Washing machine with wetting water and steam control

A washing machine comprising:

• a rotary drum for accommodating laundry;
• a water supply unit;
• a steam generating unit;
• and
• a controller for controlling a washing operation, wherein
• the controller sets an amount of wetting water necessary to wet the laundry as a set amount of wetting water, based on a user input indicating a heat resistance of a material of a laundry, and controls the water supply unit to supply the set amount of wetting water, and controls the steam generating unit and the water supply unit to simultaneously supply steam and wash water into the rotary drum;
• and
• if the laundry has poor heat resistance, the controller raises the level of liquid water in the rotary drum to a second level of liquid water that is higher than the first level of liquid water.

A washing machine comprising:

• a rotary drum for accommodating laundry having poor heat resistance;
• a water supply unit;
• a steam generating unit;
• an input unit for setting a type of laundry to be washed, indicative of a heat resistance of the laundry to be washed;
• and
• a controller for controlling a washing operation, wherein
• the controller resets an initial amount of wetting water necessary to wet the laundry, controls the water supply unit to supply a reset amount of wetting water, and controls the steam generating unit and the water supply unit to simultaneously supply steam and wash water into the rotary drum;
• and
• if the laundry has poor heat resistance, the controller raises the level of liquid water in the rotary drum to a second level of liquid water that is higher than the first level of liquid water.