Anyone know of a good washing machine that can take Kingsize duvets?

[Steve]

Hi,

We are moving to a remote countryside are and would like to buy a good reliable washing machine that might take a kingsize duvet and large sheets without running out to a launderette which may be miles away in the town center.

I have looked at the dyson 7KG CR-01 Contrarotator but i feel that it is too expensive and has not been reviewed favourably. Has anyone got any suggestions?

Regards

steve

[Mary Fisher]

Lage sheets aren't a problem in any machine but I wonder how often you need to wash your duvet? Surely it's not worth going to the financial and space expense of a large machine just for the occasional use? After all, you'll be going to the town on occasions won't you?

Mary

[Bob Minchin]

Siemens and Bosch (same chassis, same factory, different badges, sometimesdifferent software) make a number of machines with extra large door and loadcapacity 6 or 7kg from memory. I've had a siemens one for several faultless years. The only feature I miss compared to a mechanical programmer machine is an indication of progrees through the wash cycles but I think the newer models have some sort of display. The Siemens ones are called ExtraKlasse IIRC.

No need to pay silly money for these machines. Search out a supplier who deals in graded goods - often they have only been through sample testing in the factory. There is a outlet in Southampton - Southern Domestic Equipment Supplies - usual disclaimer - just a satisfied customer. regards

Bob

[BillR]

AFAIK you can't wash the average duvet in a washing machine. Never mind the size, I've looked at all ours and they say dry clean only. If you mean the duvet COVER most washing machines should do that. My old Ariston and new Bosch certainly could/can.

[Colin Swan]

My LG will take 7Kg, has an electronic programmer and a time remaining display. Not particularly cheap mind you...

Regards,

Colin Swan Nildram Operations

[N. Thornton]

Hi. IME dry clean items do better in the washer than they do in dry cleaning. Less fade. I've washed dry-clean stuff for years, and not come unstuck once yet. And even if the next thnig gets ruined, I'll still be many pounds and hours ahead.

Regards, NT

[Niel A. Farrow]

We bought some second-hand American style top loaders, and large gas dryers. Found them in the loot, and only cost £50-75 for nearly new quality. Neil

[Rod Hewitt]

[e-mail] (Steve) wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Have two duvets! One winter, one summer. Then you have a few months in which to make it to the nearest town. And you needn't sweat overmuch in the summer. :-)

If natural filling (down, feather, silk, etc.), a specialised wet process appears to be recommended and I certainly would not wash it at all. And I am not that keen on conventional dry cleaning because a) it is believed to destroy such natural fillings and b) things always retain some smell/fumes for a while. (Potentially dangerous if you use a coin-op style dry cleaning system.)

I would happily wash a polyester duvet in a large enough machine. But the excess cost of a large capacity machine purely for this seems crazy. It would surely be cheaper to buy a second duvet - and you could buy several cheapies of any filling (suitable for summer use) for the excess cost of a large washer.

Rod

[N. Thornton]

It is, but... consider the total cost over an item's life of

a) purchasing and paying for repeated specialist cleaning b) purchasing plus washing it in the washing machine

You'd have to have a very high loss rate with b) to make it worth choosing a). So far I've washed all kinds of filling in the washer and not lost a thing. Polyester, feathers, foam, plastic beads, wool, wire frames, etc.

The _key_ thing with any filling is drying time, you must dry fillings out effectively and fairly quickly. Feathers are sensitive in that respect. You need warm air and and fanning. Dont use a hot setting on a tumbler, and do let it run for ages (hours in the case of natural filings) at a low temp setting. I used 30C 6 hours for the last feather thing (its perfect).

Regards, NT

[Philip Wagstaff]

"Bob Minchin" wrote>

... and I absolutely agree with him. We've had a Siemens for about 10 years, my wife loves it, very quiet, does a lovely job, clothes nearly dry after the spin and pretty well wrinkle-free.

[Rod Hewitt]

[e-mail] (N. Thornton) wrote in news: [e-mail]:

With a cheaper natural filling duvet I might risk it - eventually. But I certainly don't see the need to wash it more than rarely. Unfortunately we don't have a tumble and the laundrette ones nearby don't have a suitably low heat setting - so it will just have to stay the way it is... :-)

Rod

[The Real Bev]

A laundromat industrial-size machine would probably charge a couple of bucks to wash it and would do a better job than a home machine would. How often does such a thing need washing? Once a year? That often?

I did wash a cheap kapok-stuffed sleeping bag in an industrial washer once. The fabric dissolved and the filling took forever to get out of the machine. I was really glad that the proprietor wasn't around.

I've washed down jackets, but I think I could spin them on 'air' forever (perhaps weeks; certainly not hours) and they'd still stay damp. I ended up just laying them out in the sun in the middle of summer and pulling the down-blobs apart every few hours. Took a couple of days even then.

[Candide]

Down filled items should never be dry cleaned as the chemicals do not come out of the down/feathers and one will be breathing in those fumes for ages.

Down/feathered filled items become quite heavy when wet and traditional top loading washing machines do not offer enough room for these items to move freely. Many care labels will say "dry clean" only for down items because of this reason. But if one has access to a laundrynat with large triple loaders these items can be washed there.

Also LG has come out with a line of front loading washing machines that have the largest capacity of any washing machine sold in the U.S. You can wash a king sized down duvet safely in one of these machines.

Finally down duvets must be only laundered if the ticking is strong enough and free of hole/tears. Any small opening will likely grow worse during laundering, allowing the filling to escape.

Candide "Never keep up with the Joneses. Drag them down to your level. It's cheaper." Quentin Crisp 1908 - 1999

[geoff]

I think that the machine he is talking about is also available in the UK

[Mike Barnes]

Or just two thin duvets - one for summer and both (in the same cover) for winter. When tumble-drying a duvet, add a pair of trainers to break up the clumps of filling.

[Candide]

X-No-archive: yes

"She" and yes LG washing machines are available in the UK. You want to look for the "Tromm" model line.

Candide

[S Viemeister]

Thank you - I'll keep an eye out for them.

[geoff]

In message <bhr5h4$28pea$ [e-mail]>, Candide [e-mail] writes

Escuse moi madame