HE Vs Laundromat Washing Machines

[Jacob Harrod AUTOCLEAN]

HE VS Laundromat Washing Machines

Last night I was really tired, and I just didn’t feel like washing my microfiber towels in the usual manner. I threw caution to the wind and just threw the towels in the washer, put an ounce of detergent in the detergent drawer and started the washer.

This morning I was disappointed as my microfiber towels were still dirty.





This prompted me to conduct an experiment.

In this article I will be covering 3 different washing methods. The first method - Put towels in, pour detergent in the detergent drawer, and start the washer leaves your towels dirty and contaminated. Especially in HE Machines.

The other two methods will be covered as follows.

To begin with I marked the testing towels with a ‘T’ for testing and the microfiber applicator with an ‘I’ for interior.



And now for a quick commercial break.

I absolutely LOVE the WolfGang Microfiber Cleaner and Rejuvenator! Let me just say that the little squeeze bottle is a must! It makes measuring out the perfect amount so easy and the design of the bottle is just genius!

You can refill the bottle with a bottle funnel for a no spill refill.

One last thing I’d like to add is that you should consider purchasing a gallon jug at the same time as you purchase the small squeeze bottle. If you take advantage of one of Autogeek’s sales it would be like getting a combo kit.

I don’t believe AG has this kit, but maybe they'll have it in the future, or maybe I just didn’t see it during my search.

I am always impressed with how clean this stuff gets my towels and it leaves them feeling soft and new after every wash!

Wolfgang Microfiber Cleaner and Rejuvenator


Wolfgang Microfiber Cleaner and Rejuvenator



I set my testing towels aside and put my other towels back into the dirty clean towel bucket in preparation to take them to the laundry mat




I needed something to clean that would get the towels contaminated as equally as possible, so I selected my Jeep’s door jambs, as I had conducted an interior detail the day before, and neglected to clean the door jambs.

Driver’s Side



Passenger’s Side



I dampened the towels with water and commenced to wiping out the jambs





Here’s the drivers side AKA the laundromat washing machine towel



Here’s the passengers side AKA the HE washing machine towel



Here is a side by side comparison with the laundromat towel on the left and the HE machine towel on the right.

To my eyes, it looks like the HE towel is more contaminated than the Laundromat towel. I’ll let you make your best judgement.



My line of thinking is that the design and the way that the washer functions will get the towels cleaner, as the blades and sloshing and tossing action of the laundromat washer create a more violent action that the seemingly inferior vanes of the HE machine.







I measured out 1 oz of detergent for this load, as I assumed that 1 oz would be most appropriate for the size of the load.



I then put in the towels, selected the appropriate settings, popped in the quarters and started the load.







The detergent dispenser on the laundromat washer seems to do a great job of mixing up the detergent while filling the washer.

Everything looks pretty sudsy as the towels slosh around in the washer.





After the load was done at the laundromat I put the load in the HE machine for a rinse and spin only, as I typically do when I do this procedure of cleaning my microfiber towels.

This is to ensure that all soaps are removed from the towels. Based on my observations the laundromat machines don’t do the best job rinsing the towels.

There is an extra rinse step with the HE method as well.





Here’s the microfiber applicator after pulling it out of the rinse cycle.



Time to wash the HE machine towel! I used ½ oz for this load and also the method in post #23 of this thread.

The OCD Method of Washing Microfiber Towels

 

[Jacob Harrod AUTOCLEAN]

***CONTINUED***


As you can see the HE machine takes FOREVER to complete a cycle.

Then there’s the annoying, pausing and then opening and closing of the lid.

You can only get one load done at a time so plan on spending all day getting your towels washed.

One pro, is this method saves you quarters.



Here is the laundromat machine towel after it was all finished.



Here’s the HE machine towel after it was finished



Here’s a before and after side by side comparison of the towels with the laundromat towel on the left and the HE towel on the right of both photos.





Both towels look pretty clean to me. I’ll let you be the judge on which towel is cleaner.

I’m giving the edge to the laundromat machines, because I can wash multiple loads at once. I can do 5 or 6 loads at a time only taking 26 minutes for the initial wash cycle. I get slowed a bit when I have to churn through the rinse cycles at 23 minutes a pop when I get home. It’s still WAY faster, and easier.

Compared to 1’ 18” per load.

Not to mention the water stays warm consistently at the laundromat. I’ve noticed that the water in my HE machine just gets warm when it wants to because you have to run the water for a bit so it will get warm.

As far as getting the towels clean I may have addulturated the results by not washing only one towel per machine.

I think the HE machine worked great with one towel but as you could see by my first initial wash it didn’t do a very good job. Also take into consideration that I didn’t do my full ‘OCD HE Washing Method, adapted from The OCD Method of Washing Microfiber Towels, By: Mike Phillips’

I think the first initial washing illustrates how important the proper washing procedure is.

 

[dgage]

Thanks for sharing. Would be interesting to see how a HE front loader does in comparison to the laundromat version. I wonder if the front loader would get the towels slightly cleaner than the HE top load. But it certainly wouldn’t save time as our front loader has the same LONG wash time as yours.

 

[Jacob Harrod AUTOCLEAN]

Thanks for sharing. Would be interesting to see how a HE front loader does in comparison to the laundromat version. I wonder if the front loader would get the towels slightly cleaner than the HE top load. But it certainly wouldn’t save time as our front loader has the same LONG wash time as yours.

My pleasure! I think it would be interesting too!

I think it probably could get them cleaner, as the agitating motion of the front load could be more violent than the top loader.

One point would be how well the detergent dispenser mixes the detergent with the load. If it doesn't mix it very well the towels may not come very clean.

This is why I think the towels didn't come clean the previous night when I just set it and forgot it.

Usually I put the load in, let it sense, and when it begins to fill I pause, then take the load out. After this I let it fill up with water, and when it begins to agitate I pause the machine again and pour the detergent in, then I mix it up with my hand, put the towels in, swish them around, and then close the lid and start the load again.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Autogeekonline mobile app

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

First - it's pretty much impossible to get all stains out of all towels in the car detailing world. So lower your standards.

Second - I know it's not an option for everyone - but the BEST way to wash towels and pads is in an old school top loading washing machine with a NORMAL AGITATOR.


The OCD Method of Washing Microfiber Towels

I wash a LOT of towels and pads. Maybe I wash more than anyone in this industry over the last 20 years?

I know washing.

 

[Jacob Harrod AUTOCLEAN]

First - it's pretty much impossible to get all stains out of all towels in the car detailing world. So lower your standards.

Second - I know it's not an option for everyone - but the BEST way to wash towels and pads is in an old school top loading washing machine with a NORMAL AGITATOR.


The OCD Method of Washing Microfiber Towels

I wash a LOT of towels and pads. Maybe I wash more than anyone in this industry over the last 20 years?

I know washing.

I'm with you on these things Mike. I also posted a link to your article in my article above.

Maybe one day I'll be able to get me an old school machine!

I thought it would be great to compare the options for those of us without an awesome old school machine.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Autogeekonline mobile app

 

[PaulMys]

Cool test, Jake.

I've never used the WG cleaner, but my first MF kit back in the day came with the Pinnacle version. It worked pretty good, IMO.

I have to believe they are similar, if not identical.

 

[Jacob Harrod AUTOCLEAN]

Cool test, Jake.

I've never used the WG cleaner, but my first MF kit back in the day came with the Pinnacle version. It worked pretty good, IMO.

I have to believe they are similar, if not identical.

I love it if you cant tell! One cool thing about the WG products is that when you use it you just have to say 'Wolfgang' in your best German accent lol.

 

[Jacob Harrod AUTOCLEAN]

I wash a LOT of towels and pads. Maybe I wash more than anyone in this industry over the last 20 years?

I know washing.

I would not doubt that one bit Mike! I wonder how many loads? Probably thousands of pounds of towels and pads over the years! Heck I'd bet you've thrown away more towels than I've washed!