Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Advice needed: Common House Washing Machines

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

I wouldn’t recommend anything other than a front loader — better cleaning with 
less water use, and less detergent. And each load takes comparatively more 
clothes than a top loader. A friend who has a top loader because she thought it 
was larger, was able to put all her laundry in my front loader when hers was 
broken. 

We leave ours open and have no problem with mold. We’ve always had front 
loaders.

At home, I leave mine just unlatched so it is barely open. But mine is used 
less often than the CH.

We recently got a new Speed Queen, which is most often used by laundromats, and 
people report much better cleaning. It’s also compact and nicely designed.

Most of our repairs have been caused by people using too much detergent — an 
ongoing problem. They apparently don’t think 3 tbls. of anything is enough.

I also wonder if the fad for using cold water has anything to do with build up 
of mold. The hot water should clean out anything that begins to build up. Also 
if your laundry room is dark, you might try leaving the lights on. From having 
damp basements, I found leaving the lights on cleared up the moldy smell, I 
assume discouraging if not killing mold.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org