Wondering how long does a washing machine take to wash clothes? Well, according to washer repair professionals, it often depends on the type of washing machine you have. Here is the average amount of time it takes for different washing machines to clean clothes:
- Front-loading machines: 70-120 minutes
- High-efficiency top-loading machines: 60-85 minutes
- Agitator top-loading machines: 35-80 minutes
If you have been following washing machines, you should have noticed that these figures are higher than years before, and there is a reason for that—washing machine manufacturers are deliberately designing slower machines.
While this might be off-putting as it means you will be spending more time waiting for the clothes to get clean, it comes with several perks:
- The clothes don’t tear or wear out too fast as the machine isn’t too fast, and this comes in handy at ensuring that the clothes last for a long time.
- Although the washing machine manufacturers have come up with slower machines, they have increased the tub capacities meaning that you can wash more clothes than before, which means you still save time.
- You spend less water as the machine isn’t pulling a lot of water. When the washing machine is spinning at high speed, the machine consumes a lot of water, which increases your monthly water bill.
- Since most modern washing machines are slower, they don’t consume a lot of water which sees you saving money as your water bill isn’t too high.
If this is your first time using the washing machine, you should know that it works in different stages that include:
Prewash: Here, the lid locks, and the tub senses the load’s weight and volume. It then fills with water and agitates the clothes lightly to distribute the detergent throughout the load. If you had selected the presoak option, this is where it will occur.
Wash: At this stage, the clothes will be agitated for some time then the machine allows them to rest so that the detergent can do its work. If you had chosen a heavy-duty wash cycle, the machine will have longer periods of agitation and soaking.
Rinse: Rinsing involves draining away the soapy water and spraying the clean water over the clothes. The washing machine adds clean water, spins the load to drain, and then adds clean water again to rinse away the detergents and soil.
If you are washing the delicates such as the underwear and brassieres, the washer doesn’t spin as fast, but if the cycles involve heavier soils, the washer might be fast and do several rinses to ensure that all the soils are completely removed.
Final spin: The final spin might include one or more rinses, then it picks up speed to wring out the clothes before they enter the dryer. It’s at this level when the washing machine spins at its highest, and if the load is unbalanced, you might have problems such as the machine making a lot of noise or moving around too much.
How to reduce your wash time
Even if most machines are now slow, you can do several things to ensure that they are efficient and clean the clothes as fast as possible. Some of the things you should do include:
Use the right detergent.
The detergent you use can significantly affect the time it takes to wash the clothes, so you need to ensure that you use the right one. As a rule of thumb, ensure that you use a detergent specifically designed for the machine model you are using.
Balance your load
According to appliance repair Springfield professionals, the load will often get unbalanced if you have overloaded it, mixed heavy and lightweight items, or using an improperly leveled machine.
Most modern machines will pause the cleaning cycle when they sense the load is imbalanced, which results in you wasting a lot of time.
To save time, take your time when loading the machine and ensure that you have loaded it properly. As a rule of thumb, ensure that you have loaded the right amount of clothes. Also, ensure that you aren’t mixing lightweight and heavyweight clothing items in the same cycle.
