Modern washing machines can wash our clothes without applying any physical effort.
With these machines, you don't have to manually rub and squeeze clothes with your hand.
These are very handy in metro cities where people are short on time.
It is a boon for the ladies of a family. They are saved from harsh labour. Otherwise, females get easily dizzy and lethargic after hours of manual washing the household laundry.
If you are looking for a new washing machine, you must be wondering how many types of washing machines exist and which one would be best for you.
Will a type of washing machine come into my budget, Would it require any manual labour.
In this article, you will get your answers.
Wash Cycle in a Washing Machine
Before you go towards types of washing machine section
You must know about the 3 Step process a washing machine goes through.
Step 1: WASH
The clothes are dumped inside the washing chamber. Depending upon the type of washing machine you have to either fill the chamber with water+detergent manually or the machine takes it automatically.
Then the wash cycle begins where the machine moves the laundry violently. With the help of detergent and movement of clothes, the dirt and stains loosen.
Step 2: RINSE
After the wash cycle, the soapy water becomes very dirty because the detergent in it has attracted all the dirt. This dirty water needs to be removed through the drain pipe.
After which machine is refilled with fresh water but with no detergent. Again violent movement of clothes start to remove the remaining dirty water absorbed by clothes
Step 3: SPIN/DRY
After rinsing, the wet clothes need to be dried out. The clothes go through a super-fast spin cycle. Due to centrifugal force, the water is removed from the laundry.
This is the last cycle after which the clothes come clean and dry from the washing machine.
Types of Washing Machine
1) Semi-Automatic Top Load Washing Machine
Price: Cheap
Popular in 3rd World Countries like India
If you live in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or nearby countries then you must have seen this washing machine.
This is the prevalent type of washing machine here. The reason for its popularity is its low price.
It is called a Top Load washing machine as the laundry is loaded or unloaded from the top
The semi-automatic top load washing machine has separate chambers for washing and drying.
It is called semi-automatic as not all procedures in it are automatic like adding water.
That means after the wash and rinse cycle you will have to manually remove the clothes from one bucket and place it in the spin bucket for drying.
The complete wash cycle goes as follows
- Put the laundry inside the wash bucket
- Add water manually using a bucket or pipe
- Add detergent
- The Wash cycle goes for some hours depending on the clothes and the degree of dirt in it
- After that manually drain the dirty water
- Refill the wash bucket for rinsing
- Again drain out the water
- Remove all the clothes from the wash bucket and put it in the drying bucket.
- After the drying cycle again remove the clothes manually
You can yourself see from the entire washing cycle of wash, rinse, and dry, how much manual work and labour you will have to perform.
This type of washing machine demands hard labour and manual checking.
If you are tight on budget and ready to do the hard work and then you can go with this semi-automatic top load washing machine
Pros
- Price is low
- No need to bend for loading and unloading of laundry
- Add Clothes in between of wash cycle
- Easy to use
Cons
- Not Recommended for Old people
- Not good for people having a shortage of time
- Very Few modes for washing
- Takes more space
2) Fully-Automatic Top Load Washing Machine
Price: Moderate
This is the fully automatic version of the normal top load washing machine you just read about.
These provide the right balance between features and pricing
It saves you from manual labor
Just put the clothes inside, choose the mode of washing depending on the cloth - cotton, woolen, delicate, etc and it will come clean and dry after some time.
There is one catch, you will need to attach a separate tap just for using it as a water inlet for the washing machine. Call your plumber and he will do the needed work.
Both wash and spin/dry cycles can be performed inside the same single bucket.
If you don’t like to perform manual work, and want to enjoy free time on weekends or are short on time then you must have a look at this machine which does not require any manual intervention during the entire washing cycle.
In all top load washing machines, there is either agitator or impeller for spinning the washtub.
You will mostly find an impeller inside the top load washing machine available in the market.
Whereas agitators are rare to see now, it had few setbacks, it reduced the space for putting clothes and the clothes often got stuck or snagged to the agitator itself.
Pros
- Saves Time being fully automatic
- Various Washing Modes to choose from
- No manual Labour
Cons
- You cannot add clothes in between of wash cycle
- Some models may need you to fix an extra tap for water inlet
3) Front Load Washing Machine
Price: Expensive
Popular in western countries like the US, UK.
If you live in a country like the US you must have looked at this type of washing machine
Clothes need to be added or removed from the front side.
Unlike a top load washing machine, these are smaller in size and you will have to bend down to load/unload clothes.
This can be an issue for old and aged people. But this is not a very big issue, just buy a stand or table to take its height higher.
These are fully automatic in nature, with no need for manual intervention, just add the clothes and some detergent in the detergent tray, and it will automatically wash, rinse, and dry the clothes.
Both wash and dry cycles can be done in the same chamber.
It is generally said that it cleans the clothes more efficiently due to tumble washing.
There are various modes to choose from - wool wash, cotton wash. Sportswear wash, delicate wash, hot wash.
Features and modes vary from model to model.
Pros
- No need for manual labour
- Better Cleaning of clothes
- Smaller and Compact in Size
- Requires less water and so helpful in saving it
Cons
- Expensive
- High Maintenance
- Entire washing takes longer time
- Cannot add laundry in-between of the wash cycle
Other Types of Washing Machine (Not Recommended)
4) Mini Washing Machine
Tiny in Size
Called a Mini washing machine as these are mini versions of the normal washing machines.
These are portable and smaller in size.
The entire build is mostly plastic.
Being small in size it can accommodate very few clothes and garments.
I do not recommend these for a family
You may buy this if
- Low on Space
- Live in a hostel, rented room, sharing room
- You are a bachelor
Many will have drying options also.
I personally have tried one of these, it had both options for washing and drying. I was able to place only 4 t-shirts inside it. After the wash cycle was done, for drying it had an extra tub small in size which was to be attached to the base of the spinning tub. I was able to accommodate only one shirt at a time.
Suppose you are going camping, then you can take this mini washing machine in your car or attach this to the backseat of the bike.
Pros
- Cheap
- Good for bachelors
- Portable, Compact, Easy to Carry
Cons
- Can accommodate very few clothes
- Cheap Plastic Build
- Not a good option for a family
5) Bucket Washing Machine
Not a washing machine actually
This is not actually a washing machine.
Consider this as a toy.
It is just a device on which a pulsator is attached.
This device needs to be attached to the side of a water bucket.
When the bucket is filled with water and the device motor starts or to say the wash cycle starts. Clothes submerged in water starts to spin horizontally.
Watch the below video to see the live demo of this device. This is in Hindi but you need not worry about the language as you can still see the working of the device.
Pros
- None
Cons
- You can get an electric shock
- Only 1-2 clothes can get washed once
- Low Life
