As Far As Cleaner Clothes Go...

[qsd-dan]

but WHY the heck are they using so little water?

One word : Eco-nazi's

FL's with internal heaters are definitely the way to go, but I see them being banned (internal heaters) in the future for US residence because they *gasp* use energy.

Actually, depending on the area, increasing the temps on a gas water heater may be cheaper than using an internal resistive electrical heating element. I dunno....

The US has been building modern front loaders for residential use for about 14 years. You guys overseas have been using them, for what, 45+ years? You're are far ahead of us on the leaning curve!

 

[frigilux]

Dan, although I've had excellent cleaning from the new Frigidaire, I've also wondered how it would stand up to really grimy jeans/shirts. I'm going to grind some garden dirt/mud/grease into these items tomorrow before work, then wash them on Friday---give 'em some time to dry, first. The machine has proved its worth in cleaning very stained items from the kitchen (and short white socks with blackened bottoms) using very little water, but that's still different than a load that has a lot of dirt/mud in it.

I'll use a prewash, the stain treat option, the Heavy cycle and an extra (3rd) rinse. No Max Fill option (not that it adds much more water, anyway), no steam, no 152 degree sanitize wash. Persil Bio detergent with some Tri-Zyme. If the results are poor, I'll try the same test with 152 degree water and the steam option. That wouldn't use any more water, but it would be a long cycle (about 1 hour and 45 minutes).

 

[ronhic]

Dan...

...to some degree you are right about that....Europeans have been using them for 45 or so years, but smaller homes, lack of dedicated laundry rooms and the need to 'build over/in' has dictated the style of the machine more than anything else. Oh, and don't forget, the US had them too...

Looking at what people post about how they do their laundry is facinating for me. Generally speaking, Europeans are less fazed by cycle time and overall capacity than Americans with Australians somewhere in between.

The number of times I've seen written in these pages "I'm not going to wait over 30m/45m/1hr etc for the washing to be done" is amazing. This style of comment appears to be more normal for Nth Americans than anyone else. Europeans seem to care less about the time taken and more about the thoroughness of wash, gentleness and, in the last 20yrs, environmental impact.

To some degree, the environmental impact of a machine is starting to make people think differently here too but because of water restrictions caused by a seemingly never ending drought rather than anything else (though, we have flooding in parts of the country at the moment).

The use of powders or liquids, gels, capsules, tablets, pre-soak, additional boosters, Cl. Bleach etc is also interesting as is the obsession with 'santizing' that seems to have pervaded some cultures....it is all part of being in a group where cultural differences are as vast and as different as the countrys we live in.

For my money, and to get this back on track, I tend to use the front load machines in a laundromat....I prefer them.

 

[ronhic]

I'm going to grind some garden dirt/mud/grease into thes

Its only a fair test if you also put similar items through a cycle in a top loader....else what are you comparing the cleaning ability to?

 

[frigilux]

Chris--I'm not too concerned with a comparison to top-loaders; I just want to see if my washer can handle dirt/mud/grease. It'll be fun---and maybe a disaster, LOL.

 

[ronhic]

Fair enough....

....but others may make an indirect comparison for you with 'my XYZ would have shifted that with no trouble' type statements....

 

[qsd-dan]

I've also wondered how it would stand up to really grimy jeans/shirts.

An interesting note on different fabrics:

I have several sets of old pants and shirts that I wear for when I'm guaranteed to get downright disgustingly dirty. Some pants/shirts find their way into the tub caked in grease and dripping wet in oil, and ALL of the stains come out....every time! And then there other pants/shirts that I use that may get a drop or 2 of oil and maybe a small smear of grease, and the stains stubbornly refuse to shift and are permanently set..... every time. What makes it even more interesting is that all of the above are washed in the same tub at the same time. *Scratches head*

 

[brisnat81]

I'm curious about the comments regarding pet hair.

We've got a Rottweiler that sheds 1.5" long hairs which end up deposited everywhere.

When Mum had a DD Whirlpool, and you washed dog blankets or towels you always had to take a damp sponge and wipe the machine out at the end, because it was coated with dog hair. You could run it through empty but nothing would get rid of the hair short of wiping it out.

Now she's got a Miele FL and whilst there are hairs here and there left behind after a cycle, there isnt enough to make blanket out of the hair like their was on the whirlpool. It all ends up in the Laundry tub drain.

So I'm not sure where these theories about Dog hair come from. The blankets still end up clean and hair free even when line dried. Has anyone done a side by side comparison?

 

[whirlcool]

It seems that the companies who make FL machines have switched to letting the dryer do the job of animal hair removal from clothing. Hence, the coating of hair inside the wash basket.

I swear nothing got rid of dog hair like the GE FF machines.

 

[qsd-dan]

When Mum had a DD Whirlpool.....

Did it have a lint filter? A lot of them don't.

I really should have stated that most TL's made today DON'T have a removable lint filter anymore that's easily accessed and serviced (yes, this even applies to the coveted Speed Queens), so it's pretty much a moot point for modern TL's made in the last 20 years or so. The lint filter issue pretty much applies to vintage TL machines only, with the exception of some makes and models, like GM Frigidaires and other overflowing rinse type washer designs.

 

[mark_wpduet]

I have two cats and wash their beds/blankets and then you get cat hair on your clothes as well. I don't have any issues with pet hair. I should mention that I adjusted my Duet to use more water a long time ago (but not by much)

Also on mine, the sanitary cycle is almost 2.5 hours, and when it's running on sanitary, (which I don't use often) it heats the laundry room up somewhat like the dryer does. Touching the side of the washer or the door feels like a dryer that's running on high heat.

Speaking of cats! I'm LMAO at this vid I just found!

 

[dirtybuck]

My sister had a 10 year old Maytag that broke down on her back in '04. Instead of paying 400.00 to get it fixed, she and her husband decided to start looking at new washers. A woman that she worked with who was from England, highly recommended a front loader. She ranted and raved and said how much more dependable and economical the front loaders were (my sister bought a Kenmore, and has had it now for 5-6 years, and as far as I know, no major problems with it).

I put on here in the original post about another brand of washer they have at the laundromat that I go to. That brand is Ipso, a commercial manufacturer for front load washers. They are triple loaders and run about the same amount of time as the Maytags. But to me, they don't seem to get the clothes all that much cleaner. I will, however, use one when I have my comforter, pillows or somewhat larger loads of laundry that need to be dealt with.

 

[frigilux]

Mark---Two-and-a-half hours for the Sanitize cycle? Wow, I thought mine was long at 1 hour 47 minutes. There's a Quick Sanitize cycle as well, which comes up as 60 minutes on the screen, but I haven't tried it, yet. I'm curious to find out how it chops close to 50 minutes off the regular sanitize cycle.

Cats: I added two kittens to the household this summer, and they've grown enough to start shedding. I have inexpensive chenille couch covers on the sofas in the family room, and they'll be seeing a lot of the washer, no doubt. The female cat (Mouschi) has figured out how to turn on the TV. I woke up the other night and could hear the TV, so I went downstairs to find the cats sitting next to each other on the sofa watching an infomercial!

 

[norgeway]

JUST GET YOU A>>>>

NORGE!! it will outwash ANYTHING!

 

[amyswasher]

I was fooled!!!

I was ticked when I first got my LG washer and it took forever to fill with water, and only 2 rinses. I also thought all FL had built in heaters. After the shock, it cleaned better than my DD that was on it's last leg. My DD is still in the shed if the LG craps out.

 

[launderess]

IMHO

Have to say for generally soiled laundry, front loaders do a better job of our wash than top.

Using the Miele, set for a warm or hot wash, and allowed to fill with cold water (profile wash), gives excellent soil and stain removal. Laundry comes out clean, white, bright and with less damage over the long haul than top loading machines.

Being as all that may be, one can get decent enough results from a top loading washer, but it involves laundering the way our grandmothers did (pre-treating, soaking, pre-washing, etc...) and quite allot of other palaver. Even then results aren't always up to Miele standards.

Do like top loading washers for soaking and if one has to launder large amounts of all the same sized items (like napkins), that then to ball up in front loaders.

Am totally over laundromat front loaders however. Their wash cycles are way to short to get anything clean. That is unless one can find commercial strength laundry products designed to work with short cycles. Also their extraction is not much better than some old top loaders.

Items tend to emerge from laundromat washers almost soaking wet when compared to my Miele set at 900rpms. Suppose it doesn't matter if one is going to bung the lot into those laundromat dryers that basically bake one's laundry dry, but still. That poor extraction means lots of detergent and soil residue is being cooked into one's wash.

Took a very large load of sheets to the local laundromat as to save having to run several cycles in the Miele. Just for leffs, after the washer was finished bunged them into the Hoover spin extractor (three or four at a time). When finished there was several gallons of water extracted. Drying time went from almost an hour (laundromat dryers), to <15mins.

 

[toggleswitch]

It always amazes me that this discussion comes up time and time again.

It appears that entire societies tend to like what they are familiar with.

I can get passable results with a front-loader with an additional 3 rinses (7 in total). It is a pleasure with pillows, sneakers, large bedding items coats etc.

However for a well-washed and well-rinsed everyday laundry that is quick and deep-cleaned one can not beat a top-loader.

There is a place in my heart and my home for both styles, actually.

Personally I want to get a Euro boil-washer and condenser dryer just to see "How the other half lives"

 

[laundromat]

IMHO

I have had all types of front loading and top loading agitator and tumble washers from the original FRIGIDAIRES,Westinghouses,Bendixes,Whirlpools..., etc.

The top loaders may have taken less time but,used a hell of a lot more water,detergent,bleach,fabric softener and energy. I've owned the old Westinghouse laundromat half hour units,Whirlpool Duets,KitchenAid Ensombles,Askos, LGs,Frigidaire (Gallery and Affinities) and the front loaders,hands down, do a much better job in uniformly cleaning,rinsing and extraction of water than any type of top loading agitator washers I ever owned.Once in a while,I use the heavy duty 58 minute long cycle but,usually use the quick cycle (28 minutes) that has a wash and two deep rinses.I have gotten out more stains,some thought to be permanent because they had been washed numerous times before in a top loading agitator type washer.If I see stains that look difficult,I pre-treat them with Spray-9 and set the cycle on heavy duty. Once the wash water has mixed for a few minutes,I rest the same cycle but set the delay from 30 minutes to three hours.Once the time is up,the unit proceeds through the wash program I already set it for.I'm never in such a rush that I watch my clock.My clothes always smell fresher and are cleaner than they ever were in any top loading,agitator washer.