odors, and wrinkles. In the washer, steam breaks down and dissolves tough stains without pre-treating.
Sanitization
Many manufacturers offer sanitize cycles for additional deep cleaning.
Washer Features and Controls
Wash Cycles
Most standard washers offer four basic cycles: normal, permanent press, delicate, and heavy duty. More advanced models offer a variety of preset cycle options for specific laundering needs, such as prewash, rinse and spin, stains, steam, towels, bedding, baby care, bulky/large, and hand-wash/wool (to name a few). Some washers also offer an express wash option that's intended to clean a small load (say, a favorite dinner outfit or a uniform for tonight's game) in about 30 minutes.
Temperature Settings
Lower-priced washers typically offer three basic settings for water temperature: hot wash/cold rinse (for whites), warm wash/cold rinse (for light colors) and cold wash/cold rinse (for dark or bright colors). More advanced models may offer additional and/or more discrete preset combinations, an internal water heater that can boost temperatures beyond those of your household water heater, or even the ability to digitally program precise wash and rinse temperatures for each load.
Water Levels
At a minimum, you'll have three or four preset load sizes — small, medium, large and perhaps heavy — from which to choose via a manual dial. Most washers offer greater flexibility to select load size, and many recent models incorporate electronic sensors that measure the volume of each actual load and dispense the proper amount of water accordingly.
Spin Speeds
Standard top-loading washers typically spin clothes at 600–700 revolutions per minute. High-efficiency models (both top- and front-loading) operate at spin speeds up to 2000 rpm, extracting more water to reduce drying time (and, hence, energy usage). Advanced models may even let you set the spin speed manually.
Convenience Features
Different washers offer various bells and whistles to make life easier. Depending on the model, these may include:
- Automatic dispensers for prewash detergent, wash detergent, bleach and fabric softener
- A wash-now-dry-later option that recycles fresh air into the drum using a fan and intermittently tumbles damp clothes to prevent that musty smell until you're ready to transfer them to the dryer
- An add-a-garment option to select front-load machines that lets you easily add items mid-cycle without creating a watery mess
