Greetings! Opinion requested: Best new machine for felting (hand knits)

[dnastrau]

Hi everyone!

This is my first post (although I have been reading posts here for quite awhile) and I am so glad to see that people appreciate old appliances (as well as new ones) as much as I do. I thought I was one of the few out there until I found this great website. Keep up the great work with all of the "saving from the krusher"!

I wanted to see if anyone here could offer some advice; my Wife and I are looking to move soon and will probably end up buying new appliances in the process. She is heavily involved in knitting (has a business) and wants to know if one type of washing machine works better than others for the "felting" process. We currently have a 2000 MY KitchenAid toploader with the infamous "shredmore" type corkscrew agitator. She is beginning to hate this machine as it is pretty hard on clothes and is terrible for felting (too harsh I imagine.) I told her to hang in there until we move - then we will buy something else. She has her eye on the LGs in red but I am afraid of the service issues based on other posts here. My general thought is that a front loader is the way to go as they are gentler in wash action and should make better "felters." Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance,

Andrew S.

 

[frigilux]

The action of a front-loader is definitely more gentle on fabrics. If you want a machine with the capacity of an LG, I'd recommend a Whirlpool Duet (or its close cousins the Kenmore HEt4 and Maytag Epic). As a bonus, their dryers have large drums, too.

I have an old-school 3.0 cu. ft. Frigidaire and it's been a great washer. My only complaint is that Frigidaire dryers have a comparatively small drum (about 5.7 cu. ft. compared to the Duet/Hettie/Epic's 7 cu.ft.)

The Whirlpool Duet also gets great marks for reliablility and energy savings.

Welcome to AW.ORG! I'm sure others will weigh in with their front-loader suggestions, too.

By the way, what is the 'felting' process?

 

[dnastrau]

felting process

Hi Frigilux:

Felting is when you knit something in a loose gauge (100% wool) and you run it through the washer in soap and hot water for the purpose of tightening up the fabric to the point of no longer being able to see the stitches. It would be similar to shrinking a wool sweater by accident.

My DW knitted a beautiful bag that she wanted to felt in the washer only to have the agitator of our KA TL washer rip a hole in it - on gentle! You can imagine her reaction... >:O

Thanks for the welcome and the advice on the Duets. We have friends that have them and love them. I like the Duet machines in all of their incarnations as well as the Bosch/Siemens units. The Frigidaires appeal to me for their cost/benefit ratio but the small dryer is a drag. My DW loves the look of the LGs but I am concerned about the servicing issues. We'll see what develops - I agonize over purchases like this before I finally make a decision.

Thanks!

Andrew S.

 

[kacyc1]

LG

I have had the LG 2277 set (below the red steam washer, but still with internal water heater) since December with absolutely no problems. I love them. I used to have Bosch machines and I will say that the LGs are much quiter. I bought my set at Best Buy and bought their warranty as well, so it does give me peace of mind. Hope this helps! And good luck!

 

[panthera]

definitely not LG

I have an LG here in Germany, it has run for seven years continuously, no problems.
That said, after all the service problems people have had with LG in the US, together with the bullshit salesmen have told me about how good LG service is in the US, I will never buy an LG anything in North America. And I can't recommend them for that reason.
I do, however, have a neighbor who is very happy with the way her Electrolux FL (Frigidaire, Kenmore, the "small" GE in the US) treats her hand knitted sweaters, hats, scarves, etc.
The 5.7cft dryer is not that small, really. It handles the whole wash load out of the Electrolux washer perfectly well. Still, where is it written that the washer and dryer have to be identical? I hesitate to recommend Maytag anything, but I do know that some have an extra drying rack for knitted goods. Perhaps your best bet, a mixed set...the washer perfect for felting and delicately washing knits from Electrolux, the dryer from Whirlpool.
Just make sure you get the extended warranties...and use HE detergents only. (I use a non-enzyme "bio-" detergent to wash my wollens in my FL here in Germany.)

 

[mixfinder]

Felting

I saw Martha do a segment on felting, using thrift store sweaters to create felted material from which to cut patterns and sew into finished garmets.
The explaination she used focused on the heat of the water and extended high temp drying time to insure shrinking and tightening of the wool.
Martha's laundry room shows a Whirlpool top loader and a Maytag frontloader. The hotter the water the more quickly it "felts". The process of drying has more to do with the felting than the washer. It is recommended to over dry the fabric.
The newer washers have dumbed down hot water over rides and it is almost impossible to get a true hot wash without using an external hot water source. (hand fill)
Kelly

 

[brisnat81]

If heat is required

With long wash times,

Look at a Bosch or a Miele Front Loader.

Both of these machines heat their own water to any temp you desire. (in the case of the Smaller Miele up to boiling)

They should also both be able to give a long wash time of up to an hour, without doing any damage to the item.

From what I've been reading, Automatic Temperature control found on most of the Front load and top load machines in the US, now thinks that 100degF is hot, 85degF is warm, and 65degF is cold. (I realise these figures can change from machine to machine) Therefore if you need heat, then you need something with a heater built in, that can be used on a selection of cycles.

 

[dnastrau]

Thanks to everyone for the insight and advice!

Andrew S.

 

[golittlesport]

Yes, a dumbed down hot water temp would not be good for your wife's felting process. Most machines with a automatic temp control that lowers the hot temp are top loading agitator washers trying to meet energy requirements. I have a Frigidaire front loader and although it has automatic temperature control, it does not lower the hot water temp...only works on warm and cold.

 

[whirlcool]

Get a Miele, then you can have a true "boil wash"! Don't those got up to 205 F?