To clarify...
Bluing is great. It is fast, cheap, easy, and effective. Pick up a bottle of Mrs. Stewart's Bluing and give it a try.
A suds saver is as described above (thanks DADoES!). In old fashioned basements equipped with double wash tubs, the regular drain hose would dump the water into one sink, and the suds saver hose would dump into the other. To use the suds saver, plug the drain of the storage sink, and the machine will drain the wash water into the plugged sink (the suds saver hose is longer than the drain hose and comes down to the bottom of the sink). The machine will then function and drain normally for the rest of the cycle. To use the saved suds (wash water from the first load, now in the sink) the machine must be set to return suds. The pump runs backward and sucks the wash water from the sink back into the machine. While the water is in the sink, the gross stuff either floats to the top or sinks to the bottom. The suds return function leaves some water behind in the sink so as to avoid sucking the nasty stuff back into the machine. After returning the suds, the machine must be topped off with a little additional water and detergent. A suds saver saves water, detergent, and fuel for heating the water, when compared to conventional draining.
The GE AW6 dates from a time when soap was used instead of detergent. Soap is harder to rinse out than detergent, and usually requires 2 hot or warm rinses. The AW6 saved the water from the second rinse to be used for the first rinse in the next load. Kind of like a suds saver for the rinse water. Combine a suds saver and a rinse saver and see how much more water we can use in our machines to get our clothes clean, and yet still use little water from the tap.
Seriously, how much water can we save? Can we even approach modern front-loader water thrift with the benefits of traditional top-loading reliability and performance?
I want to see some numbers here, people!
Dave
Bluing is great. It is fast, cheap, easy, and effective. Pick up a bottle of Mrs. Stewart's Bluing and give it a try.
A suds saver is as described above (thanks DADoES!). In old fashioned basements equipped with double wash tubs, the regular drain hose would dump the water into one sink, and the suds saver hose would dump into the other. To use the suds saver, plug the drain of the storage sink, and the machine will drain the wash water into the plugged sink (the suds saver hose is longer than the drain hose and comes down to the bottom of the sink). The machine will then function and drain normally for the rest of the cycle. To use the saved suds (wash water from the first load, now in the sink) the machine must be set to return suds. The pump runs backward and sucks the wash water from the sink back into the machine. While the water is in the sink, the gross stuff either floats to the top or sinks to the bottom. The suds return function leaves some water behind in the sink so as to avoid sucking the nasty stuff back into the machine. After returning the suds, the machine must be topped off with a little additional water and detergent. A suds saver saves water, detergent, and fuel for heating the water, when compared to conventional draining.
The GE AW6 dates from a time when soap was used instead of detergent. Soap is harder to rinse out than detergent, and usually requires 2 hot or warm rinses. The AW6 saved the water from the second rinse to be used for the first rinse in the next load. Kind of like a suds saver for the rinse water. Combine a suds saver and a rinse saver and see how much more water we can use in our machines to get our clothes clean, and yet still use little water from the tap.
Seriously, how much water can we save? Can we even approach modern front-loader water thrift with the benefits of traditional top-loading reliability and performance?
I want to see some numbers here, people!
Dave
