Front load versus top load automatic washers
It's unfortunate that front load washers did not catch on in the US. I largely chalk it up to the original Bendix and to a lesser degree, the Westinghouse machines not being great performers.
The Bendix was just too small and did not clean that well because of the small drum size, the slant front Westinghouse has worked better but tangled things so badly that people got tired of them pretty quickly.
By 1990 the white Westinghouse front loader was actually the top rated machine in consumer reports they loved the machine and highly recommended it for its performance and energy efficiency, within two years they did not recommend it any longer because of the reliability problems which had always plagued Westinghouse since the 60s.
There's no reason people with limited space such as Eddie cannot have a front loader today the 24 inch European machines will do a queen size comforter easily, and they fit in a tighter space and save a great deal of energy.
Front loaders always put less lint down the drain than any top loader they just don't create as much lint because of the gentle tumbling action all you have to do is put an old stocking over the end of the hose and run a few loads. You can prove it to yourself a Maytag or a whirlpool. Top loader will put a lot more lint down the drain than any front loader ever did.
Also lint is not hard on a septic system unless you have all synthetic clothing I suppose I have never heard of such a thing lint breaks down. It's 90% cotton from clothing. I've seen analysis of the lint from lint from dryers.
Six or eight of us play naked ping-pong every week at a neighbor's house and we sit on chairs that have bath towel stripped over them so I decided to wash all the towels in his old Maytag dependable Care fabric Matic washer last week, when I went to unload the machine, I've never seen such a mess of lint There was lint all over the towels. There was lint in the wash basket. There was zero lint in the lint filter and there was lint clogging the drain strainer in the laundry sink.
If I had washed those towels in the front loader, you wouldn't of had anything in that drain strainer in the sink I know that from experience.
John
