The Meeting Place > Hot Topics > Look who's being a wally with water

Look who's being a wally with water

avatar
Janelle Ward
2 yrs ago

Could a washing machine that uses 214 litres of water for a single wash really be given four stars?

It can, and consumer advocate CHOICE is furious, labelling the $1899 Samsung washing machine a "disgraceful" water waster and, unsurprisingly, giving it a zero rating for water efficiency.

CHOICE lab experts were shocked by the water wastage of the Samsung 13kg Activ DualWash top load WA13M8700GV.

"Samsung has released one of the most disgraceful water wasters we've ever seen," says CHOICE laundry expert Ashley Iredale.

"Using 214 litres on the default setting is just completely unacceptable," says Mr Iredale. "This is the second year in a row Samsung has released a water guzzling disgrace."

CHOICE says the Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme doesn't always reflect real-world use and needs to be reformed.

"The water labelling scheme is generally good, but as this Samsung example shows, there are gaps in the current rating system that need to be fixed. The Australian government is currently reviewing the WELS scheme and we're urging them to change the testing settings to better reflect how people use their washing machines."

4 comments
avatar
johnp
2 yrs ago

publicize this as much as possible, as often as possible, wherever possible etc

avatar
Sophie
2 yrs ago

An environmental tip….

Unless working on a building site, no need to use the full cycle all the time. If your machine (like mine) has a quick wash (30 mins) use it!

A quick wash uses less water, up to 30%* on average, meaning you can care for your clothes and the environment at the same time. Quick washes are also better for your washing machine, reducing their running time and helping to care for them for longer. Quick washes are also better for your clothes.

avatar
johnp
2 yrs ago

agree, very good reply

avatar
Sue Ridge
2 yrs ago

 

We live on a relatively flat block and instead of letting the waste water from our washing machine go down the sewer pipe, my husband cut a hole in the laundry wall and attached a longer hose so the water is pumped onto our garden. When I do the laundry, we can choose which area the water goes and in dry times our garden still holds up very well. All washing detergents are bio-degradable so there's no harm to our plants or lawn.

 

avatar
Oxleigh
2 yrs ago

Onya Sue, I designed a few years a self siphoning gadget to wait until the soap suds were gone down the drain then start siphoning the rest of the water through a pipe to an underground pipe network in the front lawn, during a drought all the neighbors would ask why my lawn was always green, they had not seen me watering it.

I tried this gadget on our new machine but it uses a lot less water and does not get a chance to start the syphon system, that shows the LG direct drive front loader is very economical, We always use it on a 30 minute wash. the first one of these we had lasted 8 years.  

avatar
Beemee
2 yrs ago

I do the same with my waste water. I have an 8kg top loader that has setting of about 6 cycle washes - god darn we don't get that dirty. But it can be turned down to a single wash and a single rinse. Also have a 15 year old twin tub by Hitachi and still going, then there's the non powered washing machine - the old barrel job you turn with a handle that uses about 2.5 litres for a wash. All of mine goes to water the driveway lawn. Could not care about the front lawn (council strip) outside the front gate, it can go brown for all I care.

avatar
Beemee
2 yrs ago

I do the same with my waste water. I have an 8kg top loader that has setting of about 6 cycle washes - god darn we don't get that dirty. But it can be turned down to a single wash and a single rinse. Also have a 15 year old twin tub by Hitachi and still going, then there's the non powered washing machine - the old barrel job you turn with a handle that uses about 2.5 litres for a wash. All of mine goes to water the driveway lawn. Could not care about the front lawn (council strip) outside the front gate, it can go brown for all I care.

avatar
Sue Ridge
2 yrs ago

 

 

Thanks Oxleigh but when my husband told me what he was planning, I was against cutting holes in the wall. I'll pass on your thanks to the right person.

 

 

4 comments



To make a comment, please register or login

Preview your comment