Want to buy a front loader washing machine that will wash doonas, up to queen size
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Hi @annehart, welcome to the community.
A large capacity washing machine, if it is a standard doona with has some bulk to it, possibly 10+ kg capacity to allow queen doona washes…
But, do you need to buy a washing machine based on the sole criteria to wash doonas? Generally doonas only need washing once or a few times a year… maybe more if you drink in bed resulting in spills. If you only plan to wash infrequently and a smaller washing machine is better suited to your household, then I would suggest buying a washing machine that matches your regular washing pattern and consider taking your doonas to a laundrymat for washing (and drying) .
Laundrymats usually have 10+ kg machines which can be used for such purposes. It will be far cheaper (both in machine outlay and running costs), better for the environment (less water and power used in the long term) and also better piece of mind (a unbalance machine trying to wash a doona may cause unnecessary wear and tear) to buy a smaller machine that matches your regular washing needs, rather than an oversized machine for the infrequent doona wash.
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There are other aspects. We have a 10kg front loader but putting in a single large and heavy (especially when water laden) item causes balance problems inhibiting spin. Putting in even 2 items each half ‘weight’ to a single heavy item will enable the machine to eventually balance and spin properly. The more items the easier time the machine has to attain balance for spinning.
Our doona fits in the 10kg but the machine needs to be larger than the largest single item that fits so ‘balancing items’ can be included. For doonas that will usually be the 12kg+ machine at a laundromat. Locally those are $16 per wash and hold our large doona and enough towels to balance the load come spin time.
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We’ve found the alternative of taking the item to a dry cleaning and laundry service simpler. It was the only practical solution when we were in an apartment/townhouse. For our current home, tank water from the roof is the only supply. Larger WM’s tend to use more water and power regardless of level adjustment. At a pinch I’ve hand washed in a our large laundry tub and spread out on an improvised rack to drain and dry.
Compared to hand washed or machine washed and line dried, the paid for service (assumes the budget can handle the cost) has always delivered a better result.
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Thank you for the great advice! I was considering the Laundromat option, so good to know about balancing the load with smaller items!
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Great, thanks for sharing your insights.
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Im shopping for a new washing machine. My current top loader is 8kg and does not fit my king size doona that weighs about 5.5kg. I want to try a front loader next. Can anyone confirm they can fit a king size doona in a machine thats 9kg or 10kg capacity?
Welcome to the Community @Newby
It depends on the doona (weight and materials vary and matter). We have washed ours in a 10kg machine. One of the challenges is spinning since it is difficult to distribute the weight for a single item. Sometimes it spins fine and other times we have to stop it and manually redistribute the doona.
As an aside washing heavy items can be hard on drum bearings. Reliability scores are only indicative of all problems. Knowing which models do and do not have robust bearings and suspensions is difficult. We had a lovely LG 10kg that while ‘reliable’ just lasted long enough to meet the ‘reasonable life’ test including under the ACL - the bearings went - so we moved on.
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Hi @Newby, welcome to the community.
I have moved your post to a thread which has a similar topic of discussion, namely how to wash a large doona and suitable washing machines.
I personally wouldn’t be specifically buying a washing machine to wash a king sized doona. The reason being you will most likely buy one which is bigger than you would normally need. Larger machines generally have higher purchase and running costs.
Some laundromats have very large washing machines suitable for large items such as doonas, quilts and blankets. It might he financially (and environmentally) better to wash at a laundromat when the doona needs a wash, which is likely to be infrequently.
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