Buying Tips: Clothes Washers

• Buying tips
• List of models: Clothes Washers
• Categories of clothes washers
• Clothes washer distributors by brand name
• Operating tips to save energy and money

Today's clothes washers are about 68 percent more energy efficient than they were in 1990, and ENERGY STAR^® qualified models are even better. They are at least 30 percent more efficient than the Canada's minimum energy efficiency standard and use 35 to 50 less water than traditional models.

A Higher Standard: ENERGY STAR^®

ENERGY STAR qualified front-loading washers use 35 to 50 percent less water and 30 percent less energy than standard washers. They also use less detergent.
 

Buying Tips

• Look for the lowest EnerGuide rating
• Look for these features:
  • a water-level control or a small-load basket, either of which allows you to use less water for small loads
  • a variety of temperature controls that allow you to choose hot, warm or cold water
• Consider compact clothes washers, which generally use less energy per cycle and have lower EnerGuide ratings than full-size units. Using a compact unit to wash larger quantities of clothes will increase your energy costs, since you will end up doing more loads of laundry.
• Look for ENERGY STAR qualified washers. ENERGY STAR qualified front-loading and top-loading clothes washers use substantially less energy and water. Typically they do not have an agitator post in the middle of the tub. Front-loading washers tumble clothes through a small amount of water instead of rubbing clothes against an agitator in a full tub. Advanced top-loading washers flip or spin clothes through a reduced stream of water. They also have high-efficiency motors that spin the drum at high speed to extract even more water in the final spin cycle, which reduces the demand on dryer energy.

Compare current clothes washers by visiting our searchable product listings, which show ENERGY STAR qualified models and standard models.

List of models: Clothes washers

Categories of Clothes Washers

Clothes washers are available in various sizes and with a variety of different features, all of which affect energy consumption. EnerGuide groups clothes washers into two categories, enabling you to compare the energy consumption of similar models. The energy rating for clothes washers is based on 392 normal-cycle operations per year.

Standard Clothes Washers

This category includes standard-size top- and front-loading clothes washers. Only standard models can be ENERGY STAR qualified.

Compact Clothes Washers

This category includes top- and front-loading models with capacities of less than 45 L. ENERGY STAR does not rate compact clothes washers.

Clothes Washer Distributors by Brand Name

Operating Tips to Save Energy and Money

• Be sure to read your new appliance's owner's manual. It is full of hints to help you operate your clothes washer at optimum efficiency.
• Clothes washers are most energy efficient when fully loaded. That is why it is important to choose a unit that is right for your household.
• Do not overload, because overloading can cause mechanical failure and reduce the effectiveness of the spin cycle.
• Go cold! Studies show that clothes rinsed in cold water come out just as clean as those rinsed in warm water. Your water-heating bill will drop considerably.
• When cold water will not do the job, wash in warm, rather than hot, water and rinse in cold water. You will use about 50 percent less energy.
• For ENERGY STAR qualified units, always use High Efficiency (HE) detergents. Regular detergents can create too many suds, which can lead to soils not being completely rinsed out of both the laundry and the washer.
• Use a minimal amount of detergent; detergent residue can build up and cause mechanical failure.
• Extra-dirty clothes? Instead of washing twice, use the pre-soak option.
• If your machine does not have an automatic water-level selector, set the water level to suit each load.
• When possible, install your washer close to the water heater to reduce heat loss from the pipes. Even when the water heater is nearby, insulate exposed pipes, especially when they are close to cold walls.