Eli5 what makes front door washing machine unique from the conventional one?
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Well for starters, the door is on the front….
In all seriousness, they’re marginally different. The main benefit of front-loading is not having to reach down and into the chamber, which may be difficult to do.
A traditional top loading machine uses what is called an “agitator”, basically a big spinning stick with fins of some kind, that pushes clothes around, mixing the soap and water with everything. They tend to be less efficient at cleaning and they tend to be much rougher on clothes.
Front-loading washers, on the other hand, mostly use gravity to toss everything around. The whole drum on the inside, the thing you load the clothes into, spins around really fast. This tends to be more efficient at cleaning, and it uses less water, but it tends to take longer to wash clothes.
You can also stack front-loading machines to save space.
Front loaders use less water because you pretty much have to fill the whole barrel for top loaders, but only maybe a third of the barrel for front loaders and use gravity slosh it around.
Front loaders are also more user/laundry store friendly. You can stack two layers of front loaders, which is obviously impossible for top loaders. Users will be able to reach into the barrel easy enough as long as it is mounted high enough.
One drawback for front loaders is that they can’t be stopped easily. You can pause a top loader anytime, add stuff and resume, try that with a front loader.
Think of it as the difference between giving your clothes a shower vs a bath. The shower is much more efficient with its water use.
‘Unique’? Or do you mean ‘different’?
It serves the same purpose and uses the same function, but it saves space by not requiring the area above the washing machine to be available.
So, if you want to put a drier on top, or slot it under a counter, then a front-loading washing machine is your only option.
“conventional” is weird here. I think most of western Europe is front loading, I’d guess it’s a mix in eastern Europe, top in the US and wouldn’t know for the rest.
The rubber gasket on the front loading machines collects so much gunk it’s absolutely disgusting
I’m curious that someone would describe a Top loader as conventional, I havent seen one since i was a kid, 30 odd years back, I recall the old school one my parents had was top loader.
But reading other comments its seems like the US still uses top loaders generally?
I always knew gravity was the key to clean clothes, now my suspicions are confirmed! #sciencewins
The two biggest things are that they don’t have a center agitator as they use less water. So less damaging to clothing and less harmful to the environment. Another difference/benefit is that front loaders can be stacked with dryers, making for more efficient footprint of laundry machines.
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