How to Determine Which Washer Features You Really Need
By: Katherine Salant

The basic principle for cleaning clothes has been pretty much the same since time immemorial—wet the garment, agitate it to loosen the dirt from the cloth fibers and then use more water to rinse the dirt off. What has changed over the millennia is the method of agitation. Pounding garments with stones was common for several thousand years and along the way someone also figured out that using heated water got out a lot more dirt.

Over the centuries other innovations were introduced and by the early decades of the nineteenth century, most households in America used a washboard with grooves in it to wash their clothes. The women of the house rubbed each garment against the washboard over and over until the dirt came out, using soft homemade soap. A washboard with metal or glass corrugations was an important innovation because it reduced the risk of splinters. But the rubbing or pounding to get the dirt out, the plunging of the garments into very hot water to wet and rinse, and the twisting to get the water out took all day and made laundry the most odious task in every household. Sensing an instant market for any alternative, numerous nineteenth century entrepreneurs patented washing machines with rotating barrels, rotating washtubs and boxes on rockers. But human muscle power was still required to operate them.

The first washer with an electric-powered motor was marketed in 1906, but it only washed the clothes. The housewife still had to use a wringer to extract the water at the end of each cycle. Far less muscle power was required, but laundry was still a time-consuming job. The first machine to use centrifugal force to extract the water (what we commonly call a spin cycle today) was marketed in 1926. Fully automatic washers did not become widely available until after World War II.

Fast forwarding to the present, so many washers are manufactured today, and with such a variety of features, most buyers will find the choices overwhelming. How can you keep all the features straight, and what is a reasonable criteria for selection besides price?

Although the manufacturers tout the superior cleaning ability of their higher-end machines, the least expensive models with the most basic features will do the job, said Carolyn Forte of the Good Housekeeping Institute, which tests and rates many different appliances including washers. "For the average homeowner who doesn't have heavy-duty stained clothes, I would be hard-pressed to find a machine that wouldn't clean them. For most households, the dirt is general body soils and any washer can get them clean."

If your clothes are unusually dirty—say you're an auto mechanic or a dirty boots builder or you frequently play football or soccer in the rain—a higher end machine might make a difference, Forte added, noting that how clean the clothes get is also affected by who is doing the wash. For example, pretreating heavy stains before washing the garment will make a significant difference in the cleaning outcome.

As you sort out the different features in the 20 to 40 machines on display in your local appliance store, however, useful features will emerge that could sway you towards one machine over another. If you spend a lot on your wardrobe and own silk shirts, merino wool sweaters, and a cashmere scarf or two, a machine which offers not only "delicate" but also "silk," "wool," and "ultra handwash" (such as the Sears Elite HE3t $1499) could be in interest. Such refinement is possible, Forte explained, because the more expensive machines have a more sophisticated motor that can vary the speed of the agitation. The less expensive machines have only one speed; on those machines, the motor starts and stops during the delicate cycle.

The more expensive machines will also let you tailor the spin speed to the delicacy of the garments being washed. With the Sears Elite HE3t, for example, the spin options include extra high, high, medium, low, extra low, and no spin. You can actually simulate the garment manufacturer's washing instructions "handwash in cold water and do not wring" instead of hoping for the best with the "delicate" cycle you have now. For sheets and towels and other hardy items, the HE3t's "extra high" spin of 1200 RPM's will remove about 55 percent of the moisture and significantly reduce your drying time. Many of the mid-priced and other high-end machines also have a "max extract" feature, some with RPM's as high as the HE3t, and all substantially higher than the 500 to 600 RPM's found on the most basic machines, which on average extract only 44 percent of the moisture.

Other washer features of interest:

Auto temperature. The machine will mix hot and cold water to a preset "warm" and "cold" so that the water is warm enough for the detergent to dissolve and optimally perform. During the winter in many parts of the country, cold tap water can be too cold to wash your clothes well.

Water level settings. Some of the very high-end machines sense the amount of clothing and automatically adjust the water level, but all except the most basic machines offer at least four settings.

Capacity. If you have a large household or athletes who produce an astounding amount of laundry each week, a larger capacity machine is a must. The front loaders generally hold more because they don't have the agitator. The largest capacity machine of them all, the Kenmore Elite HE3t holds 22 bath towels. But two top loaders, the Kenmore Calypso ($1269) and the Whirlpool Calypso ($1209) also have an impressive capacity because they have a midget-sized agitator.

A definite minus for the front loaders, however, is the actual loading because you have to bend over to put in the clothes. To minimize this fact, the machines and their matching dryers are often displayed in stores on a raised platform. For its front-loading Kenmore Elite HE3t washer and HE3 dryer, Kenmore offers 12-inch high pedestals at $150 each. Each pedestal has a drawer that will be handy for stashing laundry detergent and other cleaning paraphernalia, but if you have small children, you must child-proof it.

A stain-removing feature. Maytag's Neptune's ($1399) much touted, computerized, interactive, touch-screen "Stain Brain" includes precise directions for removing more than 55 common stains. This is handy, but the machine does not remove them with a push of the button--you have to do the prewash treatment yourself. Adding a different twist, the Kenmore Elite HE3t will vary the water temperature of the same cycle to get out different types of stains. Early in the cycle, the water is cooler to remove blood or grass stains. A few minutes later the water temperature is increased to get out grease spots. However, Forte noted "there's no magic to stain removal—sometimes removal is luck. It can depend on the fiber and the fabric. If the stain doesn't come out, it's hard to say it's the fault of the machine or the detergent."

Energy efficiency and water usage. Since about 85 percent of the energy used to wash an average load of laundry is not consumed in operating the machine, but in heating the water used in it, machines that use less water are more energy efficient. Since the front loaders use less water, they use less energy. The most efficient front loaders use less than half the amount of water used in the average top loaders. Simply washing with cold water, however, will conserve energy and is also recommended for colored and many delicate fabrics.

Washing machines with the Energy Star designation are 50 percent more energy efficient than the current minimal allowable standard. Most of the Energy Star machines are front loaders, but some top loaders such as Kenmore's Calypso, Whirlpool's Calypso, and Fisher & Paykel's Ecosmart ($699) also qualify. Some states and localities offer rebates if you purchase a machine with the Energy Star label. You local appliance dealer will surely know if a rebate is being offered in your area.

What about your dryer? The choices are easier because there aren't nearly as many bells and whistles. As you go up in price you'll find more choice in temperature and all but the most basic machines have moisture sensors that will turn off the machine when the clothes are dry. Some of the higher end machines have a drying rack for tennis shoes, so they won't make a horrible noise as they tumble thru the drying cycle. Since you may only wash your tennis shoes once a year or perhaps never, this may not be so useful, but in some machines the same drying rack can also be used for sweaters that should be "laid flat to dry."

Web site information:Every washing machine manufacturer has a website. The information includes "suggested retail prices," but the appliance industry is very competitive and most dealers will match the prices offered elsewhere.

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