I have moved into a part of the world where having a dishwasher is a luxury and having a dryer is very strange. The vast majority of the people here hang their clothes to dry and wash dishes by hand.
I didn't really give it a lot of thought, I just wanted my lifestyle to remain the same as I had in the US. I want a dryer. I'm not really willing to hang my clothes up to dry in the triple digit heat. I get that I'm using energy above the norm, but if I'm willing to pay for it, I should be able to do it, right?
So, when we rigged the house (and you have to buy ALL your own appliances here) we bought a Gorenje dishwasher. I understand that this is a brand made in the UK and we bought a middle line product, not top of the line.
I read the manual, figured out the controls and set it up to run. This unit is a self proclaimed 'energy efficient' model. When I set it to run, it runs for 2 hours and 33 minutes for regular, not heavy duty, cleaning. It does not do much of a heated dry cycle. The dishes are still completely wet when it's done running.
I had a GE dishwasher before. I've had a Maytag and I'm pretty sure my old house had a Kenmore. I don't think I've ever had a cycle go more than 90 minutes. So how 'energy efficient' can this be if it goes for a full hour longer??
Before you get the idea that I'm denigrating the BRAND of dishwasher, let me state for the record that the LG brand washing machine I have has the same issues. A load of laundry takes nearly three hours to run. And that's set for the normal, synthetic cycle.
I'm not sure what happens electrically. All these appliances run at 220v instead of 110v like in the states. But it seems to me that everything takes a lot longer. All the cycles take a longer time to run.
Maybe I'm just fooling myself, maybe it took this long in the states, but I don't think so. I've always thought that someone needed to make washers and dryers take the same amount of time to run, because it always seemed like the dryer took twice as long as the washer. Here, it's the exact opposite. My dryer loads come out in half the time the washer loads do. And the dishwasher takes forever.
How energy efficient can this be? If it's running for twice the length of time and twice the voltage?
--Sandee Wagner
4 comments:
That is weird. My washer takes about 30-40 minutes, depending on the cycle -- and it's a 16-year-old Kenmore. My dryer, of course, takes about an hour, but it's a 26-year-old Kenmore.
At least you HAVE the washer. On the dishwasher, I dunno. I think I'd be washing by hand and using it with the door open as a drying rack.
Marilyn,
It IS weird. Which is why I felt the need to share. In the states, a new appliance has that yellow label with the 'this is how much it costs to run for a year' calculation on it based on averages. Overseas? Not so much. We take a lot of labeling for granted in the states.
These are new, middle of the line, 'energy efficient' rated appliances and they run forever! spw
Just be thankful you didn't go for the cheap ones! Your dinner dishes would still be running at breakfast time!
Marilyn,
I'm beginning to think that it might be cheaper to hire a full time maid to hand wash things... just sayin'.
spw
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