Types and Uses of Washing

Machines and Dryers

by Nylir Kagamine

Types and Uses of Washing Machines

Different types of washing machines include front-load washing machines and top-load washing machines.

Although there are variations and hybrid versions of these washers, front-load and top-load washers are the standard types.

Front-load washers typically have more cost-saving ability, benefits and additional features than traditional top-load washers.

Front-Load Washing Machines

Front-load washing machines are ideal for small laundry rooms or areas that are tight on space. This type of washing machine has the ability to be stacked with an accompanying dryer to increase space. Front-load washers have a large capacity that allows users to wash bulky items easily or more items simultaneously, without limiting cleaning performance.

These washers are considered the most energy-efficient option as a result of using less water per load during each wash cycle. Front load washers do not use an agitator, which improves clothing life. The lack of an agitator eliminates the twisting and pulling that causes trauma to clothes

Top-Load Washing Machines

The wash cycles on top-load washers are shorter than front-load washers and produce minimal vibration. These washers are cheaper than other washers and are easier to repair. Top-load washers also incorporate a simple and straightforward control panel, which is more intuitive for operation. This type of washing machine does not require squatting or bending to put clothes in or to take them out, which is an added convenience for some users.

Types and Uses of Dryers

Many dryers consist of a rotating drum called a "tumbler" and a simpler non-rotating machine called a "drying cabinet"

Tumble Dryer

Many dryers consist of a rotating drum called a "tumbler" through which heated air is circulated to evaporate the moisture, while the tumbler is rotated to maintain air space between the articles. Using these machines may cause clothes to shrink or become less soft (due to loss of short soft fibers/lint)

a clothes dryer that spins wet clothes inside a cylinder with heated air

Drying Cabinet

A drying cabinet is an electrical machine designed to expedite the drying of items - usually clothing - that are unsuitable for a traditional clothes dryer. Such items may include delicate clothing designated as "hang dry", "dry flat" or "do not tumble dry" on their wash instructions, as well as items such as comforters, boots and coats.

Spin Dryer

These centrifuge machines simply spin their drums much faster than a typical washer could, in order to extract additional water from the load. They may remove more water in two minutes than a heated tumbler dryer can in twenty, thus saving significant amounts of time and energy. Although spinning alone will not completely dry clothing, this additional step saves a worthwhile amount of time and energy for large laundry operations such as those of hospitals.

In some cases, dryers may use spin alone. Larger gyms and swimming pools may have small spin dryers for the convenience of exiting patrons.

Condenser Tumble Dryer

Just as in a normal dryer, condenser or condensation dryers pass heated air through the load. However, instead of exhausting this air, the dryer uses a heat exchanger to cool the air and condense the water vapor into either a drain pipe or a collection tank.

Heat Pump Dryer A closed-cycle heat pump clothes dryer uses a

heat pump to dehumidify the processing air. Such dryers typically use less than half the energy per load of a condenser dryer. Whereas condensation dryers use a passive heat exchanger cooled by ambient air, these dryers use a heat pump.

Mechanical steam compression dryers

A new type of dryer in development, these machines are a more advanced version of heat pump dryers. Instead of using hot air to dry the clothing, mechanical steam compression dryers use water recovered from the clothing in the form of steam.

Convectant drying Marketed by some manufacturers as a "static

clothes drying technique", convectant dryers simply consist of a heating unit at the bottom, a vertical chamber, and a vent at top. The unit heats air at the bottom, reducing its relative humidity, and the natural tendency of hot air to rise brings this low-humidity air into contact with the clothes. This design is slow, but relatively energy-efficient. It is only marginally faster than line-drying.

Solar clothes dryer The solar dryer is a box-shaped stationary

construction which encloses a second compartment where the clothes are held. It uses the sun's heat without direct sunlight reaching the clothes. Alternatively, a solar heating box may be used to heat air that is driven through a conventional tumbler dryer.

Microwave dryers Japanese manufacturershave developed highly

efficient clothes dryers that use microwave radiation to dry the clothes (though a vast majority of Japanese air dry their laundry). Most of the drying is done using microwaves to evaporate the water, but the final drying is done by convection heating, to avoid problems of arcing with metal pieces in the laundry.

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