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 23 percent more energy efficient than they were in 1990, and ENERGY STAR® qualified models are even better. They use 50 percent less energy and up to 40 percent less water than traditional models.

Clothes Washers	1990 (average annual energy consumption in kWh/year)	2003 (average annual energy consumption in kWh/year)
Top-Loading Clothes Washers	1218	887
ENERGY STAR qualified	-	296

Recent improvements to clothes washers include:

• changeable water-fill controls
• more cold-water rinse options
• less hot water and more cold water for the warm setting
• better mixing valves
• increased spin speed

Front- and top-loading washers are available. Although both kinds may have the same capacity, the top-loading model looks bigger because of the agitator.

A Higher Standard: ENERGY STAR^®

ENERGY STAR qualified front-loading washers use 40 percent less water and 50 percent less energy than top-loading 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.
• Consider a front-loading or tumble-action clothes washer. These use less energy than top-loading washers. They have no agitator - the force of gravity agitates the clothes as the laundry tub spins, saving wear and tear on your clothes. They use less water than top-loading machines and extract more water during the spin cycle, which reduces drying time and energy costs when drying the clothes.
• Look for ENERGY STAR qualified washers. Superior designs help you save money on utility bills by using less water and energy while cleaning clothes thoroughly. They are available in top- and front-loading designs of varying capacities. They offer adjustable water and temperature controls and load sizes.

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

List of models: Clothes washers

Unique features of ENERGY STAR qualified washers are:

• sensors that prevent energy waste by matching water needs to the size of each load
• advanced high-speed motors that reduce the length of spin cycles and remove more water from clothes, so less time and energy are needed for drying

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. These are the only models that can qualify to carry the ENERGY STAR mark.

Compact Clothes Washers

This category includes top- and front-loading models with capacities of less than 45 L.

Clothes Washer Distributors by Brand Name

Brand Name	Distributor
Admiral	Whirlpool Corporation
AEG-Lavamat	Euro-Line Appliances
Amana	Maytag Appliances Inc.
Asko	AM Appliance Group Inc.
Beaumark	The Bay / La Baie
Bosch	BSH Home Appliances Corporation
Concept II	Camco Inc. / GE Appliances
Costco	Costco / Whirlpool Corporation
Crosley	Crosley Appliances Ltd.
Daewoo	Daewoo Electronics Corporation
Danby	Danby Products Ltd.
Daytron	Daewoo Electronics Corporation
Estate	Whirlpool Corporation
EuroDesign	Brault & Martineau
Eurotech	AM Appliances Group, Inc.
Fisher & Paykel	Innovative Appliance Distribution
Frigidaire	Electrolux Home Products
Galaxy	Sears Canada Inc.
General Electric (GE)	Camco Inc. / GE Appliances
Gibson	Electrolux Home Products
Hotpoint	Camco Inc. / GE Appliances
Huebsch	Alliance Laundry Systems
Inglis	Whirlpool Corporation
Kelvinator	Electrolux Home Products
Kenmore	Sears Canada Inc.
Kirkland	Costco / Whirlpool Corporation
Kirkland Signature ( Kirkland Sig.)	Costco Wholesale Corporation
KitchenAid	Whirlpool Corporation
LG	LG Electronics Inc.
Magic Chef	Maytag Ltd.
Maytag	Maytag Ltd.
McClary	Camco Inc.
Miele	Miele Canada Ltd.
Moffat	Camco Inc.
Performa	Maytag Ltd.
Profile	Camco Inc. / GE Appliances
Profile Performance (Profile Perf.)	Camco Inc. / GE Appliances
Roper	Whirlpool Corporation
Samsung	Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
Signature	Whirlpool Corporation
Simplicity	Gorenje Inc. / Danby Products Ltd.
Staber	Staber Industries, Inc.
Tappan	Electrolux Home Products
Trail	Trail Appliances, Ltd.
Whirlpool	Whirlpool Corporation
White-Westinghouse (White-West.)	Electrolux Home Products

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.
• Studies show that clothes rinsed in cold water come out just as clean as those rinsed in warm, so go cold! You will save money on your water-heating bill. To save more, wash in warm rather than hot water – you will use 50 percent less energy.
• Consider washing and rinsing your laundry in cold water whenever possible. There are detergents now being formulated to dissolve better in cold water.
• Use detergents formulated for high efficiency washers (often called high efficiency (HE) detergent). HE washers use less water than traditional washers. At lower water levels, cleaning problems can occur if detergents create too many suds or if soils can't be completely rinsed out of both the laundry and the washer.
• Are those clothes extra dirty? Instead of washing them twice, use your washing machine's pre-soak cycle.
• Clothes washers are most energy efficient when they are fully loaded. That is why it is important to buy a machine that matches your family's needs.
• If your machine has a water-level selector, choose the correct setting for each load.
• Whenever possible, place your washing machine close to your water heater to reduce heat loss in the connecting pipes. Wrap any exposed pipes with insulation, especially where they are close to uninsulated walls.