washing machine using cold water

northernstar007

ive been in my house over 30 years when i 1st moved in a new washing machine was new on the list
in it came a hoover that lasted and lasted over 15-20yrs and the thing i`m getting at is it took in hot and cold water
but now the new 1`s is cold water only
and straightaway its warming up to 40c now why have they got us warming up from cold to hot using expensive electric while we could be taking in hot and cold for the rinse

macman

Domestic w/m's have been cold feed for many years now, as it cuts the manufacturing costs. That's why they're so cheap compared to 30 years ago.
The w/m manufacturer doesn't pay the leccy bill...

northernstar007

yeah its been changed a few times since and all cold feeds, id rather pay a bit more for a twin feed

Mstty

Even if you can find a hot fill.wqsging machine unless you wash over 40oC its unlikely to use the hot tap connection.

Spies

Tip hot water from your combi into the detergent drawer if you want,  I know my machine doesn't heat until 20 minutes into its cycle though so might want to use a power monitor to figure that bit out. 

MattMattMattUK

northernstar007 said:

ive been in my house over 30 years when i 1st moved in a new washing machine was new on the list
in it came a hoover that lasted and lasted over 15-20yrs and the thing i`m getting at is it took in hot and cold water
but now the new 1`s is cold water only
and straightaway its warming up to 40c now why have they got us warming up from cold to hot using expensive electric while we could be taking in hot and cold for the rinse

Firstly to cut down on water waste, secondly because it would then have to bleed off the cold water in the pipe, before mixing with cold to hit the target temperature, it would have to do this every time, significantly increasing water waste and engineering cost in the mechanism (extra valves, mixing system, additional temperature sensors, additional system to dispose of the water ahead of blending etc.). 

Most washing used to be done on a 40c or 60c wash, now with advances in the cleaning products, as well as improvements in the machines themselves 30c is fine for almost anything, 20c and even pure cold is fine for most clothing. 

northernstar007

ive got  a combi like most people. its always in eco mode untill i need hotwater then i warm the water up on the combi under 30 secs and then turn the sink hot tap on till the water has fed through (15-20secs) then the washer is next to sink so it would be getting hot water more or less straight away, i still think its more expensive with just a cold feed

Mstty

What's the energy rating and have you monitored the power usage?

MattMattMattUK

northernstar007 said:

ive got  a combi like most people. its always in eco mode untill i need hotwater then i warm the water up on the combi under 30 secs and then turn the sink hot tap on till the water has fed through (15-20secs) then the washer is next to sink so it would be getting hot water more or less straight away, i still think its more expensive with just a cold feed

The split of combi vs tank is around 50/50, so 50% of those with a gas boiler and almost all with electric water heating it has to come from a tank. The washing machine does not know how to turn on the comi boiler or so it would only kick in based on flow. The washing machine would then need to wait for input temperature to stabilise, to blend that hot input water with cold input water to reach the correct temperature in the washing cylinder, if it is too hot it could damage the clothes or break down the enzymes in biological detergents, if it is too cold it would have to be heated in the machine anyway. The mechanism would be complex increasing cost as well as introducing multiple points of failure into the system as well as increasing water used/wasted.

There would be a marginal saving if the water could be heated using gas or E7/off-peak electricity, however this would be offset by the increased cost of the machine due to it being more complex and the likely shorter service life and the small cost of the water wasted. Modern washing machines are reliable, cheap and relatively cheap to run. Making a marginal saving on operating cost at the expense of greater initial outlay and shorter service life is likely to increase the TCO, even if it ends up at break even there is no real demand for it and manufacturers will not want to have to sell less reliable products due to reputational damage, so it is a no go.

jrawle

I used to have a circa year 2000 hot fill machine until two years ago, and it never took in hot water on the programmes I used. (I don't use anything hotter than 40°C, and have never seen a need to; clothes and bedding always seem perfectly clean.) Clearly it assumed that the hot feed would be too hot, and so took in cold and heated it internally, so it makes no difference that my new machine is cold feed only.

Most people have a length of pipework between their hot water source and the machine, so often the water wouldn't be hot enough anyway. The hot water would then be left to go cold in the pipework.

Also, please don't be tempted to do what a poster in another thread did and connect the cold feed to a hot tap. Not only may this damage your clothes, but it will also take in hot water for the rinses and so use several times the hot water, probably more than cancelling out the energy savings!

JGB1955

We 'travelled' in New Zealand back in 2005.  We were surprised that they only had cold fill washing machines. 17 years on, we also (now) have only cold fill machines. We rarely wash anything above 30 degrees.  Seems to make sense to me!