Plus, the steam probably isn't delivered at a high enough temperature to help lift or remove stains. Jim Nanni, head of appliance testing at Consumer Reports, notes that one likely reason steam has little effect on cleaning is that the laundry is saturated with water or submerged in it, so that any effect that steam can have on cleaning is minimized or even negated. Even worse, one washer’s steam option increased water consumption by 18 gallons and energy use by nearly 600 percent, erasing years of efficiency gains.
Using the steam function extended cycle times substantially for some washers, doubling it in one case. “But the steam option did cause most of the machines to use more water, and all of them used more energy.” “Stain removal was about the same with or without steam,” says Handel. Then we repeat this test with new fabric swatches using the same wash cycle, but this time adding steam. The lighter the reading for the stain after laundering, the higher the model scores in cleaning. CR testers use a spectrocolorimeter to analyze fabric swatches stained with red wine, cocoa, and carbon (which is similar to soot), among other stains, before and after washing, using the normal wash cycle and heaviest-soil setting. To evaluate how steam affects cleaning performance, we tested five front-loaders, one HE top-loader, and one agitator top-loader washer from five manufacturers: Electrolux, LG, Maytag, Samsung, and Whirlpool.įirst, we ran our usual wash-performance tests.
STEAM POWER WASHER HOW TO
Read our report on how to prevent the spread of the coronavirus when doing laundry for more advice. But Jaimie Meyer, M.D., M.S., an infectious disease specialist at Yale Medicine, suggests following the guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for washing the laundry of those who have COVID-19: Use laundry detergent and the warmest water setting the fabrics allow, and dry completely. If you’re wondering if steam kills the coronavirus, we haven't seen evidence. LG, for one, also uses steam for its tub-clean cycle, which it claims reduces the buildup of residue, mold, mildew, and odors. Typically, the steam option is available when you’re using a washing machine’s normal wash cycle, though some models allow it for other cycles as well. But “most washers with steam have an internal heater that heats the water into steam and injects this mist into the tub,” says David Wilson, senior commercial director of clothes care at GE Appliances. Manufacturers take different approaches to create steam. “We test features like steam to find out if they offer a real benefit to consumers.”
The results? “The steam option didn’t improve a washer’s cleaning ability,” says Rich Handel, who oversees the testing of laundry appliances at Consumer Reports. So we decided to put steam to the test in our labs.
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