Is this powder or liquid? I've had issues where the liquid doesn't seem to cut the body oil from the fabrics. Before you purchase another brand, first try using the hottest water available and MORE detergent.

ask the city what the actual hard water number is - everyone asumes that they have hard water

grey clothes come from too much detergent left in the clothes. either you are using too much (you dont appear to be) or it isnt getting rinsed out. i think that you can add a rinse to the asko cycle. that will help get it out

I have the same problem, our machine is a few months old. I have noticed a BIG difference in the whites, and there is more piling on the knit fabrics.

We have a water softener, I use one tablespoon of HE powder, if I use more it gets to sudsy. The handbook to my machine(Amana) says that the bleach is not added to the drum until the last few minutes of the washing cycle....that seems odd to me so I am going to start pausing the machine and adding a tiny bit right to the drum before the washing starts. I am thinking it is just not possible to get clothes clean in such a small amount of water. I could do an extra rinse but that defeats the purpose of having a water saving machine.

add the extra rinse cycle to see if it makes a difference - it may take a few washes. leave out a pair of white underwear so you have something to compare against

not all machines are effective in rinsing as it is not just a function of being a front loader.

the bleach will only make your clothese turn yellow over time. Use the hottest water that you can for getting whites white

growby, chlorine bleach conflicts with enzymes, so adding it at the start of the wash interferes with the detergent's performance. Chlorine will do its work in 3 to 5 mins. Running clothes in a chlorine bleach solution longer that won't have a substantially greater effect. Use the machine's dispenser and let it run the bleach in at the intended time. Personally, I've not used chlorine bleach in years. Oxygen bleach (OxyClean, oxybooster, whatever one wants to call it) does the trick nicely for my whites, with a proper dose of detergent (1/2 cup minimum of Tide HE powder), and 1 to 1.5 oz of STPP added.

ShellyB26, if you are using liquid Tide, try POWDER. Also, the usage instructions for Tide HE powder states as much as 3/4 to 7/8 of a measured cup. (I've not used liquid, so can't say about it). 2 to 3 tablespoons is unlikely to be enough for a large, dirty load ... particularly if hard water is involved.

I have had an Asko pair since 2002. Wow, going on 7 years now... how time flies! I swear as you get older (I just turned 40) the clock seems to tick just a tad faster each year. Or so it appears.

I have a whole house water softener and use 1 TBS of Charlie's Soap. For white loads I add 2 TBS of Ecover oxygen bleach (pure Sodium Percarbonate). My laundry is clean as a whistle, no build-up, white whites, very happy camper here.

I'm sure your Asko is heated, what temperatures are you using? For a regular mixed load I would never go below 120°F, it just doesn't compute with me that laundry can get clean if any cooler. But that's just me.

If you have hard water, and it sounds as though you do, I am inclined to believe that you are not using enough detergent. 1-2 TBS is just not enough for a hard water wash. I would double your dose for a few loads and see if you get better results. If not, add more.

I have to agree w/ couple posters above. 1-2 tbls of laundry detergent is not enough for larger or large loads. From what I read here, people try to use as little as possible but it does more harm than good. Specially if you have hard water. Hot water is a must and so is extra rinse or two. For example: full load of heavy towels will need more detergent and lots of extra water to rinse it too. When I do towels only load, I never use more than 1/2 size load and always add 2 extra rinses to it and water plus. Usually it is better to do mixed loads,heavy/light all together. It rinses out better. I only have white/light loads or dark. Bigger washer isn't necessary better IMO. You can stuff ton in it, it will wash it good w/ proper amount of detergent but it won't rinse out good. It will take several extra rinses to make sure there is no residue left. My tiny FL does better job than the big one.
I think they build these water conserving machine on purpose. They know people will feel bad using extra water and so over time it will ruin the laundry and the machine which it leads to buying new machine and more clothes. Personally I don't care If I use lots of water. Our laundry is clean and whites are white. I have towels from 15 years ago that are still white and the edges just starting to frey. Towels for 2.50 from biglots! I don't use bleach ever. So don't be affraid to use more detergent and extra rinse.

Hi,

Thanks for all the suggestions. The Tide HE is powder. I think I haven't been setting the water to a warmer/hotter temp. I will start doing that. Not sure about adding more detergent, but I will try more rinses. Thanks very much for all your help.

Shellyb

Most common causes of grey dingy laundry:
1. water temperature is too lowÂwash in the hottest, but safest temperature for the fabrics.
2. too little detergentÂincrease amount of detergent or use a detergent or a detergent booster that contains enzymes to get super dingy clothes clean again. Thereafter, using the correct about of detergent or using a booster will keep your laundry from getting dingy again.
3. hard water: If you have really hard water, then vinegar in the wash cycle is the cheapest solution to dingy clothes. In hard water conditions, some detergents will combine with the minerals in the hard water and form a residue on the fibers; the vinegar will keep the minerals from binding to the detergent and no residue will build up on your clothes. An added benefit will be less fading as vinegar will help to set unstable dyes.

Contrary to what many people say, vinegar does not soften clothes; rather, as the detergent residue is washed out of the fibers, they become less stiff, thus they feel softer.

Calgal59,

Thanks for the vinegar tip. I will try that. We have moderately hard water in this area.