iris, "I still haven’t figured out how to do a soak. it may not be possible. " Iris, I figured out how on my washer after 3 years and dingy clothes! The pause button or Start that you press for 3 seconds to stop the washer to put something in works for soaking. The trick is push the pause button WITHOUT opening the lid. Then it just sits. So, I put a load in, start it for 5 min or so, then go down and push that start button again and voila!!! you can soak as long as you want!