So how much does it actually use?

[iheartmaytag]

I was at Sears this weekend looking at the Kenmore Steam Washer. Also looking at their twin the Whirlpool Duet Steam.
My question: How much water do they actually use in a normal load?

I asked the salesman this question and was told, "It uses 73% less water and 55% less energy than the standard top loader."

Wonderful, how much? My Maytag super capacity uses approximately 50 gallons for a normal load. How much do the front loaders use?
"About 73% of that."
"So how much?"
"I think it's about 30 gallons."
"Then that isn't 73% less."
"Maybe it's 13 gallons."
"So which is is?"

He didn't know, do any of our experts? On a normal cycle, how much water do the FL HE machines uses? The 13 gallons sounds correct for a 73% reduction, now I just have to know.

 

[brisnat81]

I would say that 13 Gallons for a large US FL machine sounds a little low.

The rule of thumb here, is that to qualify for the water rebates, a machine must use no more than 10L or about 2.5 Gallons per KG of clothes.

My 5.5kg Miele gets away with about 50L per load which is about 12.5 Gals.

There are obviously ecconomies of scale when the machine holds double the amount of clothes, you dont need as much water for an empty fill, but I would assume to saturate the clothing you would need fair bit more than I need at 5.5kg.