Freckleface Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Not particularly. My basic cotton wash takes 57 minutes or thereabouts. Obviously it is longer if I select intensive wash etc. My machine weighs the clothes so that it knows how much water and how long the cycle should be, but it is always about an hour. That's good to know. My normal wash takes about that long as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 That's good to know. My normal wash takes about that long as well. I use our tumble dryer sometimes which takes 53 minutes, so they are a good match. I think an hour or so is fine for a load. When I do OH's disgusting work shirts and the kid's disgusting school socks I use an intensive wash which is about double the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 I have a 30 minute quick wash on my machine that pretty much does everything except really soiled stuff. My 14 year old son is a bloomin muck magnet and even his clothes are usually clean on that cycle. I do use Vanish Gold with my wash and that definitely works well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifi69 Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 My OH came out to Aus six weeks before the rest of us. we werent shipping much, so he was on a mission to furnish our rental for nowt. He did good :laugh: one of the things he got for free was a second hand top loader. haha I had never seen one before. I loved it. That machine could wash a whole suburbs wash in one go!! but to be truthful, it Didnt clean the best and just last week we had to part company. OH bought a front loader, one of these bubble wash things. All is good:wink: but for me, I keep forgetting, now I have to keep bending down, putting washing in, taking washing out. taking a bit off getting used too.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 My OH came out to Aus six weeks before the rest of us. we werent shipping much, so he was on a mission to furnish our rental for nowt. He did good :laugh: one of the things he got for free was a second hand top loader. haha I had never seen one before. I loved it. That machine could wash a whole suburbs wash in one go!! but to be truthful, it Didnt clean the best and just last week we had to part company. OH bought a front loader, one of these bubble wash things. All is good:wink: but for me, I keep forgetting, now I have to keep bending down, putting washing in, taking washing out. taking a bit off getting used too.. :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 I've been dithering over buying a front loader because of the wash cycle times. Do people find the wash cycle times a pain? It depends! You have to change the way you approach washing - you get used to putting the machine on, then going off and doing something else. If you like to get the clothes out on the line early, then you get used to putting the clothes in the machine the night before, then pressing the "Start" button the minute you get up - so by the time everyone's had a shower and had breakfast, you don't have too long to wait. Mind you, I use the "59 minute" program on my front loader all the time. It's meant for light soiling only, but I never bother with any of the others, and the clothes wash fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucharmily Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 I remember buying our first machine years ago in Oz. They had 1 model of front loader, all the rest were top loaders. The salesman was amazed when we selected the front loader...think we were the first ones to buy it there! I think the top loaders have improved in that the agitator has been removed. My sister has defected to them and loves it....but she throws all the horse blankets in there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyman Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 I had a top loader for a couple of years and I liked it because the cycles were much shorter. The wash cycles on my front loader are so long, there is a quick 15 minute one for freshening things up but most of the others are two hours or so. On the other hand, at least the clothes come out clean! So on balance it is a front loader for me. 2 hours or SO to wash clothes ! Is that by hand ? ...........:shocked: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicF Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 It depends! You have to change the way you approach washing - you get used to putting the machine on, then going off and doing something else. If you like to get the clothes out on the line early, then you get used to putting the clothes in the machine the night before, then pressing the "Start" button the minute you get up - so by the time everyone's had a shower and had breakfast, you don't have too long to wait. Mind you, I use the "59 minute" program on my front loader all the time. It's meant for light soiling only, but I never bother with any of the others, and the clothes wash fine. My front loader has a timer on it so I put it on the night before to come on before we get up so it finishes in time for my OH to hang the washing out before he goes to work. Having used both a top loader and a front loader I would say the only thing the top loaders have over the front loaders is they wash faster, but this isn't necessarily a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 I have to say when I was Home Helping a few years back the pensioners I would visit all without exception preferred the top loaders. I always reckon pensioners are savvy and wise so I reckon they must be better. They take bigger loads too. Front loaders didn't exist in Australia when most pensioners were doing their family wash...so top loaders were all they knew. In fact many of them would have had years of those infernal Hoover twin tubs :arghh:- so even the crappiest automatic top loader would have seemed like sheer luxury. In tests such as those done by the Australian Consumers Association, front loaders as a "breed" rate better for power and water usage. They also have less wear on clothes. However they do tend to be more expensive initially so many pensioners would not like the initial outlay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 (edited) This pensioner has a front loader!! Sorry couldn't resist.Honestly don't like top loaders, think the clothes come out tangled and not as clean. +1 for this pensioner too. :wubclub: Have had a front loader since 1986 and having to use a front loader (occasionally helping out elsewhere) feels like slumming it now. :laugh: Edited September 29, 2015 by Skani Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 I've been dithering over buying a front loader because of the wash cycle times. Do people find the wash cycle times a pain? I've used a front loader since 1986: - I bought a Miele then and was so happy with it I only replaced it with a newer version 26 years later. :wubclub: Many of the various wash options have a "Short" version - which I use as standard as I don't have very dirty items to wash and they wash perfectly clean. There is also an "Express" 20 minutes cycle. In addition it has timer "delayed start" and very "quiet" options so that it can automatically switch on without disturbing sleep before I get up and be ready to hang out first thing...so even a long cycle time is not an issue if you choose these options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 and having to use a front loader (occasionally helping out elsewhere) feels like slumming it now. :laugh: should read "top loader". Message to self: don't post on PIO without a sufficient level of caffeine to brain. :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumpingjellybean Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Probably best to check the design of your kitchen first especially if renting. Had a top loader my entire life and loved it. You can do really quick washes in it (in about 20 mins) and control the water level. Just moved into a place with a front loader and hate it. They say they use less water. But my goodness the quickest wash is 1 hour and 14 minutes. And it is so small, one load in the top loader, is two loads in the front loader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Probably best to check the design of your kitchen first especially if renting. Don't tell me standards are dropping so much in Oz that washers are now in kitchens? Never seen one that wasn't in the laundry - or slumming it in a bathroom. :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumpingjellybean Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Don't tell me standards are dropping so much in Oz that washers are now in kitchens? Never seen one that wasn't in the laundry - or slumming it in a bathroom. I must live in a low standard housing then! I am renting and don't have a laundry room. My washing machine is in the kitchen. My last rental it was in the bathroom; as no designated laundry room there either. Although both better situations than when I lived in the UK - when I had to traipse outside in all weather to the garden shed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 My front loader has a timer on it so I put it on the night before to come on before we get up . I'd forgotten about the timer! I had one on a machine I had a few years ago and used to do the same thing - until the unit block passed a by-law prohibiting the use of washing machines before 7am. It was fair enough, really - the walls were pretty thin and who wants to be woken by next door's spin dryer at 5am? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Ok I loathe top loaders. Rubbish things and I hate the one we have (it was a spare we were given by the family and fairly new when we got it). I plan to get a front loader asap but have to make do for now as we have other things to buy first. So far the top loaders here have detroyed 2 tops of mine, pulled the ties off a pillow case and duvet, seen numerous buttons come off and somehow managed to pull drawstrings out of tops and trackies. I have one of those net bag for delicates but even that has flippin holes torn in it. Top loaders don't wash as well, I don't like the ones that only take hot water from the tank so that is as hot as it gets. I need a 60C wash from time to time to blast those whites or stains on stuff. Tap hot water does not cut it. Also, in top loaders no matter what soap powder I use, my clothes never smell of the detergent. I don't use fabric softener (not good for clothes and defo not good for towels) or tumble dry and miss the lingering soap powder smell my wash used to have in England from Fairy or whatever else I was using. I used to line dry there and I do so here. But my clothes just are, no lovely laundered smell to them anymore. Give me a decent front loader, I can stack it on a shelf if need be and it'll heat to a decent temp for a proper hot wash now and again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyman Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Snifer , now that you mention it , over the eight yrs I've been using our top loader , ive had a good few white tops come out with like a black oil / grease marks on them and they don't wash out . When i first noticed this yrs ago i called out their engineer , he took it all apart and then said do i use softener , yes i use fluffy (one of my good friends on here put me onto fluffy ) .....he said its the softener thats causing the black marks !!!! Anyone else had this problem with top loaders? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caramac Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Snifer , now that you mention it , over the eight yrs I've been using our top loader , ive had a good few white tops come out with like a black oil / grease marks on them and they don't wash out . When i first noticed this yrs ago i called out their engineer , he took it all apart and then said do i use softener , yes i use fluffy (one of my good friends on here put me onto fluffy ) .....he said its the softener thats causing the black marks !!!! Anyone else had this problem with top loaders? Yes, we did. Lots of whites ruined by black marks, definitely looked like oil not the marks you get when you use too much softener. It's never happened with a front loader. One of the first things we did when we moved into our own house in Perth was buy a new Bosch machine. It was expensive to buy in Perth, but worth the money. It was used almost daily from mid '99 until 2013, it survived travelling to the UK, back to Aus and then back again and several domestic moves in between. I don't like top loaders for the same reasons as others - they knacker your clothes, pull them all out of shape and put holes in them, but maybe they've improved over the years. They're also so big and noisy in comparison and use more water. They remind me of the one we had to wash the horse rugs in years ago! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Snifer , now that you mention it , over the eight yrs I've been using our top loader , ive had a good few white tops come out with like a black oil / grease marks on them and they don't wash out . When i first noticed this yrs ago i called out their engineer , he took it all apart and then said do i use softener , yes i use fluffy (one of my good friends on here put me onto fluffy ) .....he said its the softener thats causing the black marks !!!! Anyone else had this problem with top loaders? That happened to me too. I thunk its from where the item gets stuck under the agitator and h gets yanked under it and then gets a grease mark. I've had so many items spoilt or ruined in top loaders in the past 2 years. Did not happen with a front loader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milliem Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 (edited) I had to buy a washing machine on arrival. Brought mine from the UK but the removal men and my brother in law didn't manage to get it on to the truck from the shipping - long story. Any way went to Harvey Norman to buy a new one. The sale guy said what do you want? I forlornly described my bosch front loader and he said don't worry, we have similar. I then asked him. 'Do most people here use top loaders because the houses are bigger and there is more room'? He said. 'Nope, most people use top loaders here because they haven't yet moved with the times.' Then he proceeded to explain how popular even the twin tubs still are here and showed me the two models of twin tubs they still stock. I had just assumed they were better because that's what I saw in the laundrettes. My sister is a top loader convert and will not be told that the top loader is anything but amazing. I have used her machine many times and apart from being able to put a king duvet in it, that's the only advantage I see Edited October 4, 2015 by milliem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindor Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 Front loader for me, can't be arsed unravelling wet clothes that come out of a top loader! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rossmoyne Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 We had a Bosch front loader in UK but didn't bring it as it was a "built-in" and went with the house. So when we arrived here in the early 90's there was only one front loader on the market that was so expensive but cheap looking and I thought I would get a top loader as the house we bought had a large laundry. Worst decision ever! It never washed properly... ruined clothes... and then after a few years it flooded the house when it just kept filling whilst I was outside gardening! Replaced it with a front loader and haven't looked back. Love my LG and how it washes and how gentle it is on my clothes. My son is a mechanic and when he was still living at home I would wash his week's work clothes on a "heavy duty" wash - took 2 hours, but boy it got them clean, much better than the top loader did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie 2 Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 Give me a top loader every time. Had one for years when washing for 6. Clothes were brilliantly clean. Got a front loader a few years ago because one of my sons is an environmentalist, cost a fortune. Wish I had bought another top loader. Can't fathom why some don't like them. I really can but won't say as I don't want to start a war!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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