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0 pointsjrochkind13y ago0 comments

My US market washing machine has settings for "hot", "warm", and "cold", but if there's a way to set temperature to a number, it is not intuitive and I am not aware of it (it may exist this is a 'digital' machine!). If it did have a way to set a wash temp to an arbitrary number, it would presumably be in F not C!

I think this is typical for US washing machines?

Do (eg) European washing machines instead typically have you set wash temp to an arbitrary number of °C?

0 comments

masklinn3y ago

> My US market washing machine has settings for "hot", "warm", and "cold"

What the hell? That’s barbaric.

> Do (eg) European washing machines instead typically have you set wash temp to an arbitrary number of °C?

Not arbitrary except possibly on high-end machines but even entry-level stuff have temp settings for the usual stuff: cold (whatever’s out the tap), 30, 40, 60, 90.

robonerd3y ago

How do you ever decide whether a load of laundry needs 30 or 40? Do you sum up all the laundry labels on each item of clothing then take the average?

Personally, I leave my machine set to hot for everything. Hot water is what I use for washing in my dish washer, in my sink, in my shower.. hot water is for washing. That's how I see it.

masklinn3y ago

> How do you ever decide whether a load of laundry needs 30 or 40? Do you sum up all the laundry labels on each item of clothing then take the average?

If you have enough laundry I expect you try to put stuff with similar requirements together in the same way you segregate whites and colors.

Though usually unless your laundry is quite dirty you'd go with 30 standard and shove everything in there, at 30 color shouldn't even be too much of a factor.

In all honesty I'm not quite sure why both are present, I think it's because older generations believed 30 would not be enough (as it's "human range" water), so 30 or cold would only be for the clothes which can't go any higher and 40 was the baseline.

cameronh903y ago

All washing machines I've used in the UK have a temperature selector dial. They usually offer a number of presets such as 30c, 40c, 60c and 90c.

jrochkind1OP3y ago

Interesting! I don't believe that's how USA washing machines work, they usually just say "hot", "warm", and "cold".

Apparently USAians are washing machine philistines who don't need more than three temperatures and don't know what they are?

Anyway, this shows another challenge in these icons, the international diversity of washing techniques and technology.

(Edit: I found one possible answer online -- Euro washing machines may actually have water heaters built in, while American washing macchines may just use the existing house "hot water supply". So Euro machines can heat to desired temp, while American ones just have to take what they get! Why THAT was done that way, I don't know, difference in hot water heating technology choices? Euro houses don't usually have a central "hot water tank" like US has? Why THAT is would be yet another question...).

masklinn3y ago

> I found one possible answer online -- Euro washing machines may actually have water heaters built in, while American washing macchines may just use the existing house "hot water supply". So Euro machines can heat to desired temp, while American ones just have to take what they get!

Ah so it’s the same deal as the dishwashers, I should have figured.

> Euro houses don't usually have a central "hot water tank" like US has? Why THAT is would be yet another question...).

Commonly not, although it does absolutely exist water is frequently heated up on-demand.

However a better reason might be the same as the kettle thing: the US being on 120V, so getting hot water out the furnace or hot water tank is waaay faster than heating it up on the spot.

2 more replies

bombcar3y ago

I suspect washers with heaters come from places that original had cold water only.

The reality is we are overthinking it - "cold/warm/hot" is about all we need, and "warm" is really just "fill as fast as possible" often, since it opens both hoses.

1 more reply

el-salvador3y ago

In Latin America our home washing machines are usually connected to ‘cold’ water only. Except in homes with separate cold/hot water pipes.

1 more reply

plorkyeran3y ago

My apartment's washing machines don't even have hot/warm/cold. It has "bright colors", "colors", and "whites", which _hopefully_ correspond to three different temperatures, and then things like "delicates" where the temperature is a surprise (I hope it's cold?).

TwoHeadedBeast3y ago

Yes, typically 30, 40, 50, 60 and 90.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

masklinn3y ago

> My US market washing machine has settings for "hot", "warm", and "cold"

What the hell? That’s barbaric.

> Do (eg) European washing machines instead typically have you set wash temp to an arbitrary number of °C?

Not arbitrary except possibly on high-end machines but even entry-level stuff have temp settings for the usual stuff: cold (whatever’s out the tap), 30, 40, 60, 90.

robonerd3y ago

How do you ever decide whether a load of laundry needs 30 or 40? Do you sum up all the laundry labels on each item of clothing then take the average?

Personally, I leave my machine set to hot for everything. Hot water is what I use for washing in my dish washer, in my sink, in my shower.. hot water is for washing. That's how I see it.

masklinn3y ago

> How do you ever decide whether a load of laundry needs 30 or 40? Do you sum up all the laundry labels on each item of clothing then take the average?

If you have enough laundry I expect you try to put stuff with similar requirements together in the same way you segregate whites and colors.

Though usually unless your laundry is quite dirty you'd go with 30 standard and shove everything in there, at 30 color shouldn't even be too much of a factor.

cameronh903y ago

All washing machines I've used in the UK have a temperature selector dial. They usually offer a number of presets such as 30c, 40c, 60c and 90c.

jrochkind1OP3y ago

Interesting! I don't believe that's how USA washing machines work, they usually just say "hot", "warm", and "cold".

Apparently USAians are washing machine philistines who don't need more than three temperatures and don't know what they are?

Anyway, this shows another challenge in these icons, the international diversity of washing techniques and technology.

masklinn3y ago

Ah so it’s the same deal as the dishwashers, I should have figured.

> Euro houses don't usually have a central "hot water tank" like US has? Why THAT is would be yet another question...).

Commonly not, although it does absolutely exist water is frequently heated up on-demand.

However a better reason might be the same as the kettle thing: the US being on 120V, so getting hot water out the furnace or hot water tank is waaay faster than heating it up on the spot.

2 more replies

bombcar3y ago

I suspect washers with heaters come from places that original had cold water only.

The reality is we are overthinking it - "cold/warm/hot" is about all we need, and "warm" is really just "fill as fast as possible" often, since it opens both hoses.

1 more reply

el-salvador3y ago

In Latin America our home washing machines are usually connected to ‘cold’ water only. Except in homes with separate cold/hot water pipes.

1 more reply

plorkyeran3y ago

TwoHeadedBeast3y ago

Yes, typically 30, 40, 50, 60 and 90.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse