Rinse and Spin Cycle: When to Use It on Washers

Your washing machine has a Rinse and Spin cycle that you have probably never selected on purpose, and it sounds like an incomplete wash because in a way it is. The cycle skips the wash phase entirely and goes straight to rinsing with clean water and spinning dry.

1. If your clothes feel soapy or stiff after a normal wash, detergent residue was not fully rinsed out and a Rinse and Spin cycle will fix it.
2. If you need to freshen up items that are not dirty but need rinsing, like swimsuits after pool chlorine, Rinse and Spin handles it without a full wash.
3. If you forgot a load in the machine and it smells damp, a quick Rinse and Spin freshens the clothes faster than running a full cycle again.

This cycle is not a substitute for washing. It does not clean, remove stains, or disinfect.

It only rinses and spins.

Here is exactly what the Rinse and Spin cycle does and the specific situations where it is the right choice.

What Happens During Rinse and Spin

The cycle has two phases and no wash phase.

Rinse phase

The machine fills with clean cold water and gently moves the clothes through it. This flushes out anything water-soluble that is in the fabric, whether that is leftover detergent, chlorine, loose dye, or light surface dust.

There is no agitation like a normal wash cycle. The drum rotates slowly to circulate water through the clothes without the mechanical scrubbing action.

Spin phase

After the rinse, the machine drains the water and spins at high speed to extract as much moisture as possible. The spin phase is the same as any other cycle’s spin, so clothes come out at the same dampness level as they would after a full wash.

Duration

The entire cycle takes about 15 to 25 minutes, compared to 50 to 90 minutes for a standard wash cycle. This makes it the fastest way to get clothes through the machine when a full wash is not needed.

The 6 Times to Use Rinse and Spin

1. Removing detergent residue after a wash

If clothes come out of a normal wash feeling soapy, sticky, or stiff, the detergent did not rinse out completely. This happens when you use too much detergent, when powder detergent does not dissolve in cold water, or when the machine’s rinse cycle was insufficient.

Run a Rinse and Spin with no detergent to flush the residue out.

2. Rinsing chlorine from swimsuits

Pool chlorine breaks down elastic fibers and fades colors over time. According to Spincycle Laundry, the Rinse and Spin cycle is ideal for garments that only need a detergent-free rinse, like swimsuits after the pool.

Running a Rinse and Spin after swimming removes the chlorine without subjecting the elastic to unnecessary agitation.

3. Freshening a forgotten load

Clothes left sitting in a closed machine for several hours develop a damp, musty smell. If you catch it early enough, a Rinse and Spin replaces the stale water with fresh water and removes the smell without running a full wash cycle.

If the smell has been developing for more than 12 hours, you may need to rewash with detergent.

4. Pre-rinsing heavily soiled items

Mud-caked clothes, sandy beach towels, and items covered in loose debris benefit from a Rinse and Spin before the actual wash. According to LG, rinsing soiled clothes before putting them through a heavy-duty cycle prevents the worst of the dirt from contaminating the wash water.

This keeps the wash cycle cleaner and more effective.

5. Rinsing hand-washed items

If you hand-wash delicates in the sink and want to rinse and spin them more thoroughly than you can by hand, the Rinse and Spin cycle does the job without adding agitation that could damage the fabric.

Place the hand-washed items in the drum and select Rinse and Spin for a thorough rinse and a machine spin that extracts more water than hand wringing.

6. Rinsing dye from new dark clothes

New dark jeans, black t-shirts, and deeply colored garments release excess dye during their first few washes. Running a Rinse and Spin before the first full wash flushes out loose surface dye, reducing the amount that transfers to other items in future loads.

This video explains the process:

Washing Machine's Rinse and Spin Explained (When to use it)

Rinse and Spin vs. Other Cycles

Feature	Rinse and Spin	Quick Wash	Normal Wash
Uses detergent	No	Yes	Yes
Agitation	None	Moderate	Full
Cleaning power	None	Light	Standard
Cycle time	15-25 minutes	15-30 minutes	50-90 minutes
Best for	Rinsing, freshening	Lightly soiled clothes	Everyday laundry

The key difference is that Rinse and Spin provides no cleaning action, while Quick Wash is a shortened but complete wash cycle with detergent and agitation. Normal Wash is the full standard cycle.

When NOT to Use Rinse and Spin

Dirty or stained clothes

Rinse and Spin will not remove dirt, stains, body oil, or perspiration because those need detergent and agitation. If clothes are actually dirty, use a proper wash cycle.

Items that need disinfecting

The cycle uses cold water and no detergent, so it has zero disinfecting ability. For items that need sanitizing, use the sanitize cycle or a hot wash with bleach as explained in sanitize cycle on washer.

As a regular replacement for washing

Some people use Rinse and Spin to “wash” lightly worn clothes without detergent. This does not remove body oil, bacteria, or odor-causing compounds that build up in fabric, and over time clothes develop a persistent smell that only a proper wash can fix.

Related guides: how to use your washing machine for all the cycles, and spin cycles on washing machines for spin speed details.