The upshot of a broken washer

You can learn a lot while doing laundry at a friend’s home, Jura Koncius writes.

Most of us do our laundry the same way every time.

When I recently was without a washing machine for two weeks, two friends were nice enough to have me over and make me dinner while I shlepped bags of dirty towels and pyjamas into their basements. Their newer washers and dryers and their own styles of doing laundry made me re-examine our family laundry drill. In 2003, we bought one of the first front-loading high-efficiency washers. The machine served us well and generated probably only one repair visit in its long life. Last month, the washer started to make a horrible grinding noise, and I knew it wasn’t worth costly repairs at its advanced age. It also smelled bad. I bought a washing machine the next night without too much fuss: a front-loader that seemed to have the features and the price tag I wanted.

Our 16-year-old dryer was still going strong, so I chose not to replace it. (I don’t need a fancy matched set, as my laundry area is in an unfinished basement and is not Instagram material.) Using my friends’ machines and detergents, while I waited for my new machine to be delivered, was enlightening. I learned that a top-loading, high-efficiency washer can be pretty deep; you might not be able to reach the clothes at the bottom unless you have a tall roommate. I also found myself missing the pedestals I bought for my front-loaders; they raise the height up about a foot and provide a storage drawer.

It’s always interesting to see how others handle basic chores; sometimes you get a glimpse of this as a house guest.

Here are four things that shook up my laundry game after seeing my friends’ setups:

Saying goodbye to dryer sheets:

My mom embraced dryer sheets in the 1970s, when they proved an easier way to soften and prevent wrinkles than adding liquid fabric softeners. So, I naturally tossed a dryer sheet into every load, except for towels, without giving it much thought. My friend Susan never uses dryer sheets or fabric softener, and she says she doesn’t miss it (although she does sometimes get the dreaded static cling). My

friend Nancy uses dryer balls as a greener (and less expensive) choice, and I liked how fluffy they made my cotton loads.

Keeping the washer door ajar is (still) a must:

Mould is a dirty word to owners of front-loading high-efficiency washers. Manufacturers have struggled to figure out how to prevent these low-water machines from developing a musty, mildewy smell that can come from detergent residue or clothing fibres getting stuck inside its parts. My old machine had a bad odour, and by the time I started leaving the door ajar, it was too late to totally get rid of it. I figured someone must have come up with a solution to that since 2003, but my friend Susan’s five-year-old front-loader had a slightly musty smell, too. A salesman told me it’s best to keep the door open when not in use and run the cleaning cycle once a month.

Experiencing even whiter whites:

The load of whites I did in Nancy’s high-efficiency top-loader was so bright, clean

and fresh that they glowed when I took them out. I used her Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Laundry Detergent in lemon verbena and OxiClean White Revive brightener. Why was there such a difference? According to Melissa Maker, who has been writing for the blog Clean My Space since 2011: “When you washed your clothes in a newer machine with different products, it made you think, ‘What have I been missing all these years?’” Maker says. Adding a brightener to detergent really makes a difference. I’m going to try that in my new washer.

Keep up with cleaning dryer vent:

I periodically clean out the opening under the lint filter using a flexible dryer lint brush. Susan cleaned her vent about a year ago when her loads started taking longer to dry because of decreased air flow; Maker says that’s the telltale sign you need to clean your duct, fast.