In addition to the Samsung washing machine owners who say they have been unable to get their recalled appliance repaired, Consumerist has heard from owners who’ve successfully had their washers fixed, but now claim to face a new problem: The clothes are now soaking wet when they come out of the wash.
Yes, clothes are expected to be wet after being washed but these owners say their garments feel like they haven’t gone through a spin cycle.
“The new cycle leaves it so wet that it take three times longer for my dryer to dry it”
As part of the repair process, technicians install structural reinforcements to the washer, but customers also receive a “Home Label Kit” that includes an overlay for the machine’s control panel. This, Samsung says, will ensure that users select a reduced-speed spin cycle for certain settings, such as bedding, bulky, or water resistant items.
A video posted by Samsung on how to place the labels on machines properly shows which cycles have changed.
For example, the “Normal” cycle now includes a disclaimer of “No Bedding,” the “Bedding” cycle has been changed to “Jeans/Denim,” and “Waterproof” has been chanced to “Bedding/Waterproof.”
While the new settings are meant to reduce the risk of excessive vibrations during large loads of washing, some owners tell us the fix has made doing laundry an even bigger chore.
“This is not a fix,” says one owner, Pat, noting that the new cycle leaves a bunch of water in her laundry. “We bought these machines based on their ability to do large and heavy duty loads, and if we are not able to do that as advertised they should give us all 100% refunds so we can buy new machines from someone more reputable than Samsung.”
“I can’t spend all day just waiting for the sheets to dry”
Mallory says her washing machine now has the same problem.
“Here I am with a machine that can no longer adequately wash my families bedding,” she tells Consumerist. “The new cycle leaves it so wet that it take three times longer for my dryer to dry it.”
This, she says, costs the family in energy and time spent doing laundry.
“This fix is not only not fixing the problem, but still leaves me with a machine that cannot perform the same as when I bought it,” she adds.
John says that he’s run into the same issue when washing bedding.
“It specifies one setting only for bedding,” he tells Consumerist. “When you wash any bedding, be it sheets or blankets the new cycle is so slow that the items are still soaking wet when done.”
Because the bedding is dripping wet when the cycle is over, John says it takes three or more hours to dry in the dryer.
“I can’t spend all day just waiting for the sheets to dry,” he says. “This is so unacceptable.”
Kelly tell Consumerist that she’s tried to get Samsung to provide answers for the excessively wet clothing since December.
“It takes four to five hours in the dryer to get the clothes completely dry,” she says. “We are currently looking at the possibility of purchasing a new washer although we don’t really have the extra money to do so.”
Consumerist asked Samsung about the unintended consequence of the repair, but did not receive an explanation. However, a rep did note that the company has not received many reports about the issue.
A rep for the company did urge customers who have issues with the recall process to contact Samsung at 1-866-264-5636.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on Consumerist.