The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Kenmore is currently developing diagnostic technology for the company's high-efficiency washers that will enable customers to hold a cell phone up to the machine so it can connect with a technician's phone, telling the repairman what's wrong. Many newer models of high-efficiency washers also utilize cutting-edge "smart" technology, enabling the machines to detect the size of a load and the type of fabric, so they can run at optimal temperature and water levels. Most top-loading high-efficiency washers use a combination of spin cycles and either a wash plate at the bottom of the tub or a small agitator to create friction and clean the load. Today, most major manufacturers offer both front- and top-loading high-efficiency washers. When high-efficiency washers began hitting the market in the mid-1990s, they were all front-loading, meaning that they operate on a horizontal axis, much like a standard drying machine. Instead, reports The Washington Post, they rinse fabric using high-pressure sprays, saving even more water. Most high-efficiency washers don't have to fill up with water for the rinse cycle, either. Read on to learn about how washing machines are constructed and some of the costs and benefits of purchasing a high-efficiency washer. Most major laundry detergent manufacturers offer high-efficiency products, and they're clearly marked with an "HE" label. If you use normal detergent in a high-efficiency washer, it could produce too much suds, and possibly even flood the machine. Because they use less water, high-efficiency washers require special laundry detergent that is specially formulated to produce fewer suds than normal detergent - leaving no residue on clothes.īecause of lower water levels, clothes tumbling in and out of the water naturally create more suds than traditional washing machines.
The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists reports that, on average, 80 percent of the energy used by a washing machine goes toward heating the water, so it makes sense that high-efficiency models use less water. Washing machines score points by using less water and by getting the clothes dryer in the spin cycle, so that they don't need to spend as much time in the dryer. The paint color we used is cloud white by Benjamin Moore and I love it.Efficiency, under the new guidelines, refers not only to the amount of electricity it takes to power the washing machine itself it's also a measure of the amount of energy used to heat the water and the energy needed to dry the clothes. We also put in new flooring ( similar here) and lots of drying racks! These ones hold hangers and these can hold hangers or just folded clothes and I spray painted them in matte black. We added in a new laundry sink and vanity ( similar one here), and gold hardware for all the cabinets and pantry. It’s all removable incase we ever need to get the washing and drying machines out. We also used this ikea desk top to make this waterfall counter top and backsplash. So we knew we needed extra storage and we would have to use up every inch of the space because it’s not a large laundry room by any stretch of the imagination ( although for sure there are smaller ones) and maximizing cabinet space was our first task!Īll of the cabinets including the pantry we used in the back right hand corner to house my husbands tools came from Ikea. ? As you can tell not only was it in need of some TLC in the design department it also needed some love in the organizing department. Here is what our laundry room looked like before …. We finally got to it this May and after 4 months of hard work it’s finished and I really can’t believe the transformation. When we bought this house almost two years ago ( wow writing that feels shocking that we have lived here for so long, feels like yesterday that we moved in) the laundry room was the one room in the house that I really really wanted to makeover but I knew it would be a big project and it would have to wait. I know I’ve been promising photos of our laundry room reveal and we finally finished everything up this past weekend and I am so in love with how it all turned out!