Next step was to look them up on the Energy Labelling website for more direct comparisons. I didn't bother looking up the Bosch as it is right out of our price range, but the Electrolux is rated 4.5 stars for energy; the F&P 3.5 stars. So initially it seems the Electrolux should be better choice environmentally, right? But when you look at the annual running costs, the Electrolux model uses 108 kWh for 365 cold-water washes. The F&P uses 65 kWh for the same 365 cold-water washes! What the? The warm water wash on the F&P uses much more energy, so I'm guessing that is (part of?) the reason for the differing star energy ratings? Can anyone elighten me?
Anyway, in the Choice trial the Electrolux scored 80% overall and the F&P 75% (it was marked down mostly due to being less gentle on clothes); the E-lux uses 73 litres of water per wash and the F&P 76 litres (both have 4 star water-efficiency ratings). As well as being cheaper, combined with the fact that I only ever wash in cold water, it seems to me that the F&P top-loader is better value? Plus it is manufactured in New Zealand, versus the E-lux which is made in Thailand, and it has a wash cycle of 58 minutes versus 108 minutes for the E-lux! Pays to do some research, doesn't it?
Other Things I'm Doing: Admiring J's (DH's) handiwork:
He finished installing the Solartube (skylight) in the kitchen yesterday, and what a massive difference it has made to the light level! Whenever I am cooking I have to turn on the light in their during the day as the stove area is very dark, and more so when I close the kitchen blinds if I have the air-conditioner on (not very often lately, luckily). I suspected that a skylight would make the kitchen much hotter on a hot summer's day but I think I will be able to cover the diffuser with al-foil if that is the case, so we went ahead and put one in anyway. I don't think the savings in electricity will be huge, but when you have cut down in all the big electricity waste areas, you start to get pretty picky about the small cuts, LOL.
We also wandered off to a new nursery briefly, where I found a low-chill heritage variety raspberry. Yum! I figured what the hell, I'll give it a go! Now I need to find a suitable niche for it where it might (hopefully) get enough chill hours in winter (but enough sun in summer). And it's out of the way of children and dogs so they don't get prickled!
Picking: Potatoes. These are from one of the lots that didn't die last year after being infected with blight. I'd love to know what variety they are as I'd plant them again due to their seemingly better disease resistance?
Making: Orange cordial. Chocolate ice cream.
Dinner: Leftover zucchini slice, local biodynamic beef sausages and roasted home-grown potatoes, covered with homemade tomato sauce.
Reading: The Slow Movement website:
How slow can you go?
Contemplating: A personal "slow" challenge; for example snail mail instead of email, no junk food, no TV... Considering the possibilities and a time-frame :-)
11 comments:
We have a F&P top loader and it has been excellent. Our previous front loader flooded constantly and cost a fortune, but others find them brilliant, of course.
One of the reasons front loaders use more power is because their wash cycles are usually longer. So I guess if water is more important, go FL, but if power is, go top-loader. Also, consider cost per load of the appliance over its lifespan. (eg cost to buy divided by years used).
Good luck!
Kate
Hi Kate, thanks for that! My current top loader is an F&P too and it's been great, only one minor problem in 12 years and still going strong so I would be more than happy to buy another one.
I was so surprised to find a top-loader that uses so much less water than the traditional models. Considering it wins out for energy and cost per wash, the extra 3 litres per wash it uses is pretty minor, I reckon. That's almost half what my current machine uses (130 litres on the Eco cycle).
Cheers, Julie
Two things about front loaders that I have found - you can't open the door to chuck somehting in you have forgotten - and you can't leave a few things in there to soak when you dont have a full wash but have for example dirty wet kitchen stuff. And - to be gross- try and get cloth menstral pads out of a bucket and into a front loader without making a feral mess on the floor!!!
I have been contemplationg the same things as you recently although I have to say I keep coming back to the same conclusion - the internet has to become a purely research tool and not a social or entertainment tool - hmm!
Although I'm happy with my new front loader, for all the reason's listed I agree that top loaders are more convenient to use. My husband recently "lost" his keys to the bobcat - only to find them sitting in the (running) washing machine in the front catchment. He had to wait 1.5 hours for the cycle to finish before he could use the bobcat :)
I'd also be interested to know what washing powder you use too.
I have recently switched to a front loader and eco friendly powder, but find one or the other quite harsh. For example my towels no longer are soft but instead dry into prickly ironing boards. I have tried adding (eco) fabric softener to each wash with some improvement. I'm working at the moment with liquid Earth Choice as it seems to be less harsh than the powder Planet Ark options. That said, Planet Ark seems to clean extremely well.
Cheers,
Alison
Hi Gwyn, thanks for the feedback on the washing machines :-) And yep, I am working hard to really skim back my internet use at the moment. It's so easy to get distracted even when I am researching something and go off on some tangent that takes an hour before I realise what I am doing! I am trimming my list of blogs and websites I visit (quality over quantity) too, much as I am finding it hard :-)
Hi Alison, front-loaders are supposed to be more gentle on clothes, so I suspect perhaps it's a) your washing powder that is making your towels stiff, or b) your washer has a poor rinse cycle so there is a detergent residue in your clothes. The Choice article I referred to said that many new machines promote themselves as being very water-efficient, BUT it comes at the expense of a poor rinse performance. For example, the machine that used the least water of all those tested - 41 litres per wash - had a rinse performance score of only 43%, the equal worst score.
Commercial powders often contain fabric softeners in them which could be why your clothes are stiffer now that you've switched brands. I make my own washing powder (the recipe is somewhere on my blog, if you search under the "homemade" label), and use white vinegar in the fabric softener compartment. Your clothes do come out smelling like vinegar a bit but it is all gone by the time your clothes are dry, trust me :-)
If I were you I'd try the vinegar first, then try another brand of eco-powder, and if that doesn't work, see if your machine has an extra rinse cycle you could use on your towels. Also bring them in off the clothes line before they are totally dry - they can dry into surfboards on a hot day, LOL. But if you bring them when they still feel soft and hang them over the back of a chair to finish airing, they will be much softer. Hope that helps!
Cheers, Julie
thankyou for the link to The Slow Movement website Julie! Lots of ting moments for me there, I've saved it to read more later.
To add to what's been said above, I do find the locked door on our FL difficult at times; if we had less clothes it could even be restrictive. But our machine has a rapid 30 min cycle which helps. It also has a low RPM spin which can help avoid the crunchy towels/nappies/pads situation. Another less obvious drawback is that the low water volume means it is more difficult to wash stuff like vomit out of sheets - when the kids are sick it is harder to clean their linen properly than the old TL we had. Icky visual, sorry!
Re: Alison's comment about detergents.
I have a front loader (and love it). I was using Aware powder and I didn't like it so much. I tried Earth Choice, which was good, but then I read the ingredients more carefully and found it uses pertroleum derivatives, which I don't want to. So I bought Aware powder again. I've only just finished the bottle of Earth Choice, so I'm about to discover whether Aware was really all that bad. And if it is I'll try adding vinegar.
I was also using Earth Choice dish washing detergent until I read the ingredients more carefully. I'm about to try Julie's recipe for dish washing detergent, the old bottle's almost empty.
Hi Claresnow
I am also using Earth's Choice and am reconsidering using it after reading your comments.
Could you advise what is "Julie's recipe" for dishwashing detergent?
Tks
Jasmine
Hi Jasmine,
I think Claire is talking about my dishwashing liquid recipe in this post.
Hope this helps :-)
Cheers, Julie
Hi Julie
Thanks for the reply. My apologies for not knowing that you are the Julie that was mentioned in that comment.
I have just stumbled upon your blog today and simply love your posts. I have also subscribed to the two other blogs that you write. They are simply wonderful and I really envy you for the big and beautiful garden that you have.
I live in Singapore and would like to check what the following are and where are the likely places to get them:
-organic liquid castile soap
-vegetable glycerine
Tks
Jasmine
Hi Jasmine,
Thanks for your kind words :-)
As for castile soap and glycerine, possibly your best bet is to try your local health food store? Sometimes supermarkets sell glycerine, but there is a difference between standard glycerine (also spelt glycerin) and vegetable glycerine; I prefer the latter as there are no animal products in it. Castile soap is known as "Dr Bronner's" in the U.S., so it might be called that too in Singapore, although I don't know? The brand I buy in Australia is called "Melrose" if that helps. It should be available in health foods shops, as I said, although you could try online if you can't find it? Good luck! If you have any problems just email me (the link is in the side bar) :-)
Cheers, Julie
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