Katherine Owen is an copywriter working in the field of white goods and kitchen appliances for www.appliancesonline.co.uk.
Waiting for the washing machine to finish can be a trial for the best of us, whether we’re waiting to wear the clothes or planning on putting the next load in. For a full wash many machines take more than an hour.
Recently there has been an influx of washing machines appliances on the market which offer short programmes claiming to wash clothes in as little as 15minutes. Whilst this time saving innovation may please us in our busy lifestyles, does it deliver the best results?
Time saving
Short wash cycles are great if you’re really busy and you’ve forgotten to put on the wash. With a 15minute cycle it’s not such a big deal if an hour before you leave the house, you realise your work clothes haven’t been cleaned. Fifteen minutes even leaves you time for drying. And to do your hair and makeup.
Quick washes are great for things like the kids’ school uniforms which are frequently worn and just need freshening up but it won’t get rid of tough stains.
Level of cleaning
Short cycles freshen up clothes quickly but the level of cleaning is often impaired by the wash’s speed. Between heating and draining a fifteen minute washing cycle offers only about 3-4 minutes of actual cleaning. This is not going to get rid of tough stains. For dirtier or stained fabrics longer, more rigorous cycles are necessary however you can make some compromises.
AEG offers a machine (the AEG L16850 Freestanding Washer Dryer) which delivers an “A grade” 30°C wash for 3kg of clothes in just 20mins. So, for just five minutes extra wait you receive a quality wash which ensures clean fabrics.
Steam refreshing clothes
If you’re just looking to freshen clothes an alternative is steam cleaning. Steam washing will actually take place in your tumble dryer. Hotpoint Aqualtis tumble dryers feature a Refresh Programme which airs and refreshes dry clothes. This is an easy alternative to completely cleaning clothes which have only been worn once, smell smoky or have been kept in storage in garages or attics and smell musty.
Some Electrolux tumble dryers have a similar function which they call Iron Aid. This refreshes and de-odorises even “dry clean only” garments and will refresh a silk or wool suit in just 20 minutes. In addition, this function saves you time on ironing your garments after the dry cycle as the steam removes wrinkles much like a steam iron.
So put away that bottle of Febreeze, in 20mins you can have freshly laundered, dry cleaned clothes.
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