Front loading washing machinegreenspun.com : LUSENET : Countryside : One Thread |
We are looking for an energy/water efficient front loading washing machine available in the U.S. We had a really wonderful one when we lived in England which also was a condensing drier. When we moved to the U.S. we bought the only front loader we could find. An Equator which was made in Italy. It has been a total lemon and if it wasn't for my husbands electronic ability would have gone to a landfill long ago. What a dissapointment after the German made machine we had before.We have looked on the internet and only found references to Equators. We live in a very rural area (an hour to the nearest appliance store and believe me nothing like a front loader is found there) so rely heavily on the internet. Please share your experiences. Many thanks in advance for all of your help.
-- kim and david (fleece@eritter.net), February 12, 2000
The most water-efficient design of washing machine I know is the twin- tub - front-loaders are a VERY poor second best. I can't find any examples of the type listed in the USA, but one model I know of is the Sanyo SW450AP twin-tub washing machine. The design is a wash tub with agitator (preferable a recessed propellor in the base of the tub, so it will work with low water levels), next to a spin-dry tub. It is designed to sit next to a laundry tub. You run small loads, particularly if you're short of water; and you rigorously pre-sort the colours (and degree of dirt, and degree of lint clothes will shed, and requirement for absolute cleanliness), because EVERYTHING goes through the same water.You use a low-residue, non-irritant detergent - grated laundry soap is good - because the rinsing is on the good-enough principle - the washing and spinning has already got the dirt out. Fill the wash tub as much as you need, with warm to hot water, and dissolve the detergent first. Then Wash the first load of clothes, progress them to the spin tub, and start the next load washing. Spin the first load, putting the water back into the wash tub. Move the spun clothes to the laundry tub, which has a load of cool water, perhaps with a rinse conditioner. This is where small loads are a convenience - rinse by hand, place back in the spin tub, and spin. I tend to always put spin water into the wash tub - it replaces some loss, the tub slowly gets fuller but that dilutes accumulating dirt, and it allows you to top up rinse water which is getting dirtier with clean water as well.
Move rinsed, spun clothes to laundry basket, turn to second load of clothes in wash tub, and so forth. Actually not too inefficient of time, very efficient of water. At end, you can drain washing machine to buckets for garden, or to wash floors, and also siphon out water from laundry tub as well. If you're stuck with a bad mix of colours and dirty work clothes or nappies and a big wash it may be better to run two washes - twice as much water.
I can do a full week's wash in about ten gallons of water - maybe less - and most of that ends up on the garden. Of course my gallons are bigger than yours - four (Imp) gallons to five US gallons.
Of course, this is a lower-tech solution, but it works well, it is efficient of water, and it's not too bad in terms of time or energy usage.
If you can find a twin-tub washing machine. It may not be of interest to you, but maybe someone in the USA or Canada can make suggestions for the sake of others who may be interested.
-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), February 13, 2000.
There was a very interesting treatise on this very subject in Consumer's Reports recently. Not sure just which issue it was, but I would wager you can find it at the local library. Good Luck!Brad
-- Brad (homefixer@mix-net.net), February 13, 2000.
Got one! The
-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), February 13, 2000.
Got one! The Danby Twin Tub DTT424 is available in the USA and Canada.
-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), February 13, 2000.
Check out www.staber.com as they are one of the better US made horizontal axis washing machines. The washer has the energy and water advantages of the front loaders but is made as a top loader due to the drum design. I know a few people who have them and love them. We still use an old Maytag wringer washer with seperate rinse tubs, but if we wanted an automatic washer the Staber would be first on our list. They will run well on a modified sine wave inverter, important to off-the-grid folks, and use minimal water and power while doing an excellent job of washing clothes. Most reputable alternative energy dealers handle them. They have also been written up in Home Power magazine. (www.homepower.com)
-- Jim (jiminwis@yahoo.com), February 14, 2000.
Maytag brought out a front loader based on European design last year (maybe earlier). It supposedly has gotten rave reviews. I know I will be looking at it when I buy a new machine. My old Maytag is over 20 years old and shows no signs of dying soon.
-- beckie (sunshine_horses@yahoo.com), February 14, 2000.
Thanks everyone for your help. We have used twin tubs before (when working on ships where water is truly conserved). The problem I have with Danby is that they do not sell direct to consumers, they only go through distributors. They suggested I talk to Wal-Mart or Sears about getting one special ordered. When I talked to Wal-Mart and Sears no one had ever heard of them. The chap from the local Sears (an hour away) emailed Chicago and their buyers their didn't know anything either.I have found one site on the internet which sells the machines but the price they offer it at is 25% higher than what the person at Danby said would be a reasonable price. They don't suggest a retail price but she was willing to give me a ball park figure. When I told her what I had found it for she thought it was way too high.
So we haven't made much progress but some. Thanks again for all of your help
-- kim and david (fleece@eritter.net), February 15, 2000.
The one I found was Jade Mountain - Washers . They look as if they would be overpriced, but I don't have a standard of comparision.If you still have contacts from your sailing days, maybe you could get a twin tub elsewhere - or even from a ship's chandler. The Sanyo, and I gather Toshiba are still making them; and twin-tubs are still available in the UK, and the Bahamas, as well as Australia, and other countries I know not.
-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), February 18, 2000.