How to Use a Frigidaire Washing Machine

There’s absolutely nothing worse than taking your new designer jeans out of the washing machine only to realize you must have gone through a sudden, mind-stumping middle-aged growth spurt. Or that the matching red top you bought to go with it has tie-dyed your jeans and transformed your $200 outfit into what can only be described as a fashion statement.

To prevent mishaps like these, it’s important to learn how to use a Frigidaire washing machine and all its special features, wash cycles and options. Follow these step-by-step procedures for both the top-loading and front-loading washers below to help you get the most life out of your clothing and machine.

Before Washing

Before you start tossing the contents of your laundry basket into the washing machine, you’ll probably want to sort and treat your clothing so there are no accidental mishaps.

• Step 1. Sort your laundry – Laundry should be sorted into a couple piles based on fabric care instructions. As a rule of thumb, it’s recommended to separate based on wash temperatures, colors, soil level, fabric materials and size. 
  • Note: Do not wash clothing containing fiberglass, as this can cause damage to fabrics and irritation to the skin.
• Step 2. Prep laundry – Before dumping your loot in for a wash, you’ll want to take care to tie up any loose ends that could snag or catch. For example, zipping up jackets, mending tears, turning button-ups and knits inside out, shaking out rugs, etc.
• Step 3. Pretreat stains – If you got a little sloppy during work or meals, now is a good time to pretreat stains. Generally speaking, you should wash stained clothing in cold water, as high temperatures can inadvertently set the stain.

Loading the Washing Machine 

The Frigidaire washing machine only uses liquid detergent, bleach and fabric softeners. Never add powdered fabric cleaners to the dispensers, as this could damage the machine.

• Step 4. Add laundry detergent – Follow the instructions on the back of the bottle. How much you add will depend on factors like detergent brand, soil level, load size and even water hardness. If you’re using a detergent pod, put it on the bottom of the washtub before adding the laundry.
  • Note: Frigidaire recommends using a low-sudsing, high-efficiency detergent.
• Step 5. Add liquid bleach – This step is optional, but you may add liquid bleach to the bleach dispenser before loading your clothes. Follow the instructions on the bottle, but do not exceed the max fill line indicated on the bleach dispenser. 
  • Note: If you’re using liquid color-safe bleach, add it to the liquid detergent dispenser instead of the bleach dispenser.
• Step 6. Load the washing machine – Load the washer, starting with the smallest items to the largest, taking care not to fill past the upper row of holes on the wash tub. 
  • Note: If you’re washing one heavy item, please add one or two towels to the wash tub to help balance the load.
• Step 7. Add liquid fabric softener – This step is also optional, but you may add liquid fabric softener to the fabric softener dispenser. Follow the instructions as labeled on the bottle, but do not exceed the max fill line indicated on the fabric softener dispenser. You’ll also want to turn the fabric softener option on by pressing the button labeled “fabric softener.”

Selecting a Cycle 

In this section, we’ll cover how to physically start, pause and stop the cycle on your washing machine. If you’d like to know how to manually change the settings or what the settings mean, continue on to the sections below.

• Step 8. Close the lid – Once your dirty clothes have been loaded, close the lid on your front or top load Frigidaire washing machine.
• Step 9. Press the Power button – From there, press the power button to turn on the machine. The button is located on the far left top of the control panel and should be labeled as such. If your Frigidaire washer won’t start, make sure you have selected the load size first.
• Step 10. Select the desired cycle – Moving right of the power and start/pause button is the cycle selector. Turn the dial to select the desired cycle setting.
• Step 11. Press the Start button – Press the Start button on the far left-hand side of the panel directly underneath the Power button.
• Step 12. To pause the washing machine – If you’ve found the lone companion to a pair of socks that didn’t make it in, you can press the Pause button, wait for the lid to unlock, throw it in, close the lid and press Start to continue washing.
• Step 13. To cancel a cycle mid-wash – Alternatively, if you’d like to cancel the cycle, all you have to do is press the Power button, and your load of laundry will slowly spin to a stop.
• Step 14. Remove items when finished – Wait until the cycle is finished and the lid lock releases before removing the laundry from the washer. To prevent color transfers, odor or wrinkling, immediately dry as per the fabric care instructions on your clothing tags. And that’s how you use a Frigidaire washing machine!
  • Note: Do not force the lid open while the cycle is in progress or operate the machine if the safety lock is not working, as this could result in personal injury or damage to the machine.

Changing the Washer Settings

If you don’t want to use the preset washing machine settings, you can change the water temperature, soil level and options manually. Follow the instructions below for a more personalized experience:

• Step 1. Press the Temp and Soil Level buttons – You can change the soil level and temperature settings for each cycle selection by pressing their respective buttons. Press the Temp and Soil Level until the indicator illuminates the desired option. 
• Step 2. Press the Start button – Once you’ve finished making your selections, go ahead and select the Start button to get your laundry rolling.

Frigidaire Washing Machine Settings

Learning how to use a Frigidaire washing machine and its settings is vital to the care and longevity of your fabrics. Below is a guide on when to use your washing machine’s different cycles, temperature, soil level and optional cycles.

Cycle Settings Guide

Water Temperature 

Soil Level 

You can adjust the soil level on each wash cycle from extra heavy, heavy, medium, light and extra light. The heavier the soil level, the more time will be added to the wash cycle.

Cycle Options 

And that’s how you use a Frigidaire washing machine! For more information on everything and all things washing machine-related, check out our vast collection of Frigidaire manuals and diagrams!

Please contact a local service company who can help with these specific units and all your home appliance needs.