World of Washers

From Sherry:

Hey Brad,

I've been reading some of your blog on the new 'fangled' front load washers. I was thinking of buying the Amana even before I stumbled upon your blog, and now am even more interested. But I have a couple of questions that I'm hoping you can answer:

(1) is the Amana (3.5 cu ft) big enough to effectively clean a king-size bed comforter? (all the appliance sales people and an internet appl repair guy said I would need at least a 4.0 cu ft… do you agree? I was hoping to find something more moderately priced, such as the Amana, but that can handle large bulky items like king-size comforters and dog beds)

(2) why do you comment that it's necessary to have an internal water heater in front-load washers? (just wondering since the Amana doesn't have one, but all the consumer reviews state it cleans great).

Oh, and thanks for the price 'heads up' on the Amana -- I was going to order it from Sears, but can save over $100 by buying it from Home Depot… and they have free home delivery!! Excellent!

Thanks for your time!
Sherry

Hi Sherry!

I saw your comment before I turned in last night, took the time to write a long reply, and then my computer decided to cop an attitude and freeze up on me when I hit the "submit" button. I was not happy.

I had a nice, long-winded answer to your first question regarding capacity when I realized I sounded like an idiot. So I'll just say that 3.5cf would probably be pushing it for a king-size comforter. It will mostly depend on how thick your comforters are. I had many customers come into the store dragging a Hefty bag with a comforter stuffed into it to see how capacities really stacked up. Give it a shot and see what you think!

In regards to internal water heaters, I should probably revise my statements that they are a must-have in frontload washers. Clearly, they are not required. They are very useful, though.

There is a great post in the FAQ over at the GardenWeb Laundry Forum about the virtues of the internal water heater. The best benefit to me is the fact that the internal water heater can generate and maintain much hotter wash temperatures than a machine without. This is especially beneficial on whites. I never used bleach in my Samsung with the water heater, and they always came out white white white!

I think there are many laundry nerds (myself included) who tend to overthink laundry and washing machines. An internal water heater definitely is not required to get a good wash. I would say that a washer with a heater will outperform one without, especially when it comes to very stubborn stains. But that is not to say a washer without a heater will not do what it is supposed to do: clean your clothes.

Thank you for writing!

~Brad

*Note: After reading my response to Sherry, I realized the keywords in her question regarding capacity were "effectively clean". I should have pointed out that even though you can really stuff a frontload washer full, the machine will not function properly if you have to lean against the door to get it shut. You need to leave a fist-sized space at the top. The clothes will compress slightly when the load is saturated, but you still want to be sure you leave enough room for the clothes to actually tumble, not just spin around in circles with the rotation of the drum.