Laundry treating appliance and method of control

Abstract

A cycle of operation for a laundry treating appliance having a tub and a rotatable, perforated drum located within the tub and operably coupled with a motor for rotating the drum, the drum at least partially defining a treating chamber for receiving laundry for treatment according to a cycle of operation, the cycle of operation comprising an anti-stain setting phase and a pre-wash phase.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cycle of operation for a laundry treating appliance having a tub and a rotatable, perforated drum located within the tub and operably coupled with a motor for rotating the drum, the drum at least partially defining a treating chamber for receiving laundry for treatment according to a cycle of operation, the cycle of operation comprising:
 a pre-wash phase comprising:
 forming a hot pre-wash liquid comprising a mixture of water and treating chemistry; and 
 supplying the hot pre-wash liquid to the treating chamber; and 
   an anti-stain-setting phase, prior to the pre-wash phase, comprising:
 forming a cold wash liquid comprising water; and 
 supplying the cold wash liquid to the treating chamber. 
   
     
     
         2 . The cycle of operation of  claim 1  wherein the hot pre-wash liquid comprises a detergent. 
     
     
         3 . The cycle of operation of  claim 2 , further comprising a main wash phase, subsequent to the pre-wash phase, comprising adding liquid to the hot pre-wash liquid to form a main wash liquid. 
     
     
         4 . The cycle of operation of  claim 3  wherein a concentration of the detergent in the pre-wash liquid is between 1.5 times and 4.5 times a concentration of the detergent in the main wash liquid. 
     
     
         5 . The cycle of operation of  claim 3  wherein the hot pre-wash liquid has a first temperature and the main wash liquid has a second temperature, lower than the first temperature. 
     
     
         6 . The cycle of operation of  claim 1  wherein the forming the hot pre-wash liquid comprises supplying liquid to the tub until a temperature of the hot pre-wash liquid satisfies a first temperature threshold. 
     
     
         7 . The cycle of operation of  claim 6  wherein the first temperature threshold is in the range of 95-115° F. 
     
     
         8 . The cycle of operation of  claim 6  wherein the supplying liquid to the tub comprises supplying hot water from a hot water supply until the first temperature threshold is satisfied. 
     
     
         9 . The cycle of operation of  claim 8  further comprising supplying the hot water to a predetermined fill level and determining if the hot water satisfies a second temperature threshold. 
     
     
         10 . The cycle of operation of  claim 9  wherein when the second temperature threshold is not satisfied, the supplied hot water is drained and the supplying the hot water and determining if the hot water satisfies the second temperature threshold is repeated. 
     
     
         11 . The cycle of operation of  claim 10  wherein when the second temperature threshold is satisfied, the supplying the hot water continues until the first temperature threshold is satisfied. 
     
     
         12 . The cycle of operation of  claim 6  wherein the forming the hot pre-wash liquid comprises heating liquid in the tub with a heating element until the first temperature threshold is satisfied. 
     
     
         13 . The cycle of operation of  claim 1  wherein the forming the hot pre-wash liquid comprises supplying liquid to the tub until a predetermined liquid-to-laundry ratio is satisfied. 
     
     
         14 . The cycle of operation of  claim 13  wherein the predetermined liquid-to-laundry ratio is about 5 or less. 
     
     
         15 . The cycle of operation of  claim 1  wherein the forming the hot pre-wash liquid comprises supplying liquid to the tub such that the liquid bypasses the laundry. 
     
     
         16 . The cycle of operation of  claim 15 , further comprising rotating the drum to impart a centrifugal force to the laundry sufficient to distribute the laundry about a periphery of the drum to form an annulus of laundry within the treating chamber and supplying the liquid through a center of the annulus of laundry such that the treating chemistry bypasses the laundry and flows through the perforations in the drum into the tub. 
     
     
         17 . The cycle of operation of  claim 15  wherein the liquid is supplied directly to the tub. 
     
     
         18 . The cycle of operation of  claim 1  wherein the forming the cold wash liquid comprises supplying water from a cold water supply. 
     
     
         19 . The cycle of operation of  claim 1  wherein the laundry is treated with the hot pre-wash liquid for between 2 and 10 minutes. 
     
     
         20 . The cycle of operation of  claim 19  wherein treating the laundry with the hot pre-wash liquid comprises rotating the drum, actuating an agitator, recirculating the wash liquid or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         21 . A laundry treating appliance for treating laundry according to a cycle of operation, comprising:
 a tub defining a tub interior;   a rotatable, perforated drum located within the tub interior and at least partially defining a treating chamber for receiving laundry for treatment;   a liquid supply system supplying liquid to the tub comprising a cold water supply;   a recirculation system supplying liquid in the tub to the treating chamber; and   a controller having control software programmed to:
 implement a pre-wash phase comprising:
 controlling the liquid supply system to supply liquid to the tub to form a hot pre-wash liquid comprising a mixture of water and treating chemistry; and 
 controlling the recirculation system to supply the hot pre-wash liquid to the treating chamber; and 
 
 implement an anti-stain-setting phase, prior to the pre-wash phase, comprising:
 controlling the cold water supply to form a cold wash liquid comprising cold water without detergent; and 
 controlling the liquid supply system or the recirculation system to supply the cold wash liquid to the treating chamber. 
 
   
     
     
         22 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 21 , further comprising a dispensing system supplying a treating chemistry to the treating chamber, wherein the controller is configured to control the dispensing system to supply a detergent composition to the hot pre-wash liquid. 
     
     
         23 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 22 , further comprising implementing a main wash phase, subsequent to the pre-wash phase, comprising controlling the liquid supply system to supply liquid to the hot pre-wash liquid to form a main wash liquid. 
     
     
         24 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 23  wherein a concentration of the detergent in the hot pre-wash liquid is between 1.5 times and 4.5 times a concentration of the detergent in the main wash liquid. 
     
     
         25 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 21  wherein the controlling the liquid supply system to form the hot pre-wash liquid comprises supplying liquid to the tub until a temperature of the pre-wash liquid satisfies a first temperature threshold. 
     
     
         26 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 25  wherein the first temperature threshold is in the range of 95-115° F. 
     
     
         27 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 25  wherein the liquid supply system further comprises a hot water supply and the controller is configured to control the hot water supply to supply hot water to the tub until the first temperature threshold is satisfied. 
     
     
         28 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 27  wherein the controller is configured to control the hot water supply to supply hot water to a predetermined fill level and further wherein the controller is configured to determine if the hot water satisfies a second temperature threshold. 
     
     
         29 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 28  wherein when the second temperature threshold is not satisfied, the controller is configured to control a drain to drain the supplied hot water from the tub and the controller is configured to control the hot water supply to repeat supplying the hot water and determining if the hot water satisfies the second temperature threshold. 
     
     
         30 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 29  wherein when the second temperature threshold is satisfied, the controller is configured to control the hot water supply to continue supplying the hot water to the tub until the first temperature threshold is satisfied. 
     
     
         31 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 25  further comprising a heating element, wherein the controller is configured to control the heating element to heat the liquid in the tub until the first temperature threshold is satisfied. 
     
     
         32 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 21  wherein the controlling the liquid supply system to form the hot pre-wash liquid comprises supplying liquid to the tub until a predetermined liquid-to-laundry ratio is satisfied. 
     
     
         33 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 32  wherein the predetermined liquid-to-laundry ratio is about 5 or less. 
     
     
         34 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 21  wherein the laundry is treated with the hot pre-wash liquid for between 2 and 10 minutes. 
     
     
         35 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 21 , further comprising a motor operably coupled to the drum to effect a rotation of the drum, wherein the controller is configured to control the motor to rotate the drum to impart a centrifugal force to the laundry sufficient to distribute the laundry about a periphery of the drum to form an annulus of laundry within the treating chamber and wherein the liquid supply system is controlled to supply liquid through a center of the annulus of laundry such that the treating chemistry bypasses the laundry and flows through the perforations in the drum into the tub to form the hot pre-wash liquid. 
     
     
         36 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 21  wherein the liquid supply system is configured to supply liquid directly to the tub to form the hot pre-wash liquid.