Get to know the Zune HD>>I know I talk about laundry a lot, but let's face it: I do a lot of laundry. Probably close to 20 loads a week. So it's on my mind pretty much all the time. (Why, yes, I am a terribly fascinating person!) My children don't help to reduce the amount of laundry in the house--in fact, they add to it by leaving clean clothes crumpled in a heap on the floor. By the time I get to the pile, it's a wrinkled mess. So, to the machine it goes, even though it would ideally be freshened and put away properly. And my husband? Well, he seems to think that dress shirts should live on doorknobs and towel hooks. And then, in a panic, he takes all his dress shirts to the dry cleaners and pays extra for rush service. Good times. The Whirlpool Fabric Freshener provides a potential solution. It looks like an oversize garment bag with a cord attached. Plug it in, add the proper amount of water, and press a button. The freshener removes odors, relaxes wrinkles, and dries delicates--in about half an hour. No more last-minute dry cleaning runs, and no need to run a wash just to freshen clothes that spent too much time on the closet floor. I've seen products that do this before, but they're generally much less portable and much more expensive. This one could ostensibly be packed to take with you on a business trip--and it costs just over $200. If you're spending $10 a week at the dry cleaners just to avoid pressing your shirts, you could rack up some serious savings.
Many traditional agitator washers use about 48 gallons of water for a normal wash cycle. That's a lot of water. But short of washing your clothes in the creek, what exactly are you supposed to do?
Haier has come up with a way to lower water and energy usage with a new top-loading machine that uses just 24 gallons of water for a normal wash, and improves timing on the quick cycle. The Encore washing machine uses a shower rinse system that showers clothes with water, then spins and drains simultaneously, saving water on every load while removing more detergent, soil, and irritants than other machines.
Dual Drive technology keeps your clothes tumbling rapidly so they don't tangle. Tangling stretches clothes and shortens their longevity. A floating tub system controls tension so the machine can balance the load effectively, sparing you that annoying buzzer.
The best part? The machine is Energy Star rated, so it's helping to keep you and the planet clean.
The people in this house seem to wear clothes every single day. Some of them even change their clothes multiple times a day, and my children believe that if you have worn an outfit for even one minute, it is laundry.
Say what you will about my parenting, but there is a lot of laundry to be done in this house. And my husband, who is a software developer and who can hook up complex home theater systems in nanoseconds, professes that the washing machine is "too hard" for him to master.
The Reason washing machine eliminates this excuse. Touted as "the best washing machine ever made," the Reason distills laundry to its simplest form. Pull out the drum, drop in the laundry, push one button, and walk away.
According to the company, the Reason weighs your laundry and doses exactly the right amount of detergent, softener, and water, meaning nothing is wasted. You don't have to choose a cycle or set a temperature or fool around with any of the other buttons that seem to confuse my poor husband.
Of course, if you want to select a cycle, you can manually turn the button to choose one of 20 wash programs, alter the spin speed, and so on. Just don't tell your husband. Or mine.
There are plenty of green washing machines on the market these days: some are constructed to be energy efficient while others reduce the amount of water used. But Indesit has developed a new kind of green washing machine--one that is constructed from recycled materials, reducing the CO2 emissions, cost, and raw materials necessary to build a washing machine. Indesit is making use of the recycled materials in two different washing machines, the Aquarius and Ultima. Both are part of Indesit's Hotpoint line.
The washing machines are built using a high-grade plastic polymer made from shredded plastic waste, which was recovered from refrigerators. Indesit developed the project with the help of the Waste & Recycling Action Plan (WRAP) and Axion Recycling, as part of an overall effort to recycle waste materials. The washing machines are available in the U.K. and have good efficiency ratings, making them an all-around green choice. The Hotpoint washers also have a solid selection of features, including a number of preprogrammed settings and an advanced interface.
Indesit is looking into expanding the recycled plastics program to all of its washing machines, as well as its dryers. The company plans to explore how it can use recycled materials for other components and parts for all of its products.
I like front-load washers. They make Laundry Day go faster, without a doubt. But there's a bit of a problem with the average front-load washer. It's pretty easy for a child to get into mischief--opening the door in the middle of a cycle, getting fingers caught in the door, and other situations I wouldn't have to worry about with a top-loading washing machine. Haier has created a family-friendly washing machine, though, that tackles these little problems. The HMW1270KFL Front Load Washing Machine has a child lock, as well as other integrated child-safety features.
Haier has included a number of other features in the HMW1270KFL Front Load Washing Machine: it has a door seal specially treated for mildew, a large door with 180-degree door hinges, and a Perspex glass door cover. The washing machine's controls are automated with nine preprogrammed settings, including delay start, easy iron, and eco-loads. The water level automatically adjusts to the size of the load, improving the efficiency of the machine.
At the moment, Haier is only offering this particular washing machine design through its Australian Web site. It's priced at approximately $450 in U.S. dollars. The machine comes with a two-year warranty.
Is there anyone in the country whose bedroom doesn't include a pile of delicates waiting to be hand washed?
Apparently not, if Aquatic Industries is to be believed. The company has introduced the Delicair Laundry Basin to provide relief for those of us with a deep aversion to hand-washing.
The Delicair basin looks remarkably similar to a standard utility sink, and its size is about the same. But its walls are lined with built-in air jets that "lift away dirt from the fabric with a gentle and effective bubble action," making quick work of washing your delicates. Features include a 30-minute timer, variable speed air blower, and an electronic control panel. The acrylic sink surface is available in two colors (white and biscuit--whatever that is) and the basin ships with a 10-year warranty.
Of course, such luxury is not cheap: the lowest pricing we could find online was $300. But it just might be worth it if you regularly invest in quality clothes that need a little extra care.
(Via Unplggd)
Meet the iBasket.
(Credit: Guopeng Liang)It's not quite the washing-machine robot I've been waiting for, but it will have to do in the meantime. This finalist from the Electrolux Design Lab '08 contest is called the iBasket, a Wi-Fi-connected laundry hamper from the future. Guopeng Liang submitted the winning design.
The idea is to use this as a hamper, throwing your dirty clothes in as they accumulate. The iBasket then senses when the load is full and initiates the wash cycle. Since it is Wi-Fi-enabled, the concept washing machine can even alert you when the load is complete.
Made out of acrylic, recycled aluminum, and plastic, the iBasket certainly looks cool. Besides the unfortunate name, (please, please, change before production) the only other wish I would have for this device is for it to have legs.
Legs. You know, like a robot. It looks pretty cool with its clear, sleek design, but it would look even cooler if it had legs and automatically ran around the house looking for things to wash. Along with my robot vacuum cleaner and concept Bubble Dishwasher I wrote up the other day, my house would be a welcome haven for all those cleaning-obsessed robots.
(Via Born Rich)So you went out and got an HE washer because you love the environment and the energy savings. And you've been feeling pretty good about your choice--using less water and wasting less energy is a good thing, after all.
So where's that funky smell coming from?
Turns out that just like your fancy sports car needs regular oil changes, your high-end, high-efficiency washer needs a little TLC, too. And Whirlpool has come up with the tools to help you: the Affresh washer cleaning kit with Power Puck tablets and Grit Grabber cloths.
The system is fairly simple to use: add a Power Puck to an empty washer and run it on a normal cycle with hot water. Then, after the machine finishes running, gently pull back the rubber door seal and use the rough side of a Grit Grabber cloth to clean the entire surface.
Behind the scenes, the Power Puck tablets use oxygenated bubbling action to penetrate and remove residue that can accumulate behind the washer drum. That residue--which Whirlpool helpfully points out could be detergent, lint, sloughed off skin cells, and soil--is what sits in the washer and makes it smell bad. It's more likely to happen with HE washers precisely because they use less water, making it harder for water to penetrate "hidden" areas and because of the integrity of the washer's seal, which can trap debris.
Whirlpool suggests you treat your HE washer every 30 days for peak performance, and that you measure detergent carefully and leave the door open when the washer is empty for best results.
Find your washer cleaning kit at major retailers nationwide for about $11.
Yesterday, I mentioned a space-saving stackable washer and dryer unit. But what if even that takes up too much room in your living quarters? Are you doomed to drying your clothes in the bathroom or out the window? Are you going to be deprived of fluffy towels and soft shirts? Not if LG has anything to say about it.
LG's new Washer/Dryer combo is an all-in-one machine that takes your laundry from dirty to dry in a single unit. That's right, you can put in a load of laundry and come home to clean, dry clothes.
To install the washer, you'll need a water hookup and a standard electrical outlet. No outside venting is necessary, because the dryer cycles use a ventless condensing system. Clothes are dried from within the drum; the water that's extracted from the clothes drains through the drum and out the water pump. The process takes a little longer than conventional drying, but the trade-off may be worth it for many apartment dwellers who don't have vent access.
The unit runs on standard electricity; no gas line is needed.
The front load unit has a 2.44 cubic foot capacity and automatically adjusts the water level and wash time to get your clothes clean. During the drying cycle, the sensor dry system takes over and measures the moisture in the drum to adjust the drying time and temperature.
Set the machine to wash only, dry only, or wash to dry to suit your needs, and delay the start up to 19 hours to make your laundry fit your schedule. Choose from nine wash programs and five rinse temperatures, including a sanitary cycle.
The Energy Star unit comes in titanium or white finishes and retails for about $1,600.
A friend of mine is currently adding a second story to her house to accommodate her growing family. The construction is extensive enough that she, her husband, and their three children had to move out of the house into a rented apartment while the work is being done. She told me she didn't care about how many rooms the apartment had or how small the kitchen was--she just needed to have a washer and dryer in the apartment. Of course, her full-size machines take up quite a bit of space in her temporary digs--like, a living room's worth of space.
But really, why should anyone living in a smaller space have to give up the conveniences and options of a full-size washer and dryer? A smaller cell phone doesn't come with fewer number keys, does it? And condo and apartment dwellers deserve better.
Haier agrees, and they've come up with a stackable washer and dryer unit that doesn't force consumers to compromise. The washer features 12 different fabric care wash cycles, plus an auto select wash/rinse temperature. It's a front loader that lets you configure soak, extra rinse, four spin speeds, and spin only options.
At just 24-inches across, the washer can slip into a small closet. Sure, it can't handle the biggest loads in its 1.8-cubic foot tub, but it could certainly stand up to the daily load created by a family of five.
The ultra-quiet electric dryer offers a 3.5-cubic-foot stainless steel drum with dual temperature settings, a dry time selector and temperature sensor drying. Stack the units to save space, or stand them side by side if you can spare the room.
The washer's model number is HBF1055TVE; the dryer's is HDY6-1. The total price for the entire unit is set at $1,099, making this option not only space-conscious, but also budget friendly.
