LAUNDRY is a fact of life. Like death, taxes and maybe Britney Spears, there’s no way to get away from it.
But washing clothes has gone beyond stuffing soap and socks into a big metal box and turning the dial to “Wash.”
Between high-efficiency detergents, Energy Star ratings, Stain Inspectors, drying cabinets, fabric-care systems and patented washing technologies with names such as “Calypso” and “Harmony,” choosing a washer is enough to send a person’s head into the spin cycle.
Dave Chapman of Atom Appliance in Livermore has been in the appliance business for more than 20 years and has watched the evolution of washers from water-guzzling behemoths to eco-friendly, high-efficiency machines.
“Lots of our customers come in with a really good head start,” says Chapman, standing among the rows of shiny white washers. “They’ve read up on the new machines and the Energy Star efficiency ratings, and they’ve read their PG&E flyer. They’ve really done their homework.”
A lot to learn
Back in 1992, the United States Environmental Protection Agency introduced Energy Star as a voluntary labeling program designed to identify and promote energy-efficient products. While the government-backed program initially labeled computers, monitors, office equipment and residential heating and cooling equipment, it has expanded to include major appliances, electronics and even new homes and commercial buildings.
For washing machines, the Energy Star label means a significant reduction in the use of water and energy, which is friendly to the environment and to the wallet.
New rules in effect
As of Jan. 1, the performance levels for Energy Star-qualifying washers were modified based on calculations made by the independent Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE), and the new standards are stricter than they ever have been.
To qualify for Energy Star status, a washing machine must clean clothes using 50 percent less energy than a standard washer — or a washer manufactured before 1994. This means that a full-size, Energy Star-qualified washer will use anywhere from 18 to 25 gallons of water per load as opposed to 40 gallons per load in a standard washer. It also will show a significant reduction in the use of electricity, measured in kilowatt hours per year.
(Details of the CEE Residential Clothes Washer Initiative High Efficiency Specifications can be found at www.cee.org
According to Energy Star, the reduction in water and energy use per load can save you up to $110 per year on utility bills. Factor in the 10- to 12-year life span of a washer, and the savings start to add up.
On top of the utility savings, in California washers with an Energy Star label can qualify for a rebate of $25 to $125 from PG&E, depending on the efficiency rating. In addition, some Bay Area water utilities offer rebates of $50 to $150, depending on where you live.
In 1997, Maytag came out with the Neptune, a super-capacity, front-loading washer that was one of the first machines to get the Energy Star rating. According to Chapman, Frigidaire has had a front-loader on the market for almost 25 years, but it was not marketed as enthusiastically as Maytag’s Neptune and did not grow in popularity. Now there are multiple Energy Star-qualified machines on the market and, with a few exceptions, almost all of them are front-loading.
“Front-loading machines make up a large part of our business,” says Chapman. “You can do larger loads with less water and energy, and the clothes last longer because there is no agitator to damage them.”
Unlike top-loading machines that fill to the drum with water and use an agitating column to swish clothes clean, front loaders only fill halfway and then rotate clothes through the water. When the clothes have less contact with moving hardware inside the drum, they are less susceptible to damage.
While front loaders seem to be the darlings of the Energy Star rating, right now a few top loaders also fit the bill. Both General Electric’s Profile Harmony and Maytag’s newest Neptune TL are agitator-free, top-loading machines. The Harmony uses a system called HydroWash to swish clothes clean, and the Neptune TL has two wheel-like “tumblers” situated in the bottom of the drum that gently lift and submerge the clothes in the water.
Because high-efficiency machines use less water, they also require less soap — half the amount of a standard washer. Tide and All manufacture detergents with high-efficiency (HE) labels. These generate fewer suds, meaning less environmental impact.
While HE detergents are not required for new machines, they are highly recommended. Chapman says that one of the biggest complaints Atom Appliance gets concerning high-efficiency washing machines is that they don’t get the soap out of the clothing.
“We remind them that they need to use less soap,” he says. “With HE detergent it really only takes a fraction of the amount of normal detergent. Once people remember that, they never have to call back.”
There are no Energy Star-rated dryers, but drying time is still part of the overall efficiency calculation. New washers such as Maytag’s Neptune line and General Electric’s Harmony have increased spin speeds that force extra water out of the clothes and therefore reduce drying time.
A standard washing machine spins at 400 to 500 revolutions per minute, whereas high-efficiency machines spin at a whopping 800 to 1000 rpm. Chap-
man likens it to the difference between a Pinto and a Lincoln Continental — while both cars will get you where you’re going, one will do it a lot better.
The increased spin speed actually can move a washer that is less water efficient into a higher efficiency tier because of the energy it saves in drying time.
Chapman, who had the good fortune of winning a GE Profile Harmony in a contest when he was in the market for a washer, says that the rpm level extracts enough water to allow him to dry a load of towels in 23 minutes, just more than a third of the time it took with his old washer and dryer.
Maytag has also introduced the Neptune Drying Cabinet, a stacked combination of a tumble dryer and an upper drying cabinet with racks and a gently undulating rod on which to hang delicate and wrinkle-prone items.
All this technology comes at a price.
The Neptune Drying Center retails for $1,199 to $1,349, and that doesn’t include a washer. The Whirlpool Duet HT, Consumer Reports’ top-rated machine in 2003, retails for $1,299 — also a bit out of reach for the average middle-class family, particularly when decent standard washers cost $300 to $800. In fact, in Consumer Reports’ comparisons of top- and front-loading machines, it is noted that, unless you live in an area where water and energy rates are high, the savings on utility bills are “not likely to make up the price difference over a washer’s typical life span.”
So the main motivation for purchasing an energy efficient washer begins with the environment, not money.
“I find that most people are already interested in conserving,” says Chapman. “But when they’re given an incentive like the cash rebate, it makes a difference.”
Whether you’re planning to get a standard washer or a souped-up machine with all the bells and whistles, Chapman recommends consulting with a reputable dealer and doing your homework.
“Talk to someone who knows what they’re selling and can give you lots of information about the product,” he says. “Some places just want to move machines, and that’s just not the way to do business.”
From The Alameda Times