I'm having one of 'those' days
I really am going to have to write all my favourite recipes down properly, and then keep them all in one place! I was going to post that curry sauce recipe I promised tonight, but guess what, I have hunted high and low for it, and I cannot, for the life of me, find it. My Grandmother used to say to me; “Look in the first place you looked, but look properly this time!” Well Grandma, I’ve looked in the first place three times now, and have worked my way down the list each time before repeating, and still I can’t find it!
I know what will happen, when I finally give up and stop looking for it, I will find it when I start looking for something else! It always works that way with me! Have I mentioned before I’m a ‘scatter-brain’?
Anyway, on to the Front Loader versus the Top Loader debate I promised.
As I have had one of each I feel qualified to highlight the pro’s and cons’s for both of them, but keep in mind that it is only my point of view. The fact I haven’t had a top loader for many years now, and they must have had some technological advancements in that time, also has to be remembered. I live in the UK where front loading machines are a lot more popular, and so there is a larger selection here, I am aware that in the US the top loading machines are more popular so there is a larger selection of them there.
First up I should explain that I make my own washing powder and use vinegar as a fabric conditioner, whether that makes a difference to the performance of the machine I don’t know, I do know my machines last longer than anyone I know.
So here goes;
Top Loader Pro’s;
• You have more control over the amount of washing your clothing gets. You can choose when enough is enough.
• They don’t need to be plumbed in anywhere, you can put pipes into your sink or water butt if you so wish, without there being a problem.
• I haven’t seen any graphs or anything, but I should imagine a top loader could be more economical on the electric, as long as you don’t use it to heat the water, then this would turn in to a con.
Top Loader Con’s;
• They are very labour intensive. I’m a lazy woman, so I didn’t appreciate this. With the machine I had, you had to pull the soaking wet clothes out of the wash drum and dump them in to the spinner drum. It did nothing for my back I can tell you, as the machine was the wrong height for little old me!
• I’m also a messy puppy and I was always landing up with as much water on the floor as was in the machine.
• Remembering not to overload the machine can a problem and I often landed up with a bucket full of wet clothes that had to be pulled out after the wash had started.
• Top Loaders use a lot more water, so if you are on a meter, then they can work out very expensive, and if you then use the machine to heat the water – well you get the drift.
• Hoses can, (and frequently did for me), come away from their designated positions, often causing small floods, but the floods were kept to a minimum because I was standing over the machine, though it often made me go and get changed into some dry clothes!
Front Loader Pro’s;
• You can put your washing in and walk away; the machine will wash, rinse, add conditioner and spin the clothes without your supervision.
• There is no heavy lifting of soaking wet clothes; they come out spun and ready to hang.
• New machines are economical to run and can do half loads, cool washes etc.
• There are no hoses to contend with, they get plumbed in and then you forget about them! The only time you will have a flood is when the machine breaks down, and that has not happened to me with the three front loaders I have owned.
Front Loader Con’s;
• There is little control over the wash, once the door is shut and the machine turned on, the machine is in control, so you can’t spot a stain, pull the garment out and give it an extra rub.
• Pre-soaking is difficult, unless you use a separate bucket for the job.
• Learning the different controls can be confusing.
• Remembering not to overload the machine can a problem, I just try to think about how heavy the clothes will be once wet.
So to sum up;
If you like to be in control of the wash from start to finish, and have the time to hover over the machine, then a top loader may be the one for you.
If, on the other hand, you are like me, short in stature and short of time, then a front loader may be just what you are looking for.
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5 comments:
What you said was very interesting because my top loading machine is attached to the incoming water pipes and the out going water is hooked to a sewer pipe so there's no work for me other then toss the clothes in, set it to desired time and let her rip. When it's finished the clothes are only damp, from there I toss them into the dryer, set the time and walk away till finished.
You did have some very good points about the front loader.. I never thought about not being able to adjust anything after it's started. The one worry I've had about the front loader is whether it ever leaks.
With the top loader I had over here in the UK, I had to fill the machine, do the wash, empty the machine, fill the machine to do the rinse, and then spin. As I said the machines have moved on a bit since then obviously! lol
It is not unheard of for front loaders to leak, but then it isn't unheard of for top loaders either. The door seals are pretty robust, and if you dry them carefully after each use, will last for a very long time. You do, however need to be careful with the drying, so as not to pull the rubber about too much and stretch it out of shape. I use a dry microfibre cloth for the job, as it just 'slurps' up that little puddle.
Now that's something else for me to keep in mind.. I'd gladly dry the rubber off but I seriously doubt my hub or daughter would bother with it.
I've taken a couple pic's of my washer and dryer and will do a blog about them in a couple days.. their both down in the basement on concrete floor with a sewer drain in front of them so if they ever do leak there's really no problem there.
Wow, Sue! I myself have been used to top loading washers for most of my life. As a small child, I would watch Grandma with her top loader, but it was the type with a wringer, and she had to refill it for rinsing. But as I grew, we had top loaders that did everything, even rinsed and rung out the clothes. When I came here to Italy, all I had ever seen were front loaders, and I always felt that they didn't get my clothes as clean, because there wasn't as much agitation as the top load washers gave, in America. So, I have learned to prescrub spots that I need to get out. You must share with me your recipe for making your own laundry soap, please! The vinegar you speak of, what would it be an equivalent to here? Vinegars here are mostly of wine. red and white. but, I did see a bottle of apple vinegar somewhere a few weeks ago. Oh, I love vinegar!
I think one of the big things that put me off using my top loader, apart from having to drag it over to the sink, push the pipes on the taps, drain the machine, then add another load of water for the rinse, and then haul the sopping wet clothes out of the tub and dump in the spinner, er where was I? Oh yes, the one big thing was I had to stand on a foot stool to reach inside the tub, it was just too high for me! lol
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