With appliance sales down some 25 percent from their pre-meltdown peak—despite the State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate (aka cash for appliances) Program--manufacturers are pushing new features to help boost sales and profits. You'll also find new accessories aimed at mold and vibration, and new detergents from Martha Stewart and other big names. But some could leave you seeing red:
• Whirlpool and Maytag rolled out pricey washers that circulate air through a load of laundry and periodically tumble the load to help prevent the odor that can develop when you leave clean laundry in the washer too long. But none of the damp laundry we left in these and other machines for up to two days developed any odor.
• Anti-vibration pads and feet claim to reduce vibration caused by front-loading washing machines placed on a wood framed floor. But products that cost up to $47 didn't provide any noticeable reduction in vibration transmitted to our floor. One $200 anti-vibration platform did reduce the shakes—but that's a hefty downpayment toward a new washer.
• Martha's Stewart's new Martha Stewart Clean Laundry Detergent (21 cents per load in conventional washers, 28 cents in high-efficiency machines) is among the detergents with greener claims in Consumer Reports' latest tests. But it cleaned about as well as plain water in conventional machines—and only slightly better in high-efficiency front-loaders. And WIN's uber-pricey High Performance Sports Detergent (64 cents a load) didn't clean exactly like a champ in our tests.
• Purex's 3-in-1 laundry sheets scored only Fair in cleaning in a top-loader and Good in a front-loader. It eliminated static cling (many softeners do) but got our towels barely softer than water alone. A pack of 20 sheets cost $7—more than the best-performing detergents we recently tested.
• The Affresh tablet cleaner, ($8.70 for a three-tablet pack) proved ineffective against a residue on the door gasket of our front loader. We suggest running a cycle with household bleach to help disinfect the inside of your front-loading washer. Thoroughly clean any residue from any gaskets and bellows around the door. If you don't have small children around, leave the door to the washer open when not in use.
More clothes calls: Instead of shelling out for these products, read 6 steps to cleaner clothes and Making laundry less of a chore for ways to get better cleaning and longer lives for your clothes and washing equipment.
I am still very concerned about the use of bleach in a front-loading machine, particularly Frigidaire. I have read a lot of posts about bearing failures in Frigidaire front-loaders, and though the "samurai fix it guy" site does show how to replace just the bearing without the whole assembly, it is a tough repair to do.
I have been asking for more research, I have been told that Frigidaire uses aluminum in components that apparently bleach is getting on, and that if you take a piece of aluminum, place a drop of bleach on it, and wait overnight, a hole will have been eaten into the aluminum. This makes me think that perhaps the bearing failures are because of the debris created by bleach contacting aluminum parts. I contacted Frigidaire, they claimed no knowledge of this problem, but they would "pass it on" to their engineers - a response I find very odd, as if their engineers would not know of a problem between a common household product - bleach - and aluminum?
My Frigidaire gallery was purchased off e-bay at a scratch-and dent place, and has operated very well. However, I only used bleach once, and won't use it again after hearing of the possible problem. My washer is now several years old, and according to the door jamb was made in 1/03. I do leave the door open after washing, and it is located across from the a/c thru-the-wall unit in my condo, so airflow is good after a wash.
Don't forget clothes dryers that produce steam! When the dryer gets hot enough and contains wet items, it will produce steam anyway! Why pay for yet another unnecessary feature that will cost a bundle to fix once it fails?
My experience with the Purex All-in-one sheets (the free & clear version) was that they left what looked to be fabric softener stains on my clothing that resulted in needing to wash everything again. Yeah - no savings there at all.
I put a damp wash rag in with things to take out wrinkles and it works just fine, and does not cost extra!
I hate to bust consumer reports bubble but I have experienced on a few occassions foul smelling mildew on a few occassions when I left clothes in the washer. The first time was in Europe back in the 80's when I first used a front loading washer and I didn't notice a towel stuck to the top of the wash tub. Front loaders are really bad since they spin so fast they can leave clothes stuck to the top of the tub out of sight when you empty its contents into the dryer. I have also experienced it with top loaders in the past. No it won't happen in just a few hours or over night but it can definately happen in the two days CR states they left their clothes in the washer. Not that I am going to go out and spend extra money for the anti mildew feature but clothes DO MILDEW and smell if left in a washer to long.
Really makes me question now other information that consumer reports puts out. In the first bullet, they say that in front load washer "none of the damp laundry we left in these and other machines for up to two days developed any odor". What a pile of crap!!! What do they think all the law suits that bankrupted MagTag were about? Just like Chris, my experience is exactly the opposite of what they say. Let them come try that in my Kenmore. Yuck and Eeewww!!
When they speak of Affresh, they only mention the visible mold on the washer bellows. That's not the big problem in these machines. It's the crap that grows in the outter drum. Affresh has a kit with a wipe in it for that purpose. They have NEVER claimed to clean the bellows area with the tablet, and the tablet DOES help with the odor issues.
All I can do is shake my head at the ignorance at the ConsumerReports.org organization and wonder if their statements in other areas are as misleading and ignorant as these. It appears they have succumbed to trying to invent news just like our major news media. What a shame. I used to trust these folks.
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