Washer

Primitive washing machines were a wooden box with a movable frame. The first washing machine, launched into mass production, was created in 1907 by William Blackstone, she had a manual drive (there is also an opinion that the first was made by Nathaniel Briggs). In Europe, the first washing machines began to be produced in Germany in 1900. Modern machines with an electric drive appeared in 1908. The mechanization of labor practically led to the disappearance of the profession of laundress. In 1949, the first automatic washing machine appeared in the United States.

• By type of working body: activator, drum, ultrasound.
• Drum washing machines are more widespread due to the ease of automation, more gentle washing, saving water and detergent compared to activator ones; however, they are more complex and less reliable. Automatic washing machines are mainly drum type.
• Activator cars, in turn, are divided into machines with a side activator ("Baby") and machines with a lower activator ("Mini-Vyatka", "Fairy-2", "Fairy-2M", "Oka-50", "Oka -51 ”,“ Baby-425M ”,“ Swan ”,“ Dawn ”).
• Ultrasonic washing machines are so far less common. They are characterized by much greater compactness compared to other types, in fact, representing a small box placed in a basin with linen. Their principle of operation is based on the generation of ultrasonic vibrations that “knock out” dirt particles from the threads of the fabric (“Retona”).
• By degree of automation: automatic and semi-automatic. Semi-automatic washing machines have only a timer for setting the washing time, automatic ones have software control. Automatic washing machines can have a different degree of automation: from just washing according to a given program to automatic estimation of the amount of water, detergent, temperature, and spin speed.
• By loading method: vertical and frontal. Activator machines usually have a vertical load. Drum can be either vertical or front-loading. A front-loading machine usually has a transparent hatch to control washing.
• By weight of loaded dry laundry.
• By application: household and industrial (for laundries).
• According to the installation method: wall, floor, placed directly in a container with linen.

An activator type machine is a washing machine with the presence of an activator - a rotating shaft with blades or a disk providing mixing during washing.

A feature of this type of washing machine is its low foaming, therefore, handwash powders are also suitable for use in activator type machines.

The basis for the design of the activator-type washing machine is a stainless steel or plastic container. The upper part (for loading laundry) is a removable or hinged lid. At the bottom or at the bottom of one of the walls there is an activator - a plastic flat circle or a shaft with protrusions - blades. The axis of the activator leaves the tank, is driven by an electric motor.

Activator machines of the Soviet period, as a rule, had a vertical tank made of aluminum or stainless steel with a capacity of up to 30 liters, dimensions up to about 400 x 400 x 600 (height) mm, with a bottom in the shape of a semicircle. On one of the flat walls along the axis of the semicircle of the bottom there was an activator (most often made of bakelite ) with a diameter of about 200 mm, driven through a belt drive by a capacitor motor located under the tank. The control included a mechanical timer for 15 minutes (with a set accuracy of up to 1 minute), which automatically turns on the motor alternately in different directions through pauses. Also (on later models) the engine power could be separately regulated (2 or 3 “washing modes”).

The upper part (on the back side), as a rule, was equipped with a manual extraction device (two rubberized rollers, the lower of which rotated with a handle like a meat grinder, and the pressure of the upper roller to the lower was regulated by a screw located on top). After washing (or rinsing), the laundry was manually supplied from the tank to the gap between the extraction rollers, when the handle was rotated, water flowed back into the tank, and the wrung laundry came out of the rollers at the rear of the machine. Drain water from the tank, as a rule, was manual (the end of the drain hose was fixed externally at the top of the tank so as not to use a valve).

In the 80s, machines in a plastic casing in the form of a cube with a side of about 500 mm, manufactured under the brands "Fairy", "Cinderella", etc., with a large diameter activator located at the bottom of the tank, became more common. The electric motor and controls (timers) were located on the bevel of one of the corners of the tank. The top cover (also plastic) was removable, there was no spin device. The advantage of machines with a lower activator was the possibility of a smaller load of water (from 10 l), and its small size and weight made it possible to clean it after the completion of the washing process.

Currently, small-capacity activator machines have appeared on the market - for 5-7 liters of water, a little larger than a bucket in size, similar in design to the “Fairy” described under the name “Princess”.

In connection with the use of activator machines, centrifuges have also become widespread - separate devices for spinning laundry (still sold). In some models of activator machines, a centrifuge was integrated (second compartment in the housing).

Advantages of activator machines ^[1] : universal choice of detergents, quick washing, energy saving (there is no thermal electric heater (TEN) and hot water supply is used), a large number of loaded laundry (10-14 kg), reliable design, the absence of strong vibrations during the spin cycle, work in particularly difficult living conditions. The disadvantages include the high consumption of water and detergents in machines with side activator due to the need for a liquid medium for the side activator to work, the difficulty of washing automation, the lack of spin and heating of water in the tank. The disadvantage of most models of the Soviet period was the low electrical safety.

Consumer preferences in choosing types of machine designs have economic and historical reasons and geographical heterogeneity ^[2] .

An automatic machine is characterized by minimal human participation in its work. Usually it has a permanent connection to the mains , water supply and sewerage , so for washing you only need to load things, fill in detergent and choose a washing program .

Device

Most of the machine’s volume is occupied by a tank, which is filled with water and detergent during the operation of the machine. Water is supplied into it through the filling hole and is pumped out using a pump . The tank with the help of springs and shock absorbers is fixed in the machine body. Inside it, a drum rotates on bearings .

The washing is provided by the rotation of the drum and the mutual impact of loaded things. Spin is done, also during rotation, by increasing speed and discharge of water by centrifugal force. The axis of the drum is most often horizontal. Since the drum is usually loaded unevenly, sometimes violent vibration occurs when it is rotated at high speed. Therefore, the tank with the drum is not fixed firmly inside the machine, but with the help of a spring suspension. An electric motor is fixed on the same suspension. The engine rotates the drum either directly or through a belt drive . The side surface of the drum contains a large number of holes for the free entry and flow of water and ribs to increase the intensity of the wash.

In machines with vertical loading without a shutter, the shutters of the drum to the hatch have to bring the drum to the hatch by rotating it with your hands, while due to the sharp edges of the holes on the drum, some manufacturers scratch the pillows of a person’s fingers like a grater .

For loading and unloading things in the drum there is a hole with a diameter of about 30 cm. For machines with vertical loading, the hole is located on the cylindrical surface of the drum and is closed by a lid with a locking device. For front-loading machines, the hole is located at the base of the cylinder, and in front of it there is a complex shape rubber cuff that prevents water from flowing out of the tank. Both types of machines have a door that closes access to the tank during machine operation. For security reasons, this door is locked with a special locking device or thermal lock.

There is a special tray ( cuvette ) for the detergent on the machine body. Detergent is washed from the cell into the machine with specially supplied water. Sometimes also the detergent is put directly into the drum.

For automatic operation of the machine, it also contains a heater , temperature sensor (main and emergency), water level sensor, water drain pump, water supply valve .

Machines of the “A ++” and “A +++” class and above are considered the best in energy efficiency, they save energy as much as possible, but this does not affect the quality of the wash. The European Community has adopted a scale for the degree of washing efficiency from “A” to “G”, where “F” and “G” are the lowest level, “C”, “D” and “E” are average, the letters “A” and “B” "Speak of a careful attitude to tissues.

The same letters denote the spin classes. If you rely on the number of revolutions during the spin cycle, then there are such options: from almost dry laundry at 1600 revolutions / minute to wet during the spin cycle at 400 revolutions. Most washing machines have a spin speed switch, so it’s worth considering that spinning at high speeds is effective for terry fabrics (towels, bathrobes), while for delicate fabrics it is best to choose the minimum number of turns. The energy class shows the degree of efficiency of the model - from low “A” to high “G”. Class “A” implies that when washing cotton linen at full load, the incoming water temperature is 15 (± 2 degrees) and the washing temperature is 60 degrees Celsius, the washing machine will consume less than 200 W · h of electricity per 1 kg of laundry.

Wash

After the start of washing, water is supplied to the tank, which first passes through the “cuvette” with detergent and flushes it into the tank. Soon after the start of work, the detergent is completely dissolved, as a result, a washing solution is formed. Using sensors, such a level of solution in the tank is selected so that part of the drum is immersed in it. Since dry things are able to absorb a large amount of liquid, if necessary, the machine itself produces topping up the water in the tank.

The inner surface of the drum has several longitudinal ribs (usually 3-4) located symmetrically relative to the axis of the drum. The profile of edges usually has the form of a triangle. When the drum rotates, things are kept to a certain point from falling by the nearest rib , and then they pass over it and fall into the region behind the rib; then this process is repeated until the drum stops. At the same time, the water scooped during rotation is poured onto the laundry, providing it with better wetting. Due to the fact that the bottom of the drum is immersed in a washing solution, this process simultaneously provides mechanical action and washing things with a washing solution.

The drum rotates alternately in different directions in order to ensure the mixing of things and a more uniform effect on them. First, the drum rotates in one direction, then a pause is made, and the drum rotates in the opposite direction.

The machine can provide various mechanical washing conditions. The washing intensity is determined by the following factors:

• Water level (washing solution) in the tank. The less water is collected in the tank, the less water softens the fall of things and the greater the mechanical impact.
• Drum rotation speed. The higher the angular velocity, the greater the mechanical impact. The usual speed for washing cotton and synthetic fabrics is 55 rpm, wool - 45 rpm.
• The ratio of rotation time and pause time. The smaller this ratio, the greater the mechanical impact.

The machine can provide various temperature conditions for washing due to the presence of water temperature sensors and the inclusion of an electric heater for the required time.

Duration of washing may depend on the mass of loaded things. Weighing of things is carried out by a special device located in the shock absorber of the tank or (more often) indirectly - by determining the amount of water absorbed by the linen. However, weighing is very conditional, since the same amount of laundry in wet (for example, in wet weather or after curing) and in dry form will give different results.

Drain

Drain the washing solution by pumping it out using a pump. The pump pumps the solution into the drain pipe. At the same time, many models of machines rotate the drum to provide drainage of water, which could linger in the folds of things.

Spin

Spin is provided by rotating the drum at a high speed (usually from 400 to 1400 rpm, depending on the mode) while pumping out the solution. For uniform distribution of things on the surface of the drum, the speed of rotation increases gradually. With full promotion, things are pressed strongly enough by centrifugal force to the side surface and held in place until a significant decrease in the speed of rotation of the drum. The spin time depends on the mode and is usually from 1 to 5 minutes; it is necessary for water to leak through the thickness of the fabric from the inner layers to the outer ones. Most machines are equipped with an imbalance control device that disables or reduces the spin speed when the laundry is unevenly laid out. See the centrifuge article for more details.

Rinse

Rinsing is performed in the same way as washing, but there is no heating, and the volume of water supplied to the tank corresponds to low-intensity mechanical stress. As a program operation, rinsing ends with a drain and a spin.

Multiple rinses are possible (several times in a row, for normal washing, as a rule, 2 rinses are used). There are systems that determine the need for additional rinses according to the optical transparency of the solution after rinsing.

Drying

Drying occurs due to blowing things with heated air simultaneously with the rotation of the drum for more uniform blowing. Wet air is then directed either to the ventilation (such machines are mainly distributed in the USA), or to the surface of a special internal container with water, where water condensates. Many machines do not have the ability to dry. It is important to remember that the drying process is very energy intensive. In addition, washer-dryers have the largest number of failures from all major household appliances.

Easy Ironing

Some washing machines have the “easy ironing” function, which actually performs the function of an iron , but not completely, but only partially (eliminates wrinkles and simplifies the process of further ironing). The main disadvantage of washing machines with easy ironing is the high energy consumption.

Laundry programs

The set of washing parameters is called a program and is set by the user of the machine before washing. A program can consist of one operation (for example, only rinsing or only spinning). The end of the program can be signaled by sound (melody).

Most programs include a wash, a series of several spins and rinses or drains, rinses and a final spin, which can be followed by drying. The difference between programs in the amount of water heating, the duration and intensity of washing, the number of rinses, the degree of extraction. On many models, a program correction for the current wash is available (change in water heating, spin speed).

There is a function of “delayed washing” (timer), when the washing starts with a delay of up to several hours, for example, for washing at night at a more favorable rate of electricity, or so that the washing is completed by a certain time.

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• Electric washing machine // Brief Encyclopedia of Household. - M .: State Scientific Publishing House "Great Soviet Encyclopedia", 1959.
• Washing vibratory device // Brief Encyclopedia of Household. - M .: State Scientific Publishing House "Great Soviet Encyclopedia", 1959.