The basic idea of a cloth washer is simple.It sloshes your
clothes in soap solution or ditergent for some time and the spins
fast to remove the water.There are two drums-an inner drum the one
you can see when you open the door or the lid.There's a second,
bigger drum outside the inner drum that you cannot see. Its job is
to hold the water while the inner drum rotates.
The washing machine program
- You put your clothes in the machine and detergent either in the
machine itself or in a tray up above.
- You set the program you want and switch on the power.
- The programmer opens the water valves so hot and cold water
enter the machine and fill up the outer and inner drums. The water
usually enters at the top and trickles down through the detergent
tray, washing any soap there into the machine.
- The programmer switches off the water valves.
- The thermostat measures the temperature of the incoming water.
If it's too cold, the programmer switches on the heating element.
This works just like an electric kettle or water boiler.
- When the water is hot enough, the programmer makes the inner
drum rotate back and forth, sloshing the clothes through the soapy
water.
- The detergent pulls the dirt from your clothes and traps it in
the water.
- The programmer opens a valve so the water drains from both
drums. Then it switches on the pump to help empty the water
away.
- The programmer opens the water valves again so clean water
enters the drums.
- The programmer makes the inner drum rotate back and forth so
the clean water rinses the clothes. It empties both drums and
repeats this process several times to get rid of all the soap.
- When the clothes are rinsed, the programmer makes the inner
drum rotate at really high speed—around 80 mph (130 km/h). The
clothes are flung against the outside edge of the inner drum, but
the water they contain is small enough to pass through the drum's
tiny holes into the outer drum. Spinning gets your clothes dry
using the same idea as a centrifuge.
- The pump removes any remaining water from the outer drum and
the wash cycle comes to an end.
- You take your clothes out and marvel at how clean they
are!
- But there's still the problem of drying your wet clothes to
figure out.