My Two Cents on Choosing a Washing Machine
Nov 01 '09
The Bottom Line Do your homework. Remember that a washer can one of the major consumers of energy and water in your home.
As you make your decision to replace your current washing machine, remember that you need to choose a replacement that you can live with on an ongoing basis. Below I have listed the major washing mechanisms that manufacturers have come up with. Stricter energy and water consumption requirements have forced many manufacturers to find alternatives to the conventional washing method employed by top loaders of years past. You can still buy a mostly conventional top loader, but they have been tweaked to consume less energy by employing automatic temperature control to reduce hot water consumption; you’ll hear many complaints of this as consumers write that they can’t get the hot wash they used to. Another adjustment to some conventional top loaders to reduce water usage is the employment of spray rinses to replace the deep rinse; I have designated these as “higher efficiency” top loaders in the categories below.
I will not recommend specific models, as it really requires legwork on the part of each consumer to determine his/her/family needs and which models fit them. In addition, models change, and one must take a look at the current offerings to determine what has changed, and if those changes are good or bad for one’s particular situation. I will say that I have found it most helpful to start my shopping list with an independent, objective resource that publishes laboratory results of different models’ performance. I then go online and look at consumer reviews of the models of interest; you can find these on Epinions, as well as many department store websites. If you have time and are interested in finding a “good deal”, I would recommend going to different department store websites and search for your models. Tracking the prices over time will allow you to spot a good deal when it becomes available. I find it most helpful to sort the models by price (low to high), as this allows for quick determination of prices and to spot specials. Many store websites also allow you to set up an e-mail alert that will tell you when a particular model goes on sale.
If your current dryer performs well and you aren’t concerned about having a matched set, then it may be in your best interest to have a few acceptable models. I often find that one department store or another will offer an irresistible deal on a very good performing machine at different times throughout the year. With high-efficiency washing machines, your current dryer will probably operate much more efficiently, as the clothing will have less water at the end of a wash cycle.
Also, make sure you plan for the size and floor support for your new machine. Many front loaders have a bigger footprint than top loaders. This can be an issue if you have space limitations in your laundry area or in a passageway to get to the final destination. For example, there is a partial wall that sticks out near my basement door, so I cannot fit many front loaders into my basement. Also note that the high-efficiency machines spin faster and exert more forces on the floor, so you will need to make sure that your floor is sturdy enough. Some machines have technology to reduce these vibrations, if the problem arises. Likewise, consumers have experimented and found success with heavy duty rubber mats or other objects, such as hockey pucks, to dampen the vibrations.
If you are concerned about the cost of the machine, make sure to consider the total cost of ownership, which includes purchase price, as well as the ongoing costs associated with operating it: water, energy (don’t forget the dryer costs, too!!), detergent, fabric softener, bleach, etc. Looking over the life-expectancy of the machine, it may make better economic sense to spend a little extra on a more efficient machine as opposed to buying an inexpensive machine that consumes lots of water and energy. Of course, the volume of laundry one washes plays into this; those who do more will experience a greater reduction in bills by choosing more-efficient machines.
On final word is that you really don’t need to spend tons of money to get decent performance. I’m not saying to go cheap, either. I’m a proponent of the “best bang for buck” theory. A few basic cycles are really all you need. If you have money to burn, then, sure, go ahead and splurge on all the electronic gadgetry. But, in the end, most of their cycles can be replicated on most machines. In fact, prices have been coming down on some of the more advanced wash systems, so you can get a feature-laden, high-efficiency model for just slightly more than a good performing conventional top loader.
Major concepts to know:
- Water usage – a conventional top loader uses 40 plus gallons per load. A high-efficiency washer uses about 20 or less. If you do 12 loads/week, that amounts to a savings of [ a minimum of] 12,480 gallons/year. What could you do with all that water? What if all you neighbors each saved that much water? How much less strain would everyone put on the water and sewer systems?
- Water is expensive to heat. A conventional washer fills the entire tub with the warm-to-hot water. You pay to heat all that water. High efficiency washers reduce the amount of hot water used by only filling partially to wet clothing.
- Water extraction. High efficiency washers spin faster to remove more water. Less water in the clothes means less time in the dryer. Less time in the dryer means less energy spent drying clothing.
- Detergent usage. Typically, high efficiency washers require less HE detergent than recommended by the detergent manufacturer, thereby saving even more money on detergent. Bleach (if used), is also reduced.
- You may also end up doing fewer loads with the greater capacities of high-efficiency machines, which will further reduce energy, water, detergent, etc. consumption.
Below are the major types of washing methods and how they have achieved greater efficiency.
Conventional top loaders (Boring, boring, boring, but they get the job done, even if you have to sell out the environment to get there.)
- To save energy, they have automatic temperature controls to regulate the maximum temperature. For example, if you select “hot wash”, it will add cooler water so as not to go above a certain set temperature. Likewise, they may offer several “warm” to “cool” settings that use progressively cooler temperatures to save energy. Nonetheless, you still have to fill the entire tub with the water in both the wash and rinse portions of the cycle.
Higher efficiency top loaders (Somewhat more exciting, though not a jaw-dropping experience)
- To save energy, they have the automatic temperature control as listed above.
- Many also have an automatic water level feature that matches load size to the amount of water used to fill the tub. (I guess they figure a human can't figure it out!)
- These models have retained the full-sized agitator of a conventional top loader.
- To save water, they have replaced the rinse portion of the cycle with spray rinses that use less water than a deep-fill rinse. The deep rinse is an option, if you decide you want to use fabric softener. However, that defeats the purpose of the water-saving spray rinses.
- They spin faster to remove more water than conventional top loaders, but it is generally not as fast as high-efficiency machines.
High-efficiency agitator top loaders by Fisher and Paykel (These are weird, but they are efficient! (You can read my review of a Fisher and Paykel model, if you want to know about it.)
- To save energy, they employ automatic temperature controls, and they fill only part way with water at the beginning of the wash of the cycle. It then sprays the concentrated detergent over the clothes for a period of time.
- It then fills the rest of the way with cold water (to save energy) and completes the wash portion.
- Rinses are achieved with spray rinses to save water, as above. A deep rinse is optional, as mentioned above.
- The spin is very, very, fast at 1,000 rpm. This is on par with many front loaders.
High-efficiency, low-profile-agitator top loaders by numerous manufacturers. They have some obvious “WOW” factor, but may be very expensive and the technology is rather new, so reliability is a wild card.
- These save water and energy much like the Fisher and Paykel model discussed above, but many have an option to fill the entire tub with water for bulky items. The low-profile-agitator is able to circulate clothes in a tub that is only partially filled with water. To dampen clothing faster, some spray the water/detergent solution over the load at various points in the wash portion of the cycle.
- Some consumers have filmed the wash action and placed it on YouTube. Before you buy one, it may be a good idea to view one in action, so you know what to expect. I’m going to make a subjective comment here: I can’t imagine that this method is as effective or efficient as a full-sized agitator model or a front loader.
- The spin is also very fast, like a front loader.
- For those with mobility issues, there is no bending to load/unload.
High-efficiency Front Loader (My favorite!! You can go hog-wild and buy a $1,500 machine….but you can get decent performers for $600 - $800)
- Obviously, the difference is that the tub is on its side. Because of this, each “fill” only uses a few gallons to maintain a small pool of water at the bottom.
- Capacities are generally very large, as the entire drum can be filled with dry clothing, due to the lack of an agitator. Note that I said that it can be filled and not jammed full! Consequently, you may find, as I did, that you can do fewer loaders of laundry each week. This further reduces the usage of electricity, water, detergent, etc.
- Energy savings are impressive, as only a few gallons of hot water are used to form the “pool” during the first fill only, as opposed to filling the entire tub of a top-loader.
- Even though it changes water more times than a top-loader, overall water use is reduced by at least 50%. (Remember that little “pool” at the bottom of the tub?)
- The spin is also very fast. Many spin at 1,000 rpm or more.
- Detergent use is also impressively low. I only use a portion of what the manufacturer recommends for a full load.
- If you have mobility issues with bending over to load/unload, you can buy pedestals to raise them.
- The tumble action is gentler on clothing than a conventional top loader, as evidenced by a reduced amount of lint in the dryer’s lint filter. I have found that my clothing looks newer longer and also lasts longer than when I had a top loader.
- You can read more about my opinions on front loaders in my article “Helpful Tips for Front Loaders”.
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Epinions.com ID:
weggbw
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Member: Dan
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Reviews written: 28
Trusted by: 1 member
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