Kelowna appliances stores are selling more and more front loaders with a built-in fan.Photo from Whirlpool's Duet Washer, with 'FanFresh™'
When it comes to high efficiency front-load washing machines, there’s so much to love: the way it detects just how much not-too-hot water to use, the gentle way it tosses your clothes, its pleasant end-of-load beep. But, as Kelowna appliance stores know, there’s just one thing to dislike about the first front-loaders: the smell.
It turns out many front-loading washers trap a good bit of humidity in the drum after a cycle. That humidity often leads to mould, and not just mould, but a mouldy, musty smell. While our Kelowna appliances experts and others came up with top tips for maintaining your washer and dryer machines, it doesn't help when it is already too late. So, manufacturers tinkered with design and they’ve come up with a brilliant solution, the fan.
How the fan works
Whirlpool’s new ‘FanFresh™’ feature for example, uses a built-in fan that runs and dries out the drum after a cycle. On that model, it’s a feature you just have to set once and the fan will automatically do its job at the end of each cycle.
By keeping the drum, and, in particular, that gasket area near the door dry, there’s no humidity and no chance for mould to build up. Some fans run for up to 16 hours after a cycle has run, which means if your clothes are still in the drum, they’re getting some air circulation at the same time.
Other reasons to love the fan feature
Built-in washer fans don’t just dry the drum, they can actually dry a small load. Since the fan usually runs for 12 or more hours after the end of a cycle, and because they give the clothes a light tumble at the same time, if you forget about your laundry for a few hours (or even more) enough air will circulate in the meantime that your clothes won’t take on that musty smell that often calls for a re-wash, and a real waste of time and resources. Go ahead, throw in a load at 10 p.m. and toss it in the dryer the next morning without worry!
This is also a good feature for people who like to do a line dry in the laundry room or outdoors. Since clothes have been lightly dried by the fan, you’ll be able to cut down on line time and rotate loads more quickly. If you don’t need or want to line dry, our Kelowna appliances team says you’re still going to cut down on dryer time, which definitely requires more energy.
When you’re searching Kelowna appliance stores for laundry or kitchen appliances, visit the experts at Genier’s, offering the best selection in the Interior of the world’s best brands and live kitchens.