It Doesn't Need To Be Summer To Be Green!

There are so many ways you can Green your home and not every way has to be a monetary back-breaker. I recommend doing things as you can afford them. Many of the things I have written about on this site are directed towards affordable fixes, but some are not! Take, for instance, your washing machine. The standard washer is a top loader that holds so many clothes and uses Tide, Wisk, whatever. Let's say that your machine is working fine and you want to go Green. Well, unless you have a good amount of disposable income, I say Stop! It's a fine idea to transform your house to a Green house but use moderation so that you don't resent the improvement you made. It may be prudent for you to do some energy auditing to see where improvements can, and probably should, be done. Let's say the existing machine has had issues and the repairman says it will be too expensive to fix because it's too old, or whatever. This is the time to Think Green! You now have many viable options and prices to choose from that are all Green, in theory. The educated consumer will consult online services such as Consumer Reports.org or other consumer based product review site to check on things like reliability, repair frequency, cleaning ability, ambient noise, ease of use, controls, warranties, capacity, max water consumption per load, Energy Star Compliant and cost! Seems like a lot doesn't it? It is and it isn't. Most of these reviewing sites will list each unit by the important features first and which ones do better in these categories than others. My advice is to stick to the top 15 models, discard the rest and sort them out by what YOU want in a washer. Front loaders have a few major perks going for them.

1. Use about 50% less water per wash than top loaders,

2. Use much less detergent (HE designated detergents are designed for low suds cleaning in front loaders),

3. Ease of loading/unloading, no more lifting up out of the machine heavy wet clothes),

4. Cost is reasonably similar to top loaders but you will get this back on what you save in water and soap,

5. Cold water cleans just as well, if not better than warm or hot,

6. Stackable, and the biggest perk,

7. Clothes get cleaner than with a top loader due to the tumbling action of the drum.

I could probably go on but I will say this. If you go to an appliance store remember one thing. If they can sell the machines that aren't selling well, it's good for them. Do your homework and don't be bullied away from your choice. You have to live with it a year from now and then some.

I've had a front loader for over 7 years now and I'll never go back to the top loaders. The two I've owned, one was from that store that sells those great tools that never break or their replaced free-that one lasted 6 years and the second was from an appliance store that we did our homework on. We're happy with our decision, I know you will be too.