Appliance with water hardness determination

Abstract

An appliance and method for operating the appliance based on a water hardness determined from a water supply identifier indicative of the geographical source of the water.

1 . A method for operating a cleaning appliance having a controller configured to execute a water consuming operating cycle having at least one operating parameter:
 receiving a water supply identifier indicative of the geographical source of the water;   determining a water hardness from the water supply identifier; and   setting a parameter of the operating cycle based on the water hardness.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the receiving of the water supply identifier comprises receiving the water supply identifier from a user of the cleaning appliance. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the receiving of the water supply identifier comprises manually entering the water supply identifier into the controller. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 3 , wherein the manually entering the water supply identifier into the controller comprises manually entering the water supply identifier into a user interface operably coupled to the controller. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the water supply identifier comprises a geographic code. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 5 , wherein the geographic code is at least one of a postal ZIP code, postcode and postal code. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 5 , wherein the geographic code is at least one of a telephone area code and telephone number. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the water supply identifier comprises at least one of an alphanumeric, numeric and alphabetic indicia. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 1  wherein the water supply identifier indicates the geographical source of the water as one of a household well, a municipal, a city, a town, a village, a district and a township water supply system. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the determining the water hardness comprises looking up the water hardness in a table of corresponding water hardness values and water supply identifiers. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the table is stored in a memory associated with the controller. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the table is stored in a memory external to the cleaning appliance. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the setting of the parameter comprises setting at least one of:
 an amount of a wash aid to be dispensed;   an amount of a drying additive to be dispensed;   an amount of a scent additive to be dispensed   a duration of a wash cycle; and   a duration of a rinse cycle.   
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the setting of the parameter further comprises setting the parameter based on the determined water hardness and a user-selected parameter. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 14 , wherein the user-selected parameter comprises at least one of:
 load size,   load type,   cycle,   soil level,   treating chemistry concentration,   temperature,   spin speed,   number of rinses in a cycle, and   duration of rinse in a cycle.   
     
     
         16 . A cleaning appliance comprising:
 a cleaning chamber for receiving an article to be cleaned;   a water supply fluidly coupled with the cleaning chamber to supply water from a water supply source to the cleaning chamber;   a user interface configured to receive a water supply identifier indicative of a geographical source for the water supply source; and   a controller operably coupled to the water supply and the user interface and configured to determine a water hardness based on the water supply identifier and execute a water consuming cycle of operation based on the determined water hardness.   
     
     
         17 . The cleaning appliance according to  claim 16  wherein the controller comprises a table of corresponding water hardness values and water supply identifiers. 
     
     
         18 . The cleaning appliance according to  claim 17  wherein the appliance comprises a clothes washer comprising:
 a rotatable drum defining the cleaning chamber for receiving an article to be cleaned;   a bulk dispenser fluidly connected with at least one of the water supply and the cleaning chamber and configured to dispense an amount of at least one of a wash aid, a drying additive and a scent additive;   a controller operably connected with the bulk dispenser for determining the at least one of an amount of a wash aid, a drying additive and a scent additive to be dispensed; and   a controller operably connected with the rotatable drum and the water supply for determining at least one of a duration of a wash cycle and a rinse cycle.   
     
     
         19 . The cleaning appliance according to  claim 18 , comprising a bulk dispenser operably coupled to the controller and configured to dispense a selectively variable amount of wash aid. 
     
     
         20 . The cleaning appliance according to  claim 19 , wherein the controller controls the bulk dispenser to dispense an amount of wash aid based on the determined water hardness.