Why can’t modern washing machines rinse properly?
Which? have so far thoroughly tested 125 washing machines & washer dryers. Most manufacturers have at least one of their appliances tested and the more popular makes have had as many as 15 different models tested.
One remarkable thing stands out, and it’s something I find astounding. According to Which? they are almost all rubbish at rinsing. Even washing machines and washer dryers singled out as a Which? “Best Buy” are mostly “poor” at rinsing and believe it or not at least one best Buy is “very poor”. From studying the figures it is clear that if “good”, or “very good” rinsing was one of the prerequisites for a Which? Best Buy there would be no Best Buy washing machines or washer dryers at all - not a single one. It appears that Which? have had to allow the poor rinsing results to be a caveat instead of a best buy killer. Please note however that several Which? best buys are “satisfactory” at rinsing which is something at least.
Out of the 125 washing machines and washer dryers tested, a remarkable 75 of them (60%) were rated either “poor” or “very poor” at rinsing with only 3 getting the rating we should expect for all washing machines which is “good”. The rest were a mere “satisfactory”. To summarise, just less than 3 % of the 125 washers & dryers are “good” at rinsing according to Which?.
What does this mean?
Well for a start it doesn’t mean that we can settle for one of the three washing machines that are “good” at rinsing because they unfortunately let themselves down in other areas such as with “noisy spin, and poor brand reliability”. However, if you really need a washing machine that rinses better than any other - maybe because of allergies - then at least Which? have identified three candidates out of the 125 they’ve tested so far. I have to advise though that you should go for them only if good rinsing is your most important requirement and are prepared to accept big compromises elsewhere - as long as it rinses well.
How have we ended up in this situation and does it really matter anyway?
To me, all washing machine should rinse well. It’s surely quite simple, you just use enough water to rinse them properly. It’s astounding that we have reached the situation where the majority of washing machines and washer dryers on sale in the UK are apparently poor at rinsing.
This has probably come about because people have been focussing on other aspects, which has left rinsing as a low priority. Two explanations spring to mind. Firstly, the focus on using less and less water is clearly impacting on our washing machine’s ability to rinse effectively. Whereas modern detergents can facilitate efficient and effective washing results at lower temperatures and with less water, no such product is currently allowing effective rinsing with much less water. Good rinsing needs plenty of water which is in direct opposition to the current environmental concerns.
The second explanation I can think of is that the eco-labelling system which awards ratings for energy efficiency, spin efficiency and wash efficiency do not take into account rinse efficiency. As such, manufacturers aren’t being judged on how well their washing machines rinse, only on how well they wash and how well they extract water on spin. I’m speculating at this stage, but I can’t see how so many washing machines could be awarded an “A” wash efficiency rating if the tests took into account how well the clothes were rinsed. Presumably, as long as all stains are removed and laundry looks “clean” no one bothers about how much soap detergent residue is left.
It might be a good idea to create a fourth category, “rinse efficiency” on the eco labels, or at least include the rinse efficiency as part of the wash efficiency test.
Ultimately if customers don’t notice an issue then it could be argued that it doesn’t really matter. Maybe it doesn’t for most people but it surely does to anyone sensitive to wash detergents and with allergies. The current situation is that to anyone keen to buy a washing machine with good rinsing I have no washing machine to recommend because none of the companies producing the best, and the most reliable washing machines currently supply one that rinses above average. (When I say none, I mean none tested by Which? so far and they have done the most comprehensive and thorough independent washing machine tests that I know of)
Are Which? wrong?
Are Which? being too critical? Are Which? applying too stringent a rinse test? I must admit I’ve not had many complaints from people saying their washing machine isn’t rinsing properly and my own Miele washing machine, which although a best Buy, didn’t receive a “good” rating for rinsing yet it appears to rinse perfectly well as far as myself and Mrs. Washerhelp can see. In fact I remarked to my wife that my clothes don’t smell of detergent like they used to in the old washing machine and deduced that it rinsed much better.
The thing about Which? is that they are totally independent. They work only for their subscribers interests and are actually a registered charity. They don’t make any money by recommending any product (even though they could) because they want to be seen as 100% unbiased. They are highly respected and I expect they test products fairly.
I suspect Which? are right and that modern washing machines don’t generally rinse very well because of the reasons I speculate about above. Whether it matters or whether it will change depends on whether enough of the public are bothered, or even notice.
Related links:
Which? research
“We are of course well known for our traditional product testing. And when we test something like the proverbial washing machine, we will ask the laboratory not only to measure how clean the clothes get, but how much water and energy is used? How easy is it to work out the programmes? What is the machine like on specialist cycles? How long does it take? All these things feed into our best buy criteria. We will devise the testing schedule by looking at things from the ordinary user’s point of view: and if standard industry methods are not good enough we will devise our own methods” - Which? Online 30 Day trial
Which? washing machine essential guides | Which? washer dryer essential guides (access to full reports and all of the Which? online data available to subscribers only. Some useful information is still available to non-members and there is a great 30 day trial offer available).
Written By Washerhelp on August 31st, 2007 with
14 comments.
Read more articles on Washing Machines & Washer Dryers.
Why not add your comment? click the comment link above.
Mark Hill
paola ruocco
kevin tripp
Ruth
Nikki Jenkins
Sorry to be a party pooper
#1. September 4th, 2007, at 8:05 PM.
Rinsing Capabilities of Washing Machines.
We heartily endorse these conclusions. For thirty years we had a succession of Hotpoint top loading machines which produced clean washing with little detectable powder residue using Persil . Towels were clean, soft and fluffy. Terry nappies could be washed and sterilised using the hot wash. These machines used full measures of washing powder and large quantites of water. When the last machine was beyond repair we purchased a Hotpoint Ultima WF 860. This has the energy and water economies now deemed necessary. However we immediately noticed that the towels were hard and the bedding activated breathing allergies.
Washing powder was reduced to the absolute usable minimum, about a table spoonful for a full load. Subsequent experiments, with care not to overload the machine, extra machine rinses, rinsing in the sink by hand and subsequent spinning in the machine have produced the following conclusions :
• Towels retain the most powder residue, the water in the sink becomes totally cloudy even after two extra machine rinses. The fluffy texture previously produced cannot be replicated, even using a good tumble drier. Towels hung out to dry without any tumbling dry like board.
• Heavy cottons like sheets retain large mounts of powder residue unless rinsed in the sink.
• Light cottons like underwear retain less, but can still irritate unless hand rinsed.
• Artificial fibres retain the least powder residue.
The problem can be diminished by using Ecover liquid wash, but this is not suitable for all washes.
Ecoballs, or the Lakeland equivalent do not leave residue, but the fabrics are often harsh, and stains are left despite the use of the stain removing cream supplied. The application of this is a fiddly extra job.
Through the good offices of John Lewis who supplied the machine two Hotpoint engineers visited us, and were both surprised by the amount of powder residue revealed in hand rinses. The machine was deemed to be working satisfactorily by the manufacturers.
It would seem to us that controlled experiments under laboratory conditions are necessary to measure the amount of powder residue left in fabrics by modern washing machines. Those with skin or respiratory allergies are at risk from the present generation of machines which may be energy efficient and use little water, but do not rinse clothes effectively.
P & E Kenyon.