Washers & Dryers Evolve

Whirlpool

Manufacturers of washing machines are retooling their designs, as stringent federal standards push energy and water usage to lower levels. And the standards likely will get even tougher.

Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) reports that manufacturers, consumer groups, environmental advocates and state energy officials have reached a consensus that’s expected to result in even stricter federal standards for energy and water use that will take effect in 2015. Top-loading washers must save 26 percent more energy and 16 percent more water by 2015 than they do today, and 37 percent more energy and water by 2018 than they do today. Front-loading models will need to conserve 43 percent more energy and 52 percent more water by 2015. Currently, top-loading and front-loading washers have the same energy-efficiency and water-efficiency ratings. The new standards for front-loading washers are higher, because those models already are more efficient on average than are top-loading units, says Jill Notini, who is a spokesperson for AHAM. Dryers also must increase in efficiency by 5 percent by 2015.

Consequently, you can expect more-sophisticated controls that allow you to choose faster wash cycles for smaller laundry loads. These faster cycles use less water than a traditional cycle does. They also have a faster spin speed, which extracts more water than a traditional cycle does, so clothes spend less time in the dryer.

What you won’t find down the road, perhaps, is an agitator on a top-loading washer. General Electric, Kenmore, LG, Maytag, Samsung and Whirlpool have introduced high-efficiency top-loading washers in the past 2 years. Instead of an agitator, these washers use an impeller, or rotating disc, that’s at the floor of the drum that shoots up jets of water and circulates clothes. Whirlpool tells us that its impeller evolved out of previous washer designs, such as its 2001 Calypso, which was the first vertical-axis washing machine. Impeller models start at $600, and manufacturers say these types of washers will become common in the next 2 years.

Thanks to the impeller’s jets, high-efficiency top-loading washers don’t need to use the same amount of water that traditional agitator models do. An agitator washer that has 3.25 cubic feet of capacity and meets today’s water-efficiency standards would use 30.5 gallons of water to wash what Department of Energy considers to be an average load (8.15 pounds) for such a machine, says Ed Osann of National Resources Defense Council. An impeller top-loading washer of the same capacity and efficiency would use about 25.2 gallons to wash the same load.

CLEAN MACHINES. If you’re looking for a washer that includes steam cleaning, which helps to loosen stains, you should know that these washers have come way down in price. Steam was available from only a handful of manufacturers in 2009, at $1,200 and above. Today, every manufacturer except Asko, Bosch, Fisher & Paykel and Miele has washers that incorporate steam, and these washers start at $800. We expect this price to fall below $600 in the next 2 years.

Meanwhile, Kenmore and LG have introduced front-loading washers that have drums that move and vibrate differently. LG’s front-loading washers combine up to six patterns of rotating motions, depending on the characteristics of the load: rolling, stepping, swinging, scrubbing, tumbling and filtration (a fast spin that sends water filtering through the clothes). Heavily soiled clothes, for instance, get the scrubbing motion, which makes the drum pivot quickly and tosses clothes from side to side. LG says the result is a more aggressive cleaning, even in cold water. These washers start at $1,000.

Samsung approached the cleaning capability of its washers by targeting how they use detergent. Last year, the company launched PowerFoam, which pumps air into the detergent to completely dissolve it before it gets to the washer’s drum. The result is a thick lather that has more volume to cover all of the clothes that are in the drum. Samsung says this improves cleaning performance in either hot or cold water, but no independent data support its claim. The experts with whom we spoke say they haven’t verified Samsung’s cleaning effectiveness.