Does any one have or know about top-loading washing machines?

System

I had one several years ago, i loved it, until i was horrified to see how much my electricity bill had gone up.

Thistle-down

I hadn't thought of that Judi, I knew they were lower rated in energy consumption but figured they were on for such a short time compared to front-loaders that it wouldn't be a problem.

Math, how is your electricity bill?

Many thanks!!!

~Lynn

Mr_Proctalgia

I have a top loader - But a different type, mine is a drum loader not an agitator. The drum is orientated front to back and you load it through a "trap door" It is great! We bought our first one 31 years ago and changed it 3 years ago to the same updated model.:D Because they have two bearings and are about as complex as a knife and fork they last forever, what I have done to save energy is to siamese the hot and cold feeds together so it is cold fill only (it uses little water and the hot never got from the combi to the end of the pipe before it filled, so it filled with cold anyway.:mad: I run it on a timer overnight. It is only 45 cm wide and would fit under a worktop if it could be hinged up.

BTW its a Whirlpool AWG 613 1100 spin, the previous one was almost identical but made by Thomson (French BTW)

HTH

MATH

I have a Whirlpool Ultimate Care 11 which takes a 7.5kg load although I find the roll over of clothes in the water isn't too good if you fill it to the max. The way it and most agitator machines was is to roll the clothes over in a vitical loop. At the bottom of the tub they are beaten by the paddles they then rise to the top before being dragged to the bottom again. I can wash in hot, warm or cold water and rinse with warm or cold (I only ever do cold rinses) and I can adjust the water level to wash small, medium, regular, large, and super sized loads.

Cotton/heavy cycles are 12 and 9 min washes plus fills and rinses times and staypress (Synthetic) are 9 or 6 min washes. Delicates are 6 mins wash.

Rinse cycles are cursory compared to British machines. Mine is fairly standard. It drains away the wash water and does a mini spin. Fills with rinse water and injects fabric condition (if you use it) agitates a bit and drains. Then goes into the final spin doing two 30 second spray rinses early on in the spin cycle and finishes. I do have an extra rinse option which I use if I've added bleach to the wash water. At first I thought the rinses may not be enough but Mrs MATH and the MATHLETTS have delicate skin and they have had no probs in all these years.

I rarely do a full hot wash but tweak the fill to get a hottish warm for pastals and whites and darks I was in coolish warm water.

My utility bills havn't changed much as far as I can remember (it is a long time ago since I changed washers) My leccy bill dropped because this machine does not heat the water from cold like my old tumbler did and my gas bill rose by about the same amount because I was heating water to wash using my gas boiler. Top-loaders use hardly any leccy to wash because they have no heater.

If you like fiddling with your wash and snatching the odd grimy gusset from the thrashing suds to give a good hand scrub then this is the machine for you. If you are on a water meter look elsewhere. HTH

hennagirl

I lived in America for a while and really miss the space to be able to have one as they are brill and cut the laundry time. Have seen top loader in Costco at a very reasonable price - equivalent to a decent brand front loading machine. Sorry can't remember model off hand but fairly sure it was whirlpool. They also do the big drum US dryers. Don't forget that Costco also offer a free extended guarantee with all electricals.

AussieLass

In Oz we also mainly have top loaders. (automatics) It is only recently that people are choosing front loaders as it's less water to use. I will also go for a front loader once the one I'm using gives up the ghost. Before my automatic I used a twin tub which is also popular.

Math (the expert):D is spot on about them so I haven't really got anything to add as I've only used a front loader a few times while over in Scotland actually. My thoughts on them were that they hardly fitted any clothes and they took ages. Also we wash every load in *cold* water. Never use hot water at all. Everybody does that, it's very rare to use hot water in the load.
You can get an attachment on some automatics (it's a bit dearer) that pumps the water back into the laundry tub and then you can re-use it. Bit like a twin tub but seeing as you mainly have your machines in the kitchen I expect that wouldn't be a good idea. We have a separate laundry room. I wish I had bought it as it would have been fab as our last place relied on tank & bore water only.

bargainqueen_2

I had a twin tub when we first moved here but it was tiny, so changed to a MASSIVE toploader. I liked it but because it had a "stick" down the middle to turn the clothes, things constantly got stuc around it, especially bedsheets, so if you buy a toploader don't get one with a stick! I am now back to a front loader (7.5kgs) and absolutely love it, yes it takes longer but I mainly use it for cold wash only and it is SO much better for the environment using so little water.

MATH

Things getting wrapped around the agitator is down to the design and motion of it and doesn't happen with all machines. Mine never gets things wrapped around it. Agitators that turn 360 in one direction only are more prone to wrapping just like non reverse dryers roll things into a ball. I would look out for a two-part agitator, it has paddles at the bottom and the top looks like a cork screw, top and bottom work independently of each other HTH.

jlj_2

Hello,
does anyone know if top loaders are lighter or the same as front loaders?
I have my washing machine down in the cellar and its broken so need a new one but remember when we got it having a terrible time getting it there as it was so heavy. (I now have 2 dead front loaders down there!).I've always had front loaders before but would get a top one if it was easier to move around.
Thanks

odds-n-sods

can't say about heavier, but I prefer them! Wish I had one here, but we couldn't fit one in in this house. They are SO much faster! They may use more water per load, but as the loads are bigger I suspect it evens out.