Newbie Question about Washing Machines

[Briggsy]

I notice in the UK, the preference is for front loading washing machines usually about 2 feet wide.

Whilst in Thailand, the preference seems to be for top loading machines some of which are much wider and seem to have 2 compartments.

 

I would like to know :-

a ) What is the difference?

b ) Why the different preference here?

 

I will have a guess at part b). Is it because in the UK, washing machines are placed under kitchen counters so cannot be accessed from the top and/or top loaders are cheaper.

 

I hope to be enlightened. Thanks in advance.

[BoonToong]

In my experience, I have used both top-loaders and front-loaders for about 40 years.

 

I have always found top-loaders to wash better and to spin better. I also find them more convenient for loading, particularly if you start the programme and 2 mins later realise you've got another piece of laundry to add; with a top-loader you simply open the lid and drop it in. With a front-loader you have to stop the programme and wait for the electronic door lock to reset (takes just a minute or so, but it's still inconvenient).

 

The top-loaders with two compartments are 1 for doing the washing and 1 for doing the spinning. That design usually allows the clothing to be spinned at higher speeds and you can also distribute the load evenly in the spinner to reduce vibration.

 

I think they are more popular here (and they are popular in West Africa too) is because they are simpler and, therefore, cheaper. Tight spaces is also not so much an issue in Thailand as you can put it on a balcony if you are in a condo.

[petermik]

6 hours ago, BoonToong said:

 

 

The top-loaders with two compartments are 1 for doing the washing and 1 for doing the spinning. That design usually allows the clothing to be spinned at higher speeds and you can also distribute the load evenly in the spinner to reduce vibration.

 

 

The twin compartment top loaders are known as twin tub washers in the UK....

[Briggsy]

I am now looking at prices.

Front loaders considerably more expensive than top loaders. But the cheapest are some no-name brand twin tub washers. (Notice how I slipped in my newly-learnt term there.)

 

Surprising price differences.

[bankruatsteve]

The main difference in Thailand is the top loaders rely on gravity to drain whereas the front loaders will use a pump.  Spin speeds will be much higher on the front loaders.  Generally speaking, the front loaders are usually of higher quality than similar size top loader.

[KhunBENQ]

For the newbie:

Did you use to wash with heated water back home?

 

Are you aware that the top loader (twin tubs) will have no water heater?

The simple top loaders have to be filled with water and detergent manually.

Clothes have to be moved to the tumbler.

All quite basic and far from "automatic".

What they do is simply "throw around" your clothes for a preset time/intensity.

 

[KhunBENQ]

11 minutes ago, Briggsy said:

Surprising price differences.

Not surprising if you compare the construction/mechanics.

These cheap top loaders are two plastic tubs, one or two motors and an "egg-timer".

No heater, no automatic water filling/closing/draining.

Except for spinning around/tumbling it's all manual.

For the rural areas/houses without proper pressurized water they are the only alternative.

You can't use a fully automatic machine on such water supply.

 

 

[Briggsy]

2 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

For the newbie:

Did you use to wash with heated water back home?

 

Are you aware that the top loader (twin tubs) will have no water heater?

The simple top loaders have to be filled with water and detergent manually.

Clothes have to be moved to the tumbler.

All quite basic and far from "automatic".

What they do is simply "throw around" your clothes for a preset time/intensity.

 

I have lived in Thailand for 20 years and washed by hand for that time. I have never used heated water for clothes washing in Thailand. I didn't know either way if top loaders would heat water.

I don't have a tumbler. I do have a clothes horse or rack to hang things out with though.

[petermik]

6 hours ago, Briggsy said:

I am now looking at prices.

Front loaders considerably more expensive than top loaders. But the cheapest are some no-name brand twin tub washers. (Notice how I slipped in my newly-learnt term there.)

 

Surprising price differences.

Get yourself a big bucket and washboard,and save yourself a bloody fortune....

[Briggsy]

Extrapolating from BenQ's comments, how dry on a scale from sopping to damp with no drips, will clothes come out of a 10,000 Baht top loader? I had assumed a lot of the water would be spun out. Perhaps I assumed wrong.

 

Also, living in a condo, where does the water go after the wash?

[KhunBENQ]

5 minutes ago, Briggsy said:

I have lived in Thailand for 20 years and washed by hand for that time. I have never used heated water for clothes washing in Thailand. I didn't know either way if top loaders would heat water.

I don't have a tumbler. I do have a clothes horse or rack to hang things out with though.

So the top loader would be a comfort solution for you

 

[Briggsy]

3 minutes ago, petermik said:

Get yourself a big bucket and washboard,and save yourself a bloody fortune....

See my post above. I have done that for 20 years. With this saved fortune, I am now going to buy a washing machine.

 

Money is not the great issue here. I am seeking knowledge and enlightment in relation to washing machines.

[KhunBENQ]

3 minutes ago, petermik said:

Get yourself a big bucket and washboard,and save yourself a bloody fortune....

You are ready for a move to Isan.

You can undercut the locals

[bankruatsteve]

8 minutes ago, Briggsy said:

Extrapolating from BenQ's comments, how dry on a scale from sopping to damp with no drips, will clothes come out of a 10,000 Baht top loader? I had assumed a lot of the water would be spun out. Perhaps I assumed wrong.

 

Also, living in a condo, where does the water go after the wash?

 

Top loaders that do have a spin still leave clothes very damp.  Combined with the humidity you need a sunny day to get them dry.  Front loaders can have very high spin rates and clothes come out almost dry from that.

 

Edit: the water drains to the floor so a drain is required to take it elsewhere.

[Briggsy]

16 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

So the top loader would be a comfort solution for you

 

The objective of buying a washing machine is primarily to save time and effort and perhaps to improve the cleaning process.

[johng]

I know some on here will disagree   but I find that  top loaders don't get clothes as clean as front loaders.

Top loaders are cheaper,have bigger washing capacities for comparable monies,and you can open the top to throw in the missing sock half way through the wash  ( there are now some front loaders with special door to allow missing sock insertion too )

The price of front loaders in Thailand has come down quite a lot recently, maybe  the "western kitchen" in condos trend has made them more popular ?

 

My top loader has a special "super spin dry"  setting that can spin clothes almost dry   but its best to hang clothes out in the sun for a bit of UV treatment.

 

21 minutes ago, Briggsy said:

Also, living in a condo, where does the water go after the wash?

 

down the plug hole  either in the shower room or the balcony.

 

to save time and effort then avoid the twin tubs  and go with a fully automatic  top or front loader.

[bankruatsteve]

When and why the "rule" that top loaders in Thailand must be only slightly more efficient that squatting with tubs is anybody's guess - but that's the way it is.  Samsung, for example, makes very good industrial standard top loaders for the Asian market - just don't try to get on in Thailand.  Forgot to mention, if you do go to a front loader, you will need a "western style" drain tube.  IE:  about a foot above the floor and capable of dispersing pumped water.

[Briggsy]

I was just looking at Samsung top loaders!

 

If the water is coming from the bathroom and the washing machine was positioned directly outside the bathroom (there is a convenient space), then how would the water get in to the washing machine. Do I have to pour it in using a bucket or would there be some connection? If it was run from the bathroom, they would either have to

i) drill a hole in the wall (probably not allowed),

ii) have a permanent hose that would prevent the bathroom door from closing or

iii) have a detachable hose (the best solution).

 

Do they do detachable hoses?

[YeahSiam]

49 minutes ago, BoonToong said:

In my experience, I have used both top-loaders and front-loaders for about 40 years.

 

I have always found top-loaders to wash better and to spin better.

 

It's well-known that top loader washing machines are harsher on the clothes.

Not a problem if you buy clothes from Tesco but anything with a bit of quality will appear battered far more quickly.

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/front-loader-or-top-loader-which-is-better-022615.html

 

Also, front-loaders use less water and clean better.

[KhunBENQ]

12 minutes ago, YeahSiam said:

Also, front-loaders use less water and clean better.

Yep.

Some former colleagues of mine (among them engineers with university degree) moved to Bosch/Siemens, a major company developing high tech washing machines.

They research on optimization of the washing process, materials, manufacturing process, have patents etc.

They don't sell twin tub cold water machines

We have two machines.

One top loader for the rough stuff outside in a shack used by daughter and granddaughter (who in the past put her sneakers in ).

One on the upper floor, a 6 kg Samsung front loader for the delicate stuff (used by my wife).

 

Enough said from me. Each to his own.

[bankruatsteve]

Another (what I find to be) irritating "requirement" here is that the water connection for a washing machine must be via an adapter to an old style faucet.  When we bought a top of the line Samsung front loader 5 years ago, I insisted on a water supply hose that screwed on (like everything else that connects to water supply) and just got the "mai mee".  What the hell is that?  Not sure if things have changed since then but go figure that one.

[johng]

While you could manually pour water into a top loader its very inconvenient and even more so  for the rinse cycle

when the door is locked.

 

Drill a hole in the wall and make a permanent connection is the best bet  if you find a good plumber he should have a diamond coring bit that can make a nice clean hole in the wall somewhere inconspicuous, only has to be wide enough for a PVC water pipe about 25mm to fit through  if not plumber then aircon guys will have a diamond coring bit.

 

Yes you can get detachable hoses but I think it would get rather annoying  tripping over your hose all the time

also the detachable fittings tend to leak  unless you go for very expensive versions.

 

My friends wife setup her washing machine outside the  bathroom/wetroom and has to  plumb it in every time she wants to wash   she has forgotten to place the  drain pipe into the wet room and gone out for lunch  only to come back to a flooded condo on a couple of occasions....  much better to plumb it all in once then you can forget about it

[Bulldozer Dawn]

Briggsy

You have helped me out a few times with sensible answers so here is my 10 cents worth.

 

Make sure you buy a twin tub for the following reasons:

 

1. Front loaders appeared because in European markets there is the necessity to conserve water.  Water is expensive in western countries.  Here in Thailand water it cheap (issues about the need to conserve it here aside)
2. Water supply any in Thailand is intermittent at best.  If you hit go on a front loader and the water supply sputters you will not know about it and could damage the machine.
3. Water supply here is also often dirty due to bad maintenance, pump failures etc.  Sometimes the water in my area comes out of the tap blacker than the clothes that need washing.  If you have a top loader you can see the colour of the water going in to the tub.  You can't do that on a front loader.  The filters on a twin tub are also right there in your face so you can see easily if they need cleaning.
4. Thai technicians are hard pressed to fix a toaster, let alone a front loading automatic washing machine.  All that can really go wrong with a twin tub is motor or belt failure.  The belt is easily replaced and most motors, like the one on my Samsung twin tube come with a 5 year warranty.  My twin Samsung twin tub has lived semi-outdoors at the back of the Thai kitchen now for more than 6 years and still going strong (fingers crossed).
5. You can wash big blankets and rugs (and we also was our floor mats) in a twin tub.  It is easy to see if the machine is handling the load and adjust accordingly.
6. If you have a Thai girl (you're in Muk right?) she will be technically challenged by a front loader.  Mine is challenged by our twin tub.
7. If you want to sell your machine in the years ahead the locals will buy a second hand twin tub from you.  They wont buy a front loader from you.  Way too much white mans magic.

Good luck with your purchase and don't forget to check out the prices on Lazada.  My girl just bought a new big samsung machine for her mum up in Nakon Nowhere.  They delivered out in the sticks straight to mum's front door.  My girl got a great deal (far cheaper than buying from Tesco or the like) and also took advantage of a 10% off coupon deal that was offered on their website.  You can pay cash on delivery so there is no risk to the online purchase. 

 

And as a final point, I have to ask if you have a Thai girl?  If so, why is there a need to buy a machine? 

[johng]

2 minutes ago, bankruatsteve said:

Another (what I find to be) irritating "requirement" here is that the water connection for a washing machine must be via an adapter to an old style faucet.

 

Yes what a stupid idea those things are  they pop off and leak all the time

I cut min off   heated up the pipe so that it very snugly push fitted ( it was quite a struggle) onto a spigot and secured with a banjo clip never leaked.

 

[Briggsy]

Thanks for the clear and comprehensive reply above, johng. I would need to clear any drilling with the condo management office who may, in turn, have to get permission from the owner/landlord/zillionaire capitalist. However, anything is possible if enough thought and effort is applied.

 

Hang on, I have just realised the broadband guys drilled a hole in the wall, no questions asked. Maybe I could just go ahead and do it.

[KittenKong]

I think that the main reason for the popularity of front-loaders in the west is because they fit under kitchen counters. Here this is not so much of a problem (though it may be in some small condos).

 

In my condo I have space in the bathroom for a top-loader and this is what I have always used. They are cheaper and the design is intrinsically better than that of top-loaders (no excessive sideways strain on the bearing, no access door below water level, no bending down to load-unload the tub, no lost socks).

 

The spin speed seems adequate to me and all my laundry (which includes sheets etc.) dries in a few tens of minutes on a hangar on my balcony, even if the sun isn't shining.

 

My bathroom has a dedicated tap for a direct connection to the machine, and also a drain pipe for drainage from the machine. No extra parts were needed beyond those supplied with the machine.

 

My LG machine does not have a water heater or a hot water inlet though I note that the same model sold in Malaysia does. There would be nothing stopping me from fitting a water heater to the water inlet, but the machine gets my laundry clean without this so I see no point.

 

Twin-tub machines require a lot of manual work and should be avoided, unless you have many slaves available for that sort of thing.

[daveAustin]

1 hour ago, BoonToong said:

In my experience, I have used both top-loaders and front-loaders for about 40 years.

 

I have always found top-loaders to wash better and to spin better.

 

Lots of older folk think that.  Must have been smaller old-style you were used to because it is well known in the world of washers that front loaders are far superior in both the quality of the wash and efficiency. Smaller-capacity front loaders might not wash so well since the tumbling action is shorter, but vis-a-vis you can't hold a candle to them. The LG we currently have is an H.E. type that goes from fast 20-min cycle to 1400 spin / 95 degrees -- towels and bedding on that setting come out absolutely crisp; compared with your average top-loader which is okay to mediocre. Top loaders also use a huge amount of water and tug at the clothes. The whole process is just naff and the reason they are cheaper here is because they are cheap to put together and are, well, just cack.

 

We sold our previous front loader to Thai friends and they were bowled over at the difference. When we returned and sought to buy it back, they basically told us to go jump. 

 

Do yourself a favour, op, 

[johng]

4 minutes ago, Briggsy said:

Maybe I could just go ahead and do it.

 

Thats a risk you have to decide,  

The owner might not be too pleased that his very expensive imported Italian marble wall tile now has a 25mm hole in it

 he may use that as an excuse not return your deposit...if its just a normal 200 Baht per SQ meter wall tile I doubt the owner would mind too much.

[Briggsy]

Thanks for the reply, KittenKong. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the condo I rent is large, it is old and has no specific connections for a washing machine and has no spot in the bathroom for a washing machine. So, the machine would be going just outside the bathroom and water arrangements would need to be made as detailed previously (and helpfully) by a number of posters.

[GarryP]

At my home I have a single tub top-loader and at the condo where I currently live I have a front loader. The top loader uses considerably more water than a front loader and is not as kind to my clothes. However, the top loader (LG 11kg model) can take a double bed duvet, but the 9kg LG front loader can't. Both seem to spin dry clothes to the same level of dryness. Also with a front loader you can build a shelf over the top so you can create added shelf space (box it in basically). With a top loader you need more space to open the lid.