I lived in the same house with the same washing machine for 6 1/2 years and just last week my family and I moved to a new house. The washing machine is the same brand and a slightly newer version of what I used to have, but I am missing some of the old features like the soak cycle and an optional extra drain and spin.
In my reading of different ways to add a soak cycle I have learned to wait until the machine fills up with water and simply stop it for 30 minutes or so to soak cloth diapers. I tried this today and it seemed to work well. Then I added the soap and went back to the hot wash and cold rinse cycle. I attempted to also add another drain and spin, but this backfired as it seemed to add more water to the load and I ended up with some super wet diapers to dry. It took forever to get the diapers damp enough to line dry overnight. I should have skipped this step.
My lesson to myself...all washers are different. I feel like I am learning to wash my cloth diapers all over again. Do not get discouraged if you find it takes you some time to strike a balance in your cloth diaper washing routine. I know I have not found our new balance yet and I have been cloth diapering for 4 years now.
