I miss my old top-loading washing machine and electric tumble dryer something awful.
My old washing machine and dryer were 35-40 years of age and came with our home, but wow, what great service they provided me as a busy mother and homemaker. JuJube's, post rang a bell with me, in that I remember being able to select the fill level manually, so if a few pairs of panties, a couple of bras, and a bath towel needed done by themselves, I could do that, and knowing tat a full washer-load of water wasn't being used made doing smaller personal loads justifiable.
With the old style top-loading washing machines, I loved being able to use the washing machine as an additional dirty laundry basket when the plastic laundry baskets were full. I'd tell everyone, whoever has whites or after you're done having a bath/shower, put your undies, towels, and whites into the washing machine, I'm going to run a load later.
When my kids were babies I used old-fashioned cloth diapers and rubber pants, and being able to tip the big plastic diaper pail and pour the contents of the pail out into my top-loading washing machine was a dream. Once the diaper pail was emptied, I'd set the dial to a quick spin cycle (a minute or two was all that was needed) to spin any last remaining wetness out of the dirty diapers, then I'd set the dial to a full wash cycle, set the water temp to hot, add a little detergent, close the lid, and push in the dial. I could select all cycles manually, tailoring water level, temperature, you name it to what I felt was needed.
I do think the old agitator versions of the top-loaders were harder on clothes, but if I'm not mistaken, the new modern top-loading washing machines come with the option of no agitator, which to me is king. More room for bulkier loads, minus the wear-and-tear that agitators put clothes and washable through.
When my old set was nearing it's final stage, I couldn't wait to see something new, and silly me, I bought into today's modern front-loading idea. I won't say that I'm disappointed in my purchase, because the set really gets the job done, and with my washing machine being a larger, high-capacity version, I can do everything... pillows, bulky loads, duvets, you name it, and that in itself is a blessing, but I'm limited as to manual settings. Everything is pre-programmed... water temp settings, fill level (full or empty), not ideal in my world as a fulltime homemaker.
If ever this set needs replacing, there's not a doubt in my mind that I'll be going back to a traditional top-loading washing machine set. Top-loading washing machines are all that I remember and all that I ever used in my day, aside from helping my mom wash laundry in her old wringer washing machine, and on the rare occasion when I had to visit the Laundromat and use one of their industrial washing machines and dryers which were front-loading.
One thing I do want to add related to my new washer and dryer set, I have a feature on the dryer that allows me to quick-dry. On the quick-dry setting, I can knock the time limit down to 10 minutes, and the dryer automatically adjusts the heat output to high, but over and above that, give me back my old-fashioned top-loading washing machine and dryer set.
