Best Green Washing Machines

Eco-Washers – More fun to watch than most TV.

My first encounter with a European-style high-efficiency washer back in the early ‘90s is almost as memorable as my first ride in a Porsche. The compact Bosch front-loader I found in the Swiss hotel’s laundry room radiated a sense of efficiency and precision that the hulking white top-loaders I used at home lacked. My first impression was confirmed as I watched my clothes being put through a methodical set of rocking motions that pushed a small amount of water and an impossibly small amount of detergent gently through them before they underwent a NASA-like centrifuge ride that left them almost dry enough to wear. Even the purposeful whirs, clicks, and hums that the unit emitted as it cheerfully carried out its task stood in stark contrast to the mindless hum-clunk of the simple porcelain cubes I’d grown up with.

The washer I saw in Switzerland was a marvel of efficiency, both in the amount of water and electricity it used. Equally important, their high-speed water extraction cycles cut the amount of energy needed to dry the clothes by half or more. In some models, the same computer chips that control the washer’s precision agitation cycles also gives it the smarts to detect an out-of-balance situation and automatically correct it by jostling clothes about in the drum.

But, despite their obvious advantages, their higher cost and smaller capacities made them a rarity in America until recently. Things changed around the turn of the century as eco-conscious consumers helped spread the word that their higher initial cost was more than repaid after a few years of lower water and energy bills.

From Oddity to Fashion Statement:

Buying a high-efficiency washer has become easier for the average consumer of late as U.S. and Asian manufacturers jumped on the environmental band wagon. They’ve started building eco-friendly machines with larger capacities and features that were more in tune with the American lifestyle. Many of today’s machines also boast designer colors and sleek styling that that has helped move them from their Cinderella-like existence in the basement to take their rightful place in the center of the home as no less of a domestic fashion accessory than a Viking stove in your kitchen or a Prius in your garage.


How We Chose the Best of the Best:

When compiling our list of the top eco-washers on the market, we chose those that offered the best mix of environmental benefits, consumer-friendly features, and overall washing performance. We used the energy efficiency and water consumption data from the EPA’s EnergyStar web site http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=clotheswash.pr_clothes_washers to come up with an initial pool of candidates. We then narrowed our final choices for The Best of The Best based on features, styling, reliability history, and overall quality.

Choosing Your Personal Best:

All of our selections offer a superb washing experience but to get the unit that best suits your needs you have to take stock of your goals and priorities. First, do you prefer the more efficient front-loading style or a more conventional top-loading design? For the most part, side-loaders tend to save more water and energy at the expense of a longer wash cycle (70-100 minutes). If you still feel more comfortable with a top-loader and like the shorter wash cycle (45-60 minutes) we’ve included several models that offer environmental performance that’s still above average.

Next, how much space do you have to park your eco-washer and its companion dryer? Some of the new eco-units are a bit bulkier (up to 31” deep) so it might be a good idea to measure your laundry nook and then bring a tape measure when you go shopping. One great way to save space is to stack your units but you may need to buy a model that has some sort of vibration-damping technology (Samsung and Whirlpool among others) if you want to run them on anything but a solid basement floor.

After deciding how much capacity you need, and the must-have features you can’t live without (I think that the steam option is one of them), it’s time to look at environmental performance. The U.S. government’s EnergyStar program www.energystar.gov has done a great job of providing a clear, easy-to-understand set of metrics used to certify an appliance as environmentally friendly. The same specs also make it easy for you to see how your choice stacks up against the eco-performance of any washer or dryer on their list.

See the Best of the Rest section for more details on the EnergyStar specs for each model we’ve listed.