Hi @chris2037, and welcome. You’re right, many washing machines have a stainless steel inner drum and a plastic outer drum - in fact it’s safe to say the majority of washing machines sold today have plastic outer drums - it’s only a few premium brands that still have stainless outer drums.
While generally not a cause for concern, we have heard several stories of coins, keys or other items forgotten in pockets making their way in between the drums and punching a hole in the plastic outer drum - this is usually fatal for the washing machine, and has the potential to flood your laundry but it’s not exactly a common occurrence. As @PhilT alluded to, I believe a burst hose is a more common occurrence than a punctured drum, and a bigger concern in terms of flooding as a drum leak will be largely contained by the washing machines’ solenoid valves, but a burst hose will result in free flow of water until the tap is manually turned off.
As for why we don’t report on drum material, to do so would require partially disassembling the washing machine, which would extend the duration of the test (and therefor drive up costs for our members), and potentially void the warranty / damage the appliance, which makes it difficult to on-sell our test goods and recoup some of the costs of our work.
Yes, it’s difficult to tell the material of the outer shell of the drum without disassembling the washing machine.
Specifications of the WM brand website does not mention it (only the inner drum is mentioned), maybe this is something for consumers to press that it should be included in the spec list?
Thanks for your reply. Our 3-year-old Bosch developed a hole in the plastic outer tub. The machine didn’t detect the leak. It continued filling and leaking water onto the floor. The drain in the laundry floor couldn’t handle the flow, so water flooded into other rooms. Fortunately we were at home at the time and were able to turn off the water before there was too much damage.
The inlet hose has an aquastop device so not a concern.
I will only buy a machine with a steel tub in future. It would be great if the Choice reviews could help me find/choose one. The buying guide should at least mention it as something to consider.
It takes maybe 2 minutes to check the tub material. Just have to remove the lid, usually secured with 2 screws.
Yet removing the lid, even if no screws were involved, can void a warranty.
In that case, can also check by opening the door and looking under the seal. 5 second job.
What size load is used in the choice washing machine testing?
How we test does not seem to specify what size loads are used in the test unless I am missing something?
For front load washing machines, the size of the loads used by Choice are explained here:
Choice used a ‘3.5kg load, cold wash’ to measure washing machine performance.
Hi @swainstm
I have moved your question over to the topic related to the washing machine review.
It was a good question; one that I had never considered.
I am considering moving to a front loading machine because my top loader is having a lot of problems with unbalanced spin cycles.
Does anyone know if front loaders ever have unbalanced load problems (eg a single doona or heavy towels)
Hi @SM47, I merged your query into this topic on washing machines as the question is germane for many. I mentioned the problem in another topic,
Front loaders have variously counterweights or shock absorbing pistons to handle balance, some more effective than others. @airedale has previously been asked if Choice could add some kind of balance testing in future but without a standard it would probably be anecdotal.
In answer to your question, the size of the drum matters, and when there is an item that is water laden they will struggle unless there is one or more other similarly ‘heavy’ items that will counterbalance during spinning.
Yes they do. Our own front loading washing machine goes out of balance if heavy things sit on one side of the drum. The machine tries to redistribute the load, but often isn’t successful if it is one heavy item. It can keep trying for a long time before an error code comes up. The only way to correct is to stop the cycle and start again, either removing the offending item or hoping the next cycle things are better balanced.
It is also worth noting that many front load washing machine manufacturers often recommend that single item’s aren’t washed as they can easily cause unbalancing of the washing machine during the cycle, for example LG states:
Large items should not be more than half of the total wash load. Do not wash single items. This may cause an unbalanced load. Add one or two similar items.
Our previous washing machine, at top loader without a spindle used to go out of balance. For the past couple of years we have had a 12kg Fisher & Paykel front loader, and it hasn’t gone out of balance yet regarless how haphazardly we load it.
My dear old top loading 8.kg Hoover washing machine is sadly showing signs of demise. Over the years (26) it has always been reliable and the only repairs were the belt replacements. I have searched online for a suitable top loader as due to back problems I can’t use front loaders, but nothing comes anywhere near my old Hoover. Does anyone have a recommendation?
Hi @lliedaw, if you are a Choice member, Choice regularly reviews popular/commonly available top load washing machines and their assessments are available on their website (member content):
To assist other members to provide their own views and experiences, are you after a similar sized washing machine (8kg) or a smaller/larger one and do you have a budget for the machine?
If you are after another Hoover, unfortunately they don’t market washing machines under the Hoover brand in Australia any more. Hoover brand name is in part owned by Haier (the former Hoover International) and Whirlpool (the former Hoover North America).
You may be able to get a riser that lifts the front loader up to a position that you don’t have to bend to fill and empty the machine. If nothing ready made suits your height needs then a custom made platform would be something you could have a carpenter or metal fabricator make for you.
Something like the following is some idea of the concept:
Hi @lliedaw. I have moved your question here, as the wider discussion on what machine and whether it should be top or front loader fits into this existing wide ranging topic.
To answer your question; I have a bad back too, and put our new front loader onto a solidly built bespoke pedestal (as @grahroll suggests) to get the door to the correct height. If you can picture it, our washing basket on its trolley fits just under the door when it is opened. Thus I am able to unload the washing straight from the drum down into the basket, with almost no bending.
A similar set up would be significantly easier on your back than having to bend over to scoop things out of the bottom of the top loader.
Our rarely used dryer is wall mounted with a small gap between the top of the washing machine and the bottom of the dryer so I can put some washed laundry there while I sort washed things into the basket.
The one FL we have owned (LG) sat on a ready made stand (store accessory) with drawer purchased at the same time. It was made from heavy gauge pressed sheet metal. It had adjustable corned guides to lock against the feet of the FL, which was a good feature, and drawer useful for storing stuff. If one is not into bending down, a wasted accessory perhaps?
We found the combination of the stand purchased and WMC more likely to walk than WMC without. Part of the problem may have been the stand which was less rigid due to provision of the drawer opening. We used the same combo in two different house, both slab on ground designs. Both had glazed tiles on the laundry floor!
Is it possible Choice might look at the latest designs of retail available FL stands and add them to the next WMC reviews @airedale ?
There are only a small number of offerings with pricing in the low hundreds of dollars. It may assist those concerned with the low access to a FL to see them in a different light.
I have rubber buffers on the cabinet side of the pedestal, and I have several empty detergent containers, with lids on, wedged in to the gap on the wall side. Together, they have stopped the crab shuffle.
Similar strategy to what we found necessary, subject to readjustment. It did not solve the occasional mishap with the FL wanting to walk off the stand.
Re the platforms, we looked at adding them a few years ago until we came to wonder how the heavy machines get from floor to platform? Two young delivery types could do it, but the machines have long since arrived unlike the platforms that would be new, possibly unassembled, and not delivered by ‘two strong blokes’ eager to lift the washer and dryer.
A side by side washer and dryer seems challenging since the platforms usually have rubber feet to prevent (minimise?) them sliding around. There is also the issue of cleaning between and around them. There are a number of youtube videos that show how to make pedestals, how to mount factory pedestals, but not how to lift 70~100kg ‘boxes’ onto them and then jockeying the unit back into place. Ringing a local and his mate with callout fees is one thought when there are no eager rellies standing by?
Needless to add our washer and dryer remain at ‘low altitude’.
