Your opinion for Washing machine

[Vera]

I'm going to buy a Washing machine. I checked semi-auto and fully-auto machines. semi-auto seems to be fit as It's only for two people.But, It says, semi-auto consumes more power than fully-auto?  Since, there are only people would that matter? any opinion will be appreciated

[Bombastinator]

2 hours ago, Vera said:

I'm going to buy a Washing machine. I checked semi-auto and fully-auto machines. semi-auto seems to be fit as It's only for two people.But, It says, semi-auto consumes more power than fully-auto?  Since, there are only people would that matter? any opinion will be appreciated

I did a search on washing machines a few years ago and found there hadn’t at the time been much functional change in technology.  There appeared to be “belt” or “ direct drive” which wasn’t actually direct drive so much as a rubber vibration isolation mount instead of a belt that lasted a bit longer but was more of a PITA to replace.  Dryers could come with a “dryness sensor” that would occasionally use more power based on how much the clothes needed to be dried.  It had some reliability issues though.

[Eschew]

HELLO, did someone call?

 

Automatic Washing Machine

• Hassle-Free: Constant connection to a water supply means you don't have to refill the machine with water after every use.
• Cleaner Wash: Mmm... Fresh laundry... Delicious.
• Space-Saving: If you go the two-in-one route, you can wash and dry laundry in half the space of a semi-auto.
• More Expensive: Yah. It might add to your electricity bill too.
• Longer Wash Cycles: Yah, but I doubt you'll mind this too much, unless you live with 5 other people who all decided to do laundry on the same day.
• Wash OR Dry: If you get a two-in-one, you gotta wait for one batch of laundry to finish before washing/drying the next batch.

 

Semi-Automatic Washing Machine

• Less Expensive: Yah, but while you pay less now in cash, you might pay more later in repair or hassle time. And time is money!
• Shorter Wash Cycles: Sure...
• Wash AND Dry: This means you can dry your laundry while your buddy washes theirs.
• More Hassle: Gotta add water every time you do laundry, gotta make you add the right amount of water, gotta move soggy clothing to the next tub after you're done washing it...
• Space-Hogging: Compared to two-in-ones, they take up more space. Because. Extra drums. Yah.

[Scheer]

Huh, I had no idea semi-automatic washing machines were even a thing...

 

I will say top load stays cleaner than front load... we get a sludge that will build up in the front seal of our front load. I assumed it was just the water from our well, but when I was complaining about it at a family event almost everyone else who has a front load mentioned they get it too. And if you let clothes sit in there for a few hours they get a musty smell to them. Really you just need to clean it every few months, and now that I know that it isn't a big deal, just never dealt with that on a top load.

 

That being said, everything else about a front load is better (IMO) than top load. Easier to get the clothes out, uses less water, seems to clean better, and the end spin cycle on mine works so well that some of my clothes come out dry straight from the washer. On top loads I've used everything will be smashed together around the sides and quite damp.

[Guest]

Well...  I'm going to barge in

 

I live in a flat and I own a two-in-one (front load) for 13+ years. Here we call them "washer-dryers". I chose a big one so that I can wash our duvets too.

before that I almost always had a top load washer. Got the dryer because of kid. And then discovered the bliss of the fluffy towels. Can't live without them now!

 

Never in my life have I heard of the "semi-automatic" O_o  Had to google that and was flabbergasted by their look.  At first glance seems like a pain to use.

 

Pros of the two-in-one:

• save space
• don't need to migrate the clothes from the washer to the dryer.

 

Cons of the two-in-one:

• when it's washing you can't dry (obviously). As long as I was alone that was not a problem, but... with a kid... another story. The volume of laundry suddenly grows exponentially O_o
• volume of washing and of drying is different. In my case: I can wash 9kg laundry but only dry 6kg.
• If one (washer or dryer) breaks down you don't have the other either. So hurry calling the repair service.

Now that I'm going to move soon, I'm considering buying again 2 separate machines.

 

edited to add:

the two in ones consume a tad more electricity, but you recycle less electronics when you need to change.

One more thing you have 3 kinds of two-in-ones (pump and evacuation).

• the 1st one is a pain in the ass as the water of the dryer goes into a "drawer container" and you need to empty it regularly by hand.
• the 2nd one needs evacuates the vapor and the heat of the dryer through the water evacuation, so you need to be sure that the conduits can take the load of heat...
• the 3rd one is the best and the latest as it's one with a heat pump and it reuses the humidity from the washing cycle to use it for the drying cycle. Hence you use less water and less electricity.

[dalekphalm]

5 hours ago, Eschew said:

HELLO, did someone call?

 

Automatic Washing Machine

• Hassle-Free: Constant connection to a water supply means you don't have to refill the machine with water after every use.
• Cleaner Wash: Mmm... Fresh laundry... Delicious.
• Space-Saving: If you go the two-in-one route, you can wash and dry laundry in half the space of a semi-auto.
• More Expensive: Yah. It might add to your electricity bill too.
• Longer Wash Cycles: Yah, but I doubt you'll mind this too much, unless you live with 5 other people who all decided to do laundry on the same day.
• Wash OR Dry: If you get a two-in-one, you gotta wait for one batch of laundry to finish before washing/drying the next batch.

 

Semi-Automatic Washing Machine

• Less Expensive: Yah, but while you pay less now in cash, you might pay more later in repair or hassle time. And time is money!
• Shorter Wash Cycles: Sure...
• Wash AND Dry: This means you can dry your laundry while your buddy washes theirs.
• More Hassle: Gotta add water every time you do laundry, gotta make you add the right amount of water, gotta move soggy clothing to the next tub after you're done washing it...
• Space-Hogging: Compared to two-in-ones, they take up more space. Because. Extra drums. Yah.

When a semi-automatic washing machine talks about drying, I don't think they're talking about a full dryer cycle.

 

I think they're talking about a spin cycle. In a "regular" (read: automatic top or front loading washing machine) washing machine, you put the clothes in, it gets agitated (washed), and then it spins itself to remove excess water ("salad spinner"). I believe this is what "semi-automatic" washing machines are talking about when they say it has a separate drying cycle.

 

You have one compartment that washes the clothes, then another compartment that spins the clothes to remove excess water.

 

In both cases, you'll need to either hang-dry the clothes or put them into a dryer.

 

With that in mind: Dual cycle washing machines that have a built-in dryer do exist. I have one in my apartment - the dryer function sucks ass, and it takes forever (like, 2-4 hours, and still slightly damp afterwards sometimes), but it does save a lot of space.

[greenhorn]

I know this thread is a few days old, but I wanted to add a few things in case OP has not reached a decision yet.

I have only once seen a semi-automatic washing machine and when I did, I was surprised such a thing is still being sold. I would not want one of these if I could get an automatic one.

I have one of these 2-in-1 washer-dryer machines. After a few months, I started using the dryer function less and less, because it took too much time and energy to get results I wasn't impressed by. After washing stuff that can still hold a lot of water, I sometimes add a cycle of high rpm spinning, which does help (especially if the chosen washing programme didn't allow for such high rate spinning).

What I would also look at are safety features such as AquaStop or similar (including all the variants and the level of protection they each offer). Ideally, the room in which you want to set up has a floor drain that would reduce the damage in case of a huge water leakage.

Noise can also be a thing. Some machines are equipped with new types of motors that are much quieter than their predecessors.

[Bombastinator]

On 3/2/2020 at 12:59 PM, Eschew said:

HELLO, did someone call?

 

Automatic Washing Machine

• Hassle-Free: Constant connection to a water supply means you don't have to refill the machine with water after every use.
• Cleaner Wash: Mmm... Fresh laundry... Delicious.
• Space-Saving: If you go the two-in-one route, you can wash and dry laundry in half the space of a semi-auto.
• More Expensive: Yah. It might add to your electricity bill too.
• Longer Wash Cycles: Yah, but I doubt you'll mind this too much, unless you live with 5 other people who all decided to do laundry on the same day.
• Wash OR Dry: If you get a two-in-one, you gotta wait for one batch of laundry to finish before washing/drying the next batch.

 

Semi-Automatic Washing Machine

• Less Expensive: Yah, but while you pay less now in cash, you might pay more later in repair or hassle time. And time is money!
• Shorter Wash Cycles: Sure...
• Wash AND Dry: This means you can dry your laundry while your buddy washes theirs.
• More Hassle: Gotta add water every time you do laundry, gotta make you add the right amount of water, gotta move soggy clothing to the next tub after you're done washing it...
• Space-Hogging: Compared to two-in-ones, they take up more space. Because. Extra drums. Yah.

Wash/dry is rare and expensive in the USA, and they tend to be electric only.  Also because they  often have no vent as they’re generally meant to be retrofitted in apartments they have to evaporate the water which makes for more electricity use and a muggy room.  Depends on how they’re made though.  They’re generally imported from the EU where differences in water/electricity cost are enough to make a difference.

[mr moose]

Wow, I didn't know there was a difference between washing machines (other than size and quality),  Here you can't buy anything other than a fully automatic washing machine.  You put the washing and detergent in, press the start button and when its done you dry your clothes.

[Bombastinator]

2 minutes ago, mr moose said:

Wow, I didn't know there was a difference between washing machines (other than size and quality),  Here you can't buy anything other than a fully automatic washing machine.  You put the washing and detergent in, press the start button and when its done you dry your clothes.

There have been a few for a long time.  The biggest one, which happened in the 80’s was a water clarity sensor that washes clothes till they’re “clean”.  Also happened with dishwashers. The belt/direct drive thing was around 2000.  It wasn’t that big a difference though it’s arguable belt is still superior.

[mr moose]

1 minute ago, Bombastinator said:

There have been a few for a long time.  The biggest one, which happened in the 80’s was a water clarity sensor that washes clothes till they’re “clean”.  Also happened with dishwashers. The belt/direct drive thing was around 2000.  It wasn’t that big a difference though it’s arguable belt is still superior.

I meant difference as in there are manual washing machines still on the market. 

 

 

[Bombastinator]

2 minutes ago, mr moose said:

I meant difference as in there are manual washing machines still on the market. 

 

 

Wringer washers?

[mr moose]

1 minute ago, Bombastinator said:

Wringer washers?

Never seen one for sale in Australia,  in fact the last time I saw one outside of a museum was in the 80's and I don't think it was used.

[Bombastinator]

12 minutes ago, mr moose said:

Never seen one for sale in Australia,  in fact the last time I saw one outside of a museum was in the 80's and I don't think it was used.

Then I’m not sure what you mean by manual

[mr moose]

1 minute ago, Bombastinator said:

Then I’m not sure what you mean by manual

There is reference to automatic and semi automatic washing machines.  If these terms exist for a washing machine then surely there is a manual washing machine.  All washing machines are automatic, some just have more features. 

[Bombastinator]

11 minutes ago, mr moose said:

There is reference to automatic and semi automatic washing machines.  If these terms exist for a washing machine then surely there is a manual washing machine.  All washing machines are automatic, some just have more features. 

Once upon a time a wringer was her was considered “automatic” because it had an agitator.  Back then “manual” was a washboard

[mr moose]

8 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

Once upon a time a wringer was her was considered “automatic” because it had an agitator.  Back then “manual” was a washboard

As I said, everything since the 80's has been automatic.  I haven't seen a washing machine advertised as either automatic or semi automatic for a very long time and I have never seen one listed as manual.

[Bombastinator]

7 minutes ago, Caroline said:

I have a semi but it's simply a drum with a 180º rotating impeller and a timer up to 1 hour, no dry or any other function

It needs 20L of water to wash and other 10 to remove any remaining soap. The clothes dry outside 

So no wringer.  A wringer might be nice.  Squeezes water out of clothes and makes em dry faster

[PurplDrank]

On 3/2/2020 at 2:25 AM, Vera said:

I'm going to buy a Washing machine. I checked semi-auto and fully-auto machines. semi-auto seems to be fit as It's only for two people.But, It says, semi-auto consumes more power than fully-auto?  Since, there are only people would that matter? any opinion will be appreciated

my opinion is do not go cheap on a washing machine. this is something that you are going to keep for years and take with you when you move. 

[Bombastinator]

One thing to remember is that just like computers not all “features” actually do much.  Unlike computers a washing machine is mostly moving parts and there is water involved, so things wear.  Replacement part cost and service life, energy and water use cost too.  I agree on the “you may really not want to cheap out on this one”.  Wacky features don’t impress me though.  Cost per wash and effectiveness of that wash is what does.  Look at reviews.  Especially long term ones.  LG had some washers out a few years ago that were basically unrepairable and broke down quickly to boot.  Horrible machines.  That was then and this is now though.

[Andreas Lilja]

Take the one that can run Doom.

[Goldilock]

Small wisdom from my parent "always get the most expensive top load washing machine you can buy".

[NF-F12]

If you can afford it, I recommend Miele brand machines because the quality of manufacture is very high and myself and many aquaintances of mine have used the brand for decades.

 

Perhaps one of the W1 machines, the design is dated but there is no real need to change it, only to continue to produce it properly.

 

It is not a cheap brand but you will not be buying another for a long time, the brand has not tried to make their products cheap to make at the cost of quality