Laundry room appliances offer many choices to ease the load

  • By Jennifer Kneuss of the Wooster Weekly News
  • October 18, 2009
  • 688
                        
Laundry is a fact of life. The process has not changed significantly for many generations, other than the advent of time-saving features. Your choice in laundry appliances can make a great difference in the amount of time you must spend in this often overlooked room. Washing machines These may be either gas or electric models, though electric models are by far the most common. Regular top-loaders: In these machines, center-post agitators swirl the clothing to clean it. They hold 12 to 16 pounds of laundry, use the most water, are somewhat noisy, and can shudder to a halt with unbalanced loads. They are usually less expensive than other types. High efficiency top-loaders: Do not have center post agitators; instead, they use different methods to move the laundry load about at high speeds. They may hold up to 20 pounds of clothing and wash more effectively and spin dry more quickly, conserving more energy. Tangled clothing and more wrinkles may be a result of the ending high-speed spin cycle. Front-loaders: Lift clothing and then drop them back down into lower levels of water. They are high efficiency at the same price as high efficiency top-loaders and have lower energy use. The machines handle 12 to 20 pounds of laundry well and are great for space-saving stacking. Compact washers: These machines are several inches smaller than standard models, can be stored in a closet and rolled to the kitchen sink for use and may be able to be stacked. Good for single or very small households, they only handle eight to 12 pounds at a time. Options: Ÿ Automatic dispensers for all laundry powders and liquids Ÿ Auto temperature control Ÿ Extra rinse cycles Ÿ Touch pad controls vs. dial controls Ÿ Porcelain lid vs. painted metal lid Ÿ Tub - stainless-steel or plastic vs. porcelain Ÿ Steam settings Ÿ Time-delay setting Clothes dryers May be either gas or electric models. Electric models may be more expensive to operate. Types: Full sized: Handle five to seven and one half cubic feet per load, but higher capacity models are available. Space saving: Handle about three and one half cubic feet per load and are good for apartments and singles. They are often stackable. Washer-Dryer Combos: These may be compact, full-sized, gas or electric, and are an all-in-one unit. Options: Ÿ Moisture sensor helps determine when a load is dry and automatically shuts off to save energy Ÿ Auto-dry cycles enable the dryer to shut off at prescribed levels of dryness, and may include an express dry cycle Ÿ Extended tumbling feature can help prevent wrinkles Ÿ Lint filter - top vs. front mounted, and may have a warning light to indicate filter needs to be cleared Ÿ Drum rack to keep tennis shoes and other items from tumbling Ÿ Drop-down vs. side opening front door Ÿ Touch pad controls/menus vs. dial controls Ÿ Exterior drying rack Ÿ Reverse tumble option Ÿ Steam drying to remove wrinkles Safety warning: More than 13,000 fires in the U.S. start in laundry rooms each year. Many of these come from lint build-up. To minimize this risk, do not use foil or plastic flexible dryer ducts. Choose flexible or solid metal ducts instead. Clean out ducts regularly, and clean lint screens after each and every load of clothes.


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