Dry or fry?

September 19, 2007 1:08 AM

What will happen to my washer/dryer if I shut the water off during the dry cycle? Or would turning it to a trickle be a smarter, equally effective idea...? I'm trying to shrink some clothes, but it steams so effectively that I'm getting nowhere. So frustrating as they come out seriously hot. Without the steam they would've been done in 10 minutes tops, but maybe without steam... X-s ?? It's an LG WD-1412RD
posted by mu~ha~ha~ha~har to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

I'm not exactly clear but you have a combo washer/dryer? Water will not/ should not enter during the 'dry' cycle because, well, it should be obvious. Steam is not because water is being added but because the water in the clothes themselves is being turned into steam...

I would think just hot water cycle and then hottest dry cycle should do it for you (with nothing else in the machine).

But to answer your initial question - nothing should happen to your washer/dryer if you shut off water during the dry cycle...
posted by From Bklyn at 2:23 AM on September 19, 2007

What are the clothes made of? Rayon will shrink like mad, virgin wool, too. Cotton will shrink, but less so. Some fibers don't seem to shrink, e.g. polyester. I don't understand the combo washer/dryer reference in your question either.
posted by Listener at 4:22 AM on September 19, 2007

In my combo washer drier, water does enter the machine during the dry cycle as it's used to chill the condensor plate so that steam generated by the hot clothes can be collected as liquid.

This should be true of all washer/dryers that don't have a vent.

Of course this doesn't answer your question on shrinking clothes but might help you understand what happens to your drier.
posted by sdevans at 5:04 AM on September 19, 2007

sdevans - that is seriously interesting, and makes good sense and in lights of it I take back any mention I previously made about turning off the water to your washer/dryer during the dry cycle.
posted by From Bklyn at 5:27 AM on September 19, 2007

I've got the same washer/dryer and I turn off the water at the end of the wash cycle as a matter of course. I've had the machine 2 years with no apparent ill effects. After an instance of flooding the downstairs neighbors due to a stuck solenoid I find it's the best way to ensure domestic tranquility.
posted by Floydd at 6:22 AM on September 19, 2007

sdevans writes "In my combo washer drier, water does enter the machine during the dry cycle as it's used to chill the condensor plate so that steam generated by the hot clothes can be collected as liquid. "

However the water doesn't go inside, it cools the outside of the plates.
posted by Mitheral at 7:58 AM on September 19, 2007

Response by poster: The manual says leave the water on when using the dryer. And you can hear the machine periodically using water.

:) I'm completely jiggy with shrinking stuff (It's all thick cotton/denim skirts, shorts, pants, jeans kinda stuff anyway). In the average dryer 30-60 min would've done the trick. I throw them in completely dry usually (as that is when the magic happens) but as mine takes in water...
It is seriously the hottest dryer I've come across (rivet and button burns on my hands ect attest to that) so I can only gather the water is preventing it from shrinking.

I don't think it does have a vent (as such) because the (internal) laundry is quite smallish and doesn't get hot and stuffy and I close the door...
I still suspect water gets on the clothes (although that doesn't really make sense). Every now and then, at a chance point in the cycle, when I pause it, the clothes (that went in dry) are slightly damp. This could be explained possibly but I can't recall specifics to be sure either way?

I'm leaning towards - shutting it off to a trickle(ish) - at this point... But not enough to try it just yet.
posted by mu~ha~ha~ha~har at 8:22 AM on September 19, 2007

Take the clothes you want to shrink to a laundromat, and leave the dryer be? Seems like an expensive thing to experiment with.
posted by crabintheocean at 10:47 AM on September 19, 2007

I can assure you that wet laundry will absolutely shrink even if it's wet to start. Cotton shrinks some when washed even if not dried.
posted by theora55 at 11:40 AM on September 19, 2007