Does size matter?

[OceanPrincess]

Since your DH did reply to your email, he can obviously read, so you might be lucky. Mine wouldn't even read it even if he was staring at it for 10 minutes lol!

Bahahahahaha - Rowellen I then called him to ask him to bring the nappies in off the line and he said "Send me a text or I'll forget". So one request - bring nappies in - he forgets

I do hang out in a particular order .. I can't even explain it, too complicated to type one handed

Hey Hestia I am intruiged...

8.5kg Samsung front loader here. Previous had a 7.5 kg top loader.

Wash lots here, had my MIL commenting about how much washing there was and I was not even washing the sheets weekly!! Two little girls create a lot of washing, plus DH is a big bloke, so just one t-shirt is worth four of MIL's.

My DH is a big bloke too - he jokes that he is "SM" size - "Small marquee"

When separating by colour - what do you do if something is half black & half white, multicolour stripes etc? I usually put it in with the darks.

I do darks too. I'd rather have my white stripes tainted pink than have all my whites tainted black!


Thank you for all the responses!

I wonder if 8kg is big enough? Or would I need to go bigger? Hmm

[MummyNaomi]

We have a 8 kg Fisher and Paykel Aquasmart - we upgraded from an old reliable Simpson 5kg when DS arrived as our old machine bit the dust after almost 18 years.

My god it makes a difference, I reckon we do 3-4 loads a week, where as it was at least a daily load before, and you can fit quilts/blankets in with ease

We chose the aquasmart as it didn't really use any more water than our smaller one, was a great decision

So Yes, Size DOES matter

[OceanPrincess]

Oh I really like the aquasmart spec Nay, do you think that it is worth getting that one over the non-aquasmart version??

[MummyNaomi]

Personally yes

We bought ours while the Govt were still giving the rebate for water friendly washers, so got a nice $200 kick back, however I would have got it anyway

As it doesn't have the big spindle in the middle, you can fit more which is good, but its recommended to use a front loader powder (which we do) as its basically an upright front loader in a way

We got the LED model rather than the LCD (don't know if they still do both) as the retailer suggested that it was one thing less that could go wrong, however they are such a good brand I doubt it matters!

The only negative is that we recently had to replace our lid (about $80), however it was our fault as we didn't have very good ventilation in our laundry when the dryer was on and the plastic lid got a bit brittle where it lifts up because of the heat/moisture changes (this was 3 years later mind you), we have since sorted out the ventilation and have no no issues ongoing, so it really was our own fault and not a design or quality fault with the washing machine. F & P sent the lid out in two days, their service and assistance after sale is awesome if you need any help.

Oh, and its sexy, so white and modern looking

[~Hestia~]

Hey Hestia I am intruiged...

Okay So my washing line is under our carport in the backyard, two lines running along next to our fence. For a clothes wash I hang the boy's clothes next to the fence, if they happen to flap in the wind they are small enough to not touch the fence. All Buster's clothes then all Moo's clothes - easier for folding straight off the line! In front of the boy's clothes I hang all the under garments. On the second line next to the fence I hang our clothes that I don't mind flapping against the fence, so DH's jeans go here for example. Then in front of these go the nicer stuff I usually put DH's big tops right down the end to block the view from the neighbours, though I'm sure they couldn't care less about my undies lol.

All clothes must be hung upside down, socks hung by the longer part. Older pegs go on the darker clothes, nicer pegs go on the lighter clothes as they won't stain them. Socks have to face the same direction. Everything has to face out so the front of the clothes is showing.

I think that's it. If DH does the washing I can't even look...

[MrsFabuloso]

Oh my hestia, thats quite a list of qualifications!!! And i thought my washing hanging was particular! I remember a thread we had ages ago about pegs...that was funny!

[Tegam]

I'm another 7.5 Simpsons. I use to have the 5.5 Simpsons and gave it to mum what hers died. I sometimes chuck a load on at her place and have a giggle as to how small it is!

There are 6 of us so I wash every day. I separate a lot of the washing but at least once a week I chuck everything just to empty the laundry that's always a good feeling.

We didn't go anything fancy or electric as its just more that can break. We have had the 7.5 for 8 years now and never had a problem

I wash at night and hang out in the mornings.

[diva det]

i have an awesome 9.5kg washer and it is ACE!!
it goes constantly and can fit all the kids bedding in it at once
also i can fit 20 + towels in it at a time!
bigger is definately better

[OceanPrincess]

I'm revisiting this thread. I went and looked at some machines today and I'm so confused about size.

I've decided to switch to a front loader and one sales guy told me that a 7.5kg would be big enough. That I would fit my sheets, towels, whatever in one load. Then another told me I need 10kg

I'm so confused!

Can people with 7.5kg machines tell me if that's enough for them? Or do you have bigger and how big?

[~Hestia~]

I have a slightly bigger top loader, 8kg Maytag. I can fit in all our king sized bed linen into one load. As for our clothes, if I wash every two days the machine is full but I do have a lot of washing these days! Buster contributes quite a bit on his own so we're talking two complete outfits for myself at least, boobie pads and breastfeeding singlets, two complete outfits for DH, two outfits for Moo as well as pjs, maybe another pair of pants for Moo, a few wraps, anywhere from 4-10 onesies/outfits for Buster plus singlets, and at least a dozen bibs thanks to Buster, probably another top or two for me as well.

[Astrid]

Check the manual. Whilst our machine is a 8.5kg, it is only for a cotton load. Bedding, wool etc, it states not to load more than 2.5kg.

[trishalishous]

I think ours is 7.5kg, but we wash every night (cloth nappies) and then chuck the days clothes on top for a second wash. That way we dont need to do big loads on the weekend

[black_rose]

I have a 9kg top loader for a family of 5, before i had a 7.5kg and was having to do three loads a day, now it's only 1 every 1.5 days, the design of the tub makes a difference too, the middle bit of this one is slimline so more can go in.

[OceanPrincess]

Check the manual. Whilst our machine is a 8.5kg, it is only for a cotton load. Bedding, wool etc, it states not to load more than 2.5kg.

That must have been what the sales guy was talking about today when he said that even though one of them said 10kg it wasn't able to take as much as a different one that was 10kg because it was smaller somehow!

I was like "err huh?" so it is to do with volume versus weight? Or something?

[OceanPrincess]

I have a 9kg top loader for a family of 5, before i had a 7.5kg and was having to do three loads a day, now it's only 1 every 1.5 days, the design of the tub makes a difference too, the middle bit of this one is slimline so more can go in.

Hmm. Maybe I do need a bigger one...

[Little Chicken]

Family of four, one full size wash every other day. Kids sheets and three towels plus misc stuff once a week. Our king size sheets, quilt cover and pillow covers are another load. I have an 8.5kg Samsung front loader. Plenty big enough for us. I mostly wash on the cotton cycle which can take up to 2 hours depending on the temp you choose, but the spin is the fastest and they come out pretty dry.

[Astrid]

That must have been what the sales guy was talking about today when he said that even though one of them said 10kg it wasn't able to take as much as a different one that was 10kg because it was smaller somehow!

I was like "err huh?" so it is to do with volume versus weight? Or something?

Well I think with bedding, it may have something to do with making sure it can move around. I just load a king doona cover with smaller items, then the sheets in a separate load, rather than wash altogether.
As for wool, well it does get heavy when wet, so the weight of what is loaded would be important.

In our old 7.5kg top loader, we could fit our king wool underlay, but not now in the 8.5kg front loader. I have to take it to a laundramat with a huge machine now.

For us though, going to the FL meant huge water savings. Our old machine used 161 litres per load, not great when on tank water

[diva det]

our top loader is water efficient
it has to use front loader powder rather than top loader
it also has an eco rinse as well that sprays that water on the clothes rather than soaking them and it is ACE
so you can get top loaders that work on similar systems to a Front loader
also FWIW i can wash a whole load of clothes in 40 mins
and i can wash our king bedding, a king single and a single bed bedding all at once
One load fills my whole clothes line!!
go big hun- i had a 7.5kg with 2 kids and when boof was small , and it cut down the amount of loads i have to do a day when i got the bigger 9.5kg machine
go big hun