Washing machines are must-have home appliances that every middle-income or higher-income household needs today for washing laundry with the help of detergent and water. The availability of washing machines has made handwashing a thing of the past and introduced comfort in the life of Indian women. Washing machines these days are extremely efficient machines having many top-of-the-line features and make the job of washing clothes a lot easier. Moreover, a lot of precious water is also saved. Washing machines these days come either in fully automatic or semi-automatic configuration and are either front load or top load. Generally, front-loading machines are fully automatic and are energy efficient. Prices of washing machines have come down considerably as modern machines no longer require costly gearboxes. Instead, speed control is done using electronically. Manufacturers have considerably reduced vibration due to the use of spring suspensions and hydraulic suspensions. Machines these days come with direct drive motors thereby doing away with the pulley, belt, and tensioners.

Modern washing machines come in a variety of sizes, speeds, capacities, and costs. In addition to these washing machines come in a variety of features like

• Some washing machines come with water jet sprayers and steam nozzles and also have hot water washing features.
• Some washing machines have special purpose drums for washing the clothes using centrifugal and rotating features.
• Modern-day washers can take care of calcification due to hard water.
• Almost all modern-day washing machines come with dispensers.
• Some machines have pulsators instead of agitators for shaking off the dirt and dust off the clothes. 
• Almost all modern-day machines come with electronic logic circuitry for the efficient wash cycle.

Types of modern-day washing machines.

Broadly categorized, modern-day washing machines are

Top Loading and Front Loading, automatic or semi-automatic.

Working of Top Loading Washing machines---Top-loading machines are vertical axis rotating machines having a finned agitator in a perforated basket that is covered within a drum. During the washing cycle, the agitator rotates in a direction and then reverses direction periodically and uses centrifugal force and gravity for the best wash. Top-loading machines are convenient to load, require less maintenance, and cheaper in cost.

Working of Front Loading Washing machines---Front-loading machines are horizontal-axis rotating machines and are in demand commercially or for high-end domestic use. Inner perforated drum and outer jacket drum are placed horizontally. Gravity and back and forth motion of drum is used to achieve agitation. These are simply designed machines and the central axis of the rotating drum is propelled using a motor and a pulley. Suspension of the inner drum and clothes inside an outer drum is a complex arrangement as the weight of the inner drum and clothes is a cantilevered mounting on the outer drum.

Advantages of Front loading machines over top-loading machines.

• Front-loading machines usually use less energy, water, and detergent compared to the best top-loaders.
• Front-loading machines offer better spin-dry efficiency.
• Front-loading machines may be placed in compact spaces.
• Top-loading machines are prone to wear and tear due to the placement of drums on the central axis vertically.
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