Method and apparatus for rinsing laundry in a laundry treating appliance

Abstract

A laundry treating appliance and method for applying a bleach solution during a rinse phase of a cycle of operation. After spraying the laundry load with water to form a wetted laundry load, and a bleach solution is applied to the wetted laundry load. The bleach solution is not sprayed on the laundry load.

1 . A method of rinsing a laundry load in a laundry treating appliance having a rotatable treating chamber for receiving the laundry load, the method comprising:
 spraying an amount of water onto the laundry load to evenly wet the laundry load and form a wetted laundry load;   forming a bleach solution in the laundry treating appliance; and   applying the bleach solution to the wetted laundry load.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the spraying comprises spraying water without the addition of a treating chemistry. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the spraying comprises spraying the amount of water through a first flow path and the applying the bleach solution comprises applying the bleach solution through a second flow path that is different than the first flow path. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising rotating the treating chamber to tumble the laundry load during the spraying to distribute the water on the laundry load. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the rotating of the treating chamber comprises intermittently rotating the treating chamber in a rotation pattern defined by multiple rotation phases separated by non-rotational phases. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the spraying comprising spraying during the non-rotational phases. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the rotating the treating chamber further comprises rotating the treating chamber during the applying, and the rotation pattern of the treating chamber is different during the spraying as compared to the rotation during the applying. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the spraying comprises spraying water into the treating chamber under pressure. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the forming the bleach solution comprises mixing water and bleach. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the applying comprises supplying the beach solution into the treating chamber by gravity. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising rotating the treating chamber to tumble the laundry load during the applying to distribute the bleach solution on the laundry load. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the amount of water is approximately 50% to 95% of a total rinse volume, wherein the total rinse volume is the combined volume of the amount of water and the bleach solution. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12  wherein the amount of water is approximately 90% of the total rinse volume. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the spraying comprises emitting droplets of water in a pattern that covers at least 50% of a lower half of the treating chamber. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein the applying comprises emitting a stream of the bleach solution in a pattern that covers less than 5% of the lower half of the treating chamber. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the spraying comprises saturating the laundry load with water. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the amount of water is greater than an amount of water required to saturate the laundry load. 
     
     
         18 . A cycle of operation for a laundry treating appliance having a rotatable treating chamber for receiving a laundry load, the cycle of operation comprising:
 a washing phase comprising an application of a treating chemistry to the laundry load to separate soils from the laundry load;   an extracting phase comprising a centrifugal extraction of at least some of the treating chemistry from the laundry load; and   a rinsing phase comprising:
 spraying an amount of water onto the laundry load to evenly wet the laundry load to form a wetted laundry load; and 
 applying a bleach solution to the wetted laundry load. 
   
     
     
         19 . The cycle of operation of  claim 18  wherein the spraying comprises spraying water without the addition of a treating chemistry. 
     
     
         20 . The cycle of operation of  claim 18  wherein the spraying comprises spraying the amount of water through a first flow path and the applying comprises applying the bleach solution through a second flow path that is different than the first flow path. 
     
     
         21 . The cycle of operation of  claim 18 , further comprising rotating the treating chamber to tumble the laundry load during the spraying to distribute the water on the laundry load. 
     
     
         22 . The cycle of operation of  claim 21  wherein the rotating of the treating chamber comprises intermittently rotating the treating chamber in a rotation pattern defined by multiple rotation phases separated by non-rotational phases. 
     
     
         23 . The cycle of operation of  claim 22  wherein the spraying comprising spraying during the non-rotational phases. 
     
     
         24 . The cycle of operation of  claim 22  wherein the rotating the treating chamber further comprises rotating the treating chamber during the applying, and the rotation pattern of the treating chamber is different during the spraying as compared to the rotation during the applying. 
     
     
         25 . The cycle of operation of  claim 18  wherein the spraying comprises spraying water into the treating chamber under pressure. 
     
     
         26 . The cycle of operation of  claim 18  wherein the applying comprises mixing water and bleach to form the bleach solution. 
     
     
         27 . The cycle of operation of  claim 26  wherein the applying comprises flushing bleach from a bleach container with water. 
     
     
         28 . The cycle of operation of  claim 18  wherein the applying comprises supplying the beach solution into the treating chamber by gravity. 
     
     
         29 . The cycle of operation of  claim 18 , further comprising rotating the treating chamber to tumble the laundry load during the applying to distribute the bleach solution on the laundry load. 
     
     
         30 . The cycle of operation of  claim 18  wherein the amount of water is approximately 50% to 95% of a total rinse volume, wherein the total rinse volume is the combined volume of the amount of water and the bleach solution. 
     
     
         31 . The cycle of operation of  claim 30  wherein the amount of water is approximately 90% of the total rinse volume. 
     
     
         32 . The cycle of operation of  claim 18  wherein the spraying comprises emitting droplets of water in a pattern that covers at least 50% of a lower half of the treating chamber. 
     
     
         33 . The cycle of operation of  claim 32  wherein the applying comprises emitting a stream of bleach solution in a pattern that covers less than 5% of the lower half of the treating chamber. 
     
     
         34 . The cycle of operation of  claim 18  wherein the spraying comprises saturating the laundry load with water. 
     
     
         35 . The cycle of operation of  claim 18  wherein the amount of water is greater than an amount of water required to saturate the laundry load. 
     
     
         36 . A laundry treating appliance configured to execute a cleaning cycle on an article, comprising:
 a cabinet defining an interior;   a tub located within the interior;   a drum located within the tub and defining a treating chamber configured to receive the article for cleaning;   a water control valve provided with the cabinet;   a bleach dispenser configured to dispense a bleach solution into the treating chamber and comprising a dispensing cup that receives a dose of bleach;   a first water flow path extending from the water control valve, through the dispensing cup, and terminating in an outlet comprising a dispensing nozzle in fluid communication with the treating chamber and configured to emit a stream of liquid covering a first predetermined area of the treating chamber; and   a second water flow path extending from the water control valve, bypassing the cup, and terminating in an outlet comprising a spray nozzle in fluid communication with the treating chamber and configured to emit a spray of droplets covering a second predetermined area that is greater than the first predetermined area.   
     
     
         37 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 36  wherein the dispensing nozzle comprises a gravity-feed dispenser that is configured to direct a non-pressurized stream of the liquid into the treating chamber. 
     
     
         38 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 36  wherein the spray nozzle comprises a pressurized spray nozzle that is configured to direct a pressurized spray of droplets into the treating chamber. 
     
     
         39 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 36  wherein the dispensing nozzle is configured to emit a stream of liquid in a pattern that covers less than 5% of a lower half of the treating chamber. 
     
     
         40 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 36  wherein the spray nozzle is configured to emit a spray of droplets in a pattern that covers at least 50% of a lower half of the treating chamber.