Whirlpool Cabrio and Calypso, Maytag Bravos and HE Centennial, Kenmore Oasis Machines

*If you own a machine with any of the following model numbers, please see the section entitled Machines that Recirculate 100% Wash/Rinse Water for more detailed instructions.*

  • Whirlpool Cabrios
    • WTW6#00***: 6000 Series Machines with 6th Sense Technology
  • Whirlpool Calypso
    • All model numbers
  • Maytag Bravos
    • MVWB300***
    • MVWB450***
    • MVWB750***
    • MVWB800VQ*
    • MVWB850WQ* ——— NOTE: MVWB850YW* does NOT recirculate
    • MTW6#00***
  • Kenmore Oasis
    • All model numbers

The Whirlpool Carbrio and Calypso, Maytag Bravos and Centennial and Kenmore Oasis HE top loading washers require some variations to the standard HE wash routines.  There are many models and variations of these machines with drum sizes range from 3.8 cu ft to 5.3 cu ft of washing capacity. Despite these differences, the wash routine is largely the same. This washer gets diapers cleanest when a longer wash cycle is used for the prewash and the drum is filled half full for the main wash.

The basic wash routine is as follows:

  1. Prewash: normal wash cycle, max soil, max spin
  2. Fluff all fabrics so everything is free to move about and nothing is stuck to the sides of the drum. Bulk load if needed with small items (nothing larger than approximately hand towel size) to ensure drum is half full
  3. Main Wash: Whites, heavy duty, power wash or super wash cycle, max soil, max spin, *no extra rinses (you may have to switch the extra rinse option off)*

Additive Amounts:

  • Detergent: Half in prewash and full amount in main.
  • Water softeners: Add to the drum as needed for water hardness.
  • Boosters: Add as desired to either or both cycles. Follow instructions on the package.

Cycle Modifiers:

  • Turn Ecoboost button or knob OFF
  • Turn Deep Clean/Clean Boost button or knob ON when possible
  • Turn Fabric Softener button or knob ON – this is NOT an extra rinse, it will force your machine to do a traditional rinse instead of a water save spray rinse

Other important notes:

  • The manufacturers have recommended that any powders added to the drum be placed under clothing. This includes detergent, boosters and water softeners.
  • The manufacturers also recommend cleaning your washer every 30 washes with Affresh, Tide washer cleaner or similar products.  Your washer can also be cleaned with bleach per your particular machine’s owners manual.

Remember to check our washing machine index to see if your specific model number has been added!

Machines that Recirculate 100% Wash/Rinse Water

All HE machine recirculate 100% of the wash water. That water is then spun out and completely drained before fresh water is added during the rinse. During the rinse cycle, dirty water is periodically spun and drained and fresh water is added. Unfortunately, some machines don’t ever drain the dirty rinse water, but actually recirculate 100% of it during the entire rinse cycle. This is great for water efficiency, but not great for getting your diapers clean. The whole point of a rinse cycle is to flush out the excess waste and drain and spin it out the dirty water. If the same dirty water is used over and over during the rinse cycle, the waste cannot be successfully flushed away. These machines do contain a filter, but it is really only small enough to catch sand particles. It is most certainly not fine enough to effectively filter urine and fecal matter from the rinse water. To help illustrate exactly how this works, imagine shampooing your hair and then pouring a gallon of water over your head and into a bucket. Now imagine reusing that same water to continue to rinse your hair. Would you ever get all the shampoo out? Not likely. The good news is, there is a way to make this machine behave!

To combat the recirculated rinse water issue, it is recommended that a second prewash be performed in order to remove more waste before the main wash. See the basic routine instructions below:

  1. Prewash #1: rinse and spin or shortest full cycle, large water level (if you have this option) NOTE: If your water is not hard enough to add a softener to the prewash, add line 1 detergent to this cycle. If your water is hard enough for a softener in the prewash, add the appropriate amount to this wash cycle as well.
  2. Fluff all fabrics so everything is free to move about and nothing is stuck to the sides of the drum.
  3. Prewash #2: normal wash cycle, max soil, max spin, auto water level (if you have this option)
  4. Fluff all fabrics so everything is free to move about and nothing is stuck to the sides of the drum. Bulk load if needed with small items (nothing larger than approximately hand towel size) to ensure drum is half full.
  5. Main Wash: Whites, heavy duty, power wash or super wash cycle, max soil, max spin, auto water level (if you have this option), *no extra rinses (you may have to switch the extra rinse option off)*

The notes above regarding detergent, water softeners, boosters and cycle modifiers apply to these machines as well.