American washing machines

[isabellerossignol]

Does anyone know why American houses tend to have top loading washing machines whilst we have front loading?

Is it to do with water pressure/efficiency/energy use?

It doesn't matter to me obviously, I'm just intrigued!

ime the front loader in the us don't get stuff clean and mangle arms of tops (the agitator I suppose)

eco cycles on modern frontloaders are great but you have to read the manual and use the amount of detergent required (a lot less compared to us old style front loaders).

Our US top loader was good at mangling clothes and creating tiny holes in cottons. Washing powders tended to be quite bleach heavy too.

But I did like the idea of having the washer and dryer in a closet off the back hall in our single storey, and friends in two storey houses had them upstairs.

We have a laundry room with a huge front loading washing machines and kitchen cupboards that go up to the ceiling.

Trouble is that we have 12ft ceilings so are yet to use them!!

Top loaders are shite at getting clothes properly clean, as are the front loaders frankly! They great, wash loads of clothes at once but neither have ever gotten my clothes Daz clean 😁

I miss my super capacity top loading washing maching from the US. I did 5 loads a week. One of each, whites, colours, darks, towels, and sheets. Here in UK with my pokey front loader I do at least a load a day many days loads. I don't see how that is saving anything.
Mine was a Kenmore clothes were lovely and clean and didn't smell funny (problem we had for a while here in UK, now fixed)

Mine was the older one of this Kenmore

@isabellerossignol please don't go for a micro above your cooker unless you and anyone else who cooks is at least 6'7" ! As far as I know a cooker needs a gap of 760mm above it so the micro would be dangerously high to use.

Don't worry, it was only fantasy kitchen googling, not real kitchen planning.

But yes, that's what I couldn't understand about the American houses on YouTube and their microwaves, how could they be so low down?

I've used top loaders in the US and Bermuda in rented villas etc and was impressed at first at the speed of the wash programmes - until I realised the cleaning performance wasn't up to scratch at all. Quite often had to run the programme twice.
They seemed fairly basic but sturdy.
I did like the fact they were generally placed in large walk in cupboards/utilities in the hall or off the kitchen. The tumble driers were quite good.

I think partly that in the USA washing machines tend to be in the bathroom or a dedicated laundry room, so they don't need to fit under a kitchen worktop. Because UK regulations don't allow normal plug sockets in bathrooms, the kitchen is the usual place for us.

And partly I think it's just tradition. Top loaders were until recently cheaper in the USA and they can be easier to load and unload. But as I understand it front-loaders are becoming more popular in the USA now because they're more energy and water efficient and usually clean better.

I live in New Zealand and most people here use top loaders. yes, they are quicker, but they do not really clean the clothes... if you put something with a stain in, the stain comes out looking exactly the same. I have bought a European front-loader and I am much happier with it.

I don't agree at all. The good quality top
Loaders do a wash in 25 minutes and get all the stains out whereas my top of the line European front loader takes 4 fucking hours and still leaves the stains in!