EVERYBODY should read this!

[ronhic]

I can't stand...

....the smell of bleach, so don't use it at all in washing.

I know that people use it to 'sanitize' their washing, but why? Is your laundry that full of deadly contagents that it NEEDS sanitizing?

Warm water, a good powdered detergent - 'problem', if their is one, solved.

 

[abcomatic]

Go green, go wringer

Thank you Norfolksouthern. I have 2 top load automatics. A 1997 Kitchen Aid and a 1982 Maytag. The Maytag is by far the better of the 2.
The automatics don't get used much, but the ABC, Speed Queen, Maytag wringers do, as well as the Easy and Hoover Spin dryer machines. They use far less water, clothes come out spotless, and as far as time consuming, I can wash 5 loads, rinse them and have them on the line in about an hour, try that in an automatic of any kind.
Yes, you do have to attend to these machines, but then all of the laundry is done for the entire week, not a load here and a load there.
Safety, Yes, you can get hurt with the wringers,but then again, you have to be careful when using them. You have to be careful when driving a car, drinking hot coffee from McDonald's and the list goes on.
So, give me a wringer machine any day. Most have only lasted 50 years or more with NO mechanical break downs. My 2 cents,(sense) worth. Have fun with the laundry in whatever machine you use. It would be so boring if we all washed the same way. Gary

 

[favorit]

Sanitizing

Chris,

it makes sense in some particular situations.
Think of those aprons/towels used when handling raw meat or those "towels" used in dairy.
Think of those households with incontinent children/elders or with a member that took a fungal infection

in these cases boilwash, or LCB .... or both

 

[norfolksouthern]

The wringer is very effective, and can also be very educational, to say the least. Fortunately, it is spring-loaded and the rollers are rubberized. You are very unlikely to die in a wringer washing machine accident, unless somebody heaved it out a 3rd story window and it fell on you. To run it without getting hurt, you just need enough sense to not try licking a frozen flag post in the middle of February!

NorfolkSouthern

 

[abcomatic]

Here, here Norfolk. Thanks, Gary

 

[ronhic]

it makes sense in some particular situations.

I agree, it does make sense in SOME situations. But I would suggest that 95% of the time there is no need for it and for the majority of people, none at all unless there is someone violently ill with gastro, a butcher in the house or a dairy maid....

 

[iheartmaytag]

it makes sense in some particular situations.

Like if you are a germ-o-phobe. I take no prisoners, I bleach the hell out of everything, countertops and floors included. I have even been known to put a little bleach to wash my vegies; just in case some migrant farm worker decided to take a whizz on my lettuce.

 

[ronhic]

??????????

You jest?

 

[jbuscemi]

I must be a lot older than most of my fellow Americans who are writing in under this discussion. I was a child in the late 40's and early 50's. I grew up in the Bronx and nearly EVERY laundramat in our neighborhood had front loading washers. Most of them were Bendix models. In outr home we had nothing but front ;loading machines., My friends who lived in apartment houses had a Bendix machine in the cellar for the building to use. On a rare occassion you might fone some of those Thor combo clothes/dishwashers in someones aoartment. Front loaders wew the NORM in many pplaces for a good long time. I have to laugh when Iread in this site that front loading technology is nre to Americans. It IS new if you are under 40 or have a very short memory. Those machines used more water than their modern counterparts. The bendix of old filled up about 1/3 of the way on the front window. Even the old slant front Westys used a goodly amount of water and the wash came out quite clean in 45 minutes ! Even with their "high" water useage , they STILL used less water than most top loading machines today. The problem with many of today's front loaders is they use too little water to rinse clothes properly. Awhile back on this entry somementioned P&G convincing users that you need thick suds to get really clean clother. Remember in those days soap was the norm. And when you use SOAP, thick suds is one component (aloing with hot or very warm water) NECESSARY TO GET CLOTHES CLEAN. One must look bACK AT THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT WHEN DISCUSSING "VINTAGE"washers and the soaps used at the time.I prefer a front loading machine to a rop loader any day. I guess it is often what you are used to. I have a WHite Westinghouse front loader which I bought new in 1989 and it still gives wonderful service...without a repair! However one must know how to use the front olader ( or the top loader for that matter) to achieve the best results. I do feel that the front loaders curretly on the market do not use enough water to rinse properly.

 

[electradeluxe]

a lot of the Front loaders on the market do have a super rinse option!!! i had to use it all the time to cope with the suds from the Ariel excel gel,i don't need to use it now as i've switched back to powder

 

[travlincub321]

Lots of opinions and ideals and such

I have had primairly Kenmore/Whirlpool made units.. Very sturdy, very easy to operate and decent enough...
I have had a couple front loaders, one made by frigidaire and one by bauchneaut.. The frigidiaire one was a floor model and developed a leak at the dispenser drawer and kept flooding my bathroom..Sears offerd up a swap out to a baucnaut made one and i hated it from the word go..
I am back to a DD clothes munching whirlpool.. My clothes dont come out as clean and sometimes have that whrilpool musty launderd clothes smell (i rewash them in hot water and it goes away).. I want another front loader.. Do i think anything will last more than 5 or 6 years? Probably Not.. Will i go spend alot of money on a washer? No.. $600 is my cap... And it will proly come from craigslist and sit next to my clothes muncher

As far as the dishwashers he covered: Sears is now using Fridgcrap for there more basic ones and thats a mistake.. I dont think there is a decent dishwasher still made.. There are alot of acceptable ones... If i was to go buy a dishwasher now it would either be the $299 Magic Chef by maytag i saw at RC Wiley, the $339 whirlpool with power clean at rc wiley or the $299 Amana i saw at homo depot...Maybe the kenmore rebadge standard tub as well... But thats it.. Just a cheap simple dishwasher.. The one down fall with the amana and magic chef is the fact you have to bend to your knees and touch the floor to load them..I am arthritic and i cant do this easily.... All the tall tubs are like this.. I know i wont buy a whirlpool tall tub... i have used several and none has cleaned the dishes the way i wanted.. i have a whirlpool dura wash now in my condo and have a 2002 Regular Kenmore Sitting in my garage wating to into the dura wash's spot.. Those are fairly decent dishwashers with the latter being better at cleaning, having more options and not sounding like a toyota that a 18 year old child has molested.. Ge dishwashers are hit or miss... I might consider the $329 one at home depot but id have to thunk on it..There loading capitcy is very small and considering EVERYTHING in my house gets run through the dishwasher, thats an issue...

As far as stoves go... Im biased... GE or nothing else... My gas whirlpool is ok, but i have had so so experiances with them....

Frigidaire cant make a stove to save its life, unless its one of the basic Tappan units and those seem to be decent..but even the kenmore based one suck

Maytag made stoves are ok, just cheap, cheap cheap and cheap..With a little bit of cheap

Samsung makes a decent stove, but it has a lot of ge basied parts in it if i am not mistaken...

The korean appliances seem to be ok, i have used samsung stuff off and on, but it just doesnt leave me with a good feeling.. With the exception of a samsung microwave hood.. That i really liked

Now on to the heating and cooling... The only two brand/companys i know that make stuff thats decent is American Standard/Trane and Rheem/Ruud.... Lennox is hit or miss... I have a lennox system now and it makes funny noises on occasion... It works like a champ and i like it... But i still wonder.... Btw-If you have ever had to fix a bryant or a carrier system, it will be expensive i dont care what you say.. Same with Heil and that brand... Coleman evecon is mainly mobile homes but my parent shave one its ok, just leaves me worried..

Ok thats my 2 cents

 

[launderess]

For What It's Worth

Will add my voice to others in saying there really isn't one proper washing machine for all purposes. This coming from one who owns both a older Miele front loader, and Hoover Twin Tub.

There are times one just wants to get on with things, and not spend endless hours doing the wash, and for that a top loading or even twin tub does the job quite well, thank you very much.

For instance certian items like very crisp bed linens require a very high water level as they do not compact down, in short should be totally immersed water. Now for the Miele the obvious answer is to launder fewer items per load, but that means taking ages to wash. OTHO any good top loading washer or twin tub can have the things whished about, done and dusted long before the Miele.

As for cleaning ability and or "swishing things around in dirty water", there are items one really wants washed in a top loader or twin tub because of the muck, dust, lint and such. Just did a load of socks we wear around the house instead of bare feet, and they were spotless with one wash cycle in the Hoover, and all muck was in the wash water, and down the drain. Moreover since one juiced up the wash formula with STPP, dirt stayed away from fabrics and goes down the drain. Really should have taken some before and after photos to show the difference.

As water and or energy restrictions turn front loaders into washers that launder via the wet wipe system, top loading washing machines (at least the vintage or very good modern designs), look very attractive. I mean everyone goes on about how gentle front loaders are towards fabrics, however recent Consumer Reports tests show many USA machines rank rather harsh on textiles. This is mainly due to ever longer cycles using so little water that laundry is being constantly rubbed against itself.

All the various features and frills added onto modern front front loaders are window dressing that serves as one more complex system to break down, and cover for the piss poor washing results from using too little water. One does not need steam and the like if there is enough water in the tub to do the job to begin with.

L.