Are the front load washers use less detergent?(Answered!)

Front-load washers are highly efficient. This means they use less water, electricity, and detergents and provide the best performance by utilizing them in the best way.

Yes, front load washers use less detergent to clean clothes. Cause they draw a small amount of water, mix them with HE detergents, and perform the washing cycle at the bottom of the drum using motor force and gravity. Also, they have advanced foaming, water splash, and automatic detergent dispense mechanism to reduce the use of detergent as low as possible. 

In this article, I’ve explained why front loaders require fewer detergents and clean your clothes the best way. 

Answered: Why does a front loader washer use less detergent?

Front loader washers are called HE or highly efficient for one of the key reasons, “they use less detergent than top loaders.” However, multiple mechanisms remain integrated into the top loaders to reduce the use of detergent, and I’ve pointed them below.

Bubble Generator Functionality to reduce detergent uses

With this functionality, the washer uses high-frequency eco sound waves to generate foam by the detergent with air and water. Notably, a low amount of detergent can be transformed into a high foam volume.

Foam reduces the surface tension of the water and can be soaked by clothes more quickly than the typical detergent mixture.

You will find this mechanism in Samsung, GE, and several other high-end washing machines that, at a time, clean better using a low amount of detergent.

Implementation of this mechanism reduces detergent use by 30% comparing the typical top loaders.

Soak Cycle in dense water

Almost all washing machine offers the soak cycle feature before the main wash, but front loaders offer it exceptionally. 

When the front loaders perform the soak cycle, it draws a tiny amount of water and makes a smooth foam by mixing air and water with a small amount of detergent, which is easily soakable by the clothes. 

During this period, the drum spins slowly to shuffle the clothes and evenly distribute foams to the entire load. 

You can add the soak cycle or before the primary washing cycle as it’s programmable, and doing this might save you 10% of detergents without compromising the cleaning performance.

Using a low level of water 

Front-loaders take a very low amount of water and perform a primary cleaning cycle by slapping and rubbing clothes using horizontal spin and gravity.

As the machine draws a minimal amount of water, the mixture of the detergent and water remains dense. Accordingly, the drum movement spreads the mixture evenly to all the clothes.

Thus it can reduce detergent uses more than the top loaders.

Automatic Dispensing Mechanism

Few front load washers from GE, Samsung, and Whirlpool comes with automatic detergent dispensing function. 

With this feature, the washer measures the amount or weight of the load and draws an adjacent amount of detergent and softeners.

I’ve talked with a few users and asked them whether the auto-dispensing really uses fewer detergents or not. Most users claimed that auto-dispensing reduces the use of detergent and softeners by almost 30%, and the cleaning performance remains the same.

Unfortunately, the auto-dispensing mechanism doesn’t come with all the front loader washers. So if you are someone who loves advanced technology, choose one of the high-end models that offer such a mechanism.

High-Speed Water Splasher

Most front loaders have three fins inside the drum, which contain hundreds of tiny holes that work for water splashing at a very high velocity.

This high-velocity detergent mixed water is thrown toward the clothes from different angles during the primary wash and soak cycles.

A top loader washer can’t do this cause that works by the agitator instead of the fins.

However, for this functionality, a low amount of detergent is sufficient for front load washers. 

Intelligent Drum Movement

High-end front load washers remain integrated with a direct drive motor and an intelligent inverter. The inverter can measure the load weight by feeling the required torque for each spin.

The inverter-motor spins the drum too intelligently so that every clothes gets soaked by detergent and rubbed & slapped by the drum fins. 

As a result, front loaders are eligible to utilize the detergents by nearly 100%, and a comparatively low amount of detergents are sufficient for them.

Multiple Stain Cleaning Functionality

Front loaders come with several built-in programs to clean oil stains, drinks stains, mud stains, and so on. Activating one of those programs allows the front load washer to maintain a certain level of soak cycles along with using a certain level of hot water.

Then the inverter-motor spins the drum in various directions on a different movements.

A combination of these functionalities helps reduce detergent uses.

Hot water wash

Using hot water boosts the power of the detergent. Almost all front-loader washers have a built-in water heater to produce sufficient hot water and increase the cleaning performance.

Of course, a few top loader washers offer this feature too. But think about the combination of other features of a front loader washer along with hot water. It works like crazy.

Air Wash Mechanism

Only a few high-end expensive front load washers offer the air wash function. In this method, the washer doesn’t use any detergent.

Instead, the washer draws a few water drips and makes water vapor. Then the washer forcefully sprays hot water on the clothes to clean any germs and odors.

Air wash works excellent on clothes that have got rainwater or remain unused for many days and have got odors from that.

Importantly, you can wash hundreds of clothes in an air wash cycle without a single drip of detergents.

Steam Wash Procedure

Steam washing is another sensitive method of making clothes germ free without using any detergents.

Generally, this method is heavily effective for baby wears and other sensitive clothing. Though this function does not clean stains, it is a fantastic washing function to make your clothes fresh and odor free.

Again, this method doesn’t use any detergent, but unfortunately, only a few high-end front load washing machine offers this feature.

Summary of the Article

Rather than saying that “front loader machines use less detergent,” I want to say, “front loader machines utilize the detergent better than top loaders.”

So, ultimately you will require less detergent, and after a whole year, it means a handsome amount of money savings.