In the modern world, where everyone is caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, there are many gadgets that make our home chores easier. One of these is a washing machine. There are many types of washing machines available in the market, but if you want a solution that puts an end to manual washing and yet offers more control while doing laundry than a fully automatic washing machine, a semi automatic washing machine is the best bet!
Over the years, we’ve figured that using a semi automatic washing machine is quite simple and the appliance is so much easier on our pockets too. These machines are designed as either a single tub or a twin tub machine. Unlike fully automatic washing machines, they need some manual input during the wash cycle, like adding water, transferring clothes from one tub to another, draining out the dirty water, setting the spin cycle, etc.
If you’re a first time user, please be assured that a semi automatic washing machine has several benefits to offer. These include money saving (as they are typically priced less than fully automatic machines), water efficiency, more operational control and so on. If you’re new to using a semi automatic washing machine, this guide will certainly help!
A Quick Guide to Washing Clothes in a Semi Automatic Washing Machine
Now that we’ve understood the advantages of a semi automatic washing machine, it’s time to find out how to get the best laundry results out of it!
1. Segregation of Clothes
Segregation of clothes is the key to ensure a successful wash cycle in a semi automatic machine. We recommend separating clothes on the basis of fabric and colour, before adding them to the washing tub of the machine. What always works for us is alternating a pile of lights with a pile of dark coloured clothes, as this prevents colour bleeding. We also suggest segregating your delicates for a shorter wash and spin cycle to take advantage of the manual intervention feature of your semi automatic washing machine.
2. Choose Your Detergent Wisely
One of the best ways to make full use of your semi automatic machine and ensure your clothes are getting washed well is to use the right kind of detergent and follow wash instructions accurately. There are many kinds of detergents available in the market, but in our experience, in the case of semi automatic washing machines, a liquid detergent works the best. We say this because we’ve used popular hand wash powders and found that they are formulated especially for bucket wash and not machine wash. There is a difference in the water levels between your bucket and semi automatic machine drum, hence we felt the need to switch to a detergent that works well in the water level environment of a semi automatic machine.
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The design of semi automatic machines is such that most require the detergent to be added directly to the water in the wash tub of the machine. A liquid detergent dissolves easily and quickly in water when added directly, as opposed to a detergent powder which may need a few churns of the machine to mix thoroughly with the water.
So, in our search for a good liquid detergent for our semi automatic machine, we came across Surf Excel Matic Top Load Liquid Detergent. After just one use, we were happy to see that it not only dissolves quickly in water, but also leaves behind practically no residue on the clothes or in the machine. This in turn helps elongate the life of the machine and ensures clog-free drains and pipes.
Living in an area with hard water, we were apprehensive about the effectiveness of a liquid detergent for washing clothes in our semi automatic machine, but to our surprise, Surf Excel Matic Top Load Liquid Detergent worked quite well with hard water. We noticed that it dissolved easily in hard water and left our clothes absolutely stain-free, without impacting the colour of the garment.
And of course, we’re big fans of the superior fragrance that Surf Excel Matic Top Load Liquid Detergent leaves behind on our clothes after each wash!
3. Set Timer on the Machine as per the Laundry Load Type
When we’re using semi-automatic machines, this factor is extremely important and the machines give us the flexibility to adjust wash and spin times to ensure an effective cleaning process. The wash time can typically be decided based on how dirty the clothes are, the type of fabric and also, the overall load of clothes in the tub. For example, a bed sheet may need a longer wash cycle, while delicates need less time to be cleaned and woolen clothes need less spinning. All these features can be controlled in a semi-automatic washing machine!
4. Drain out the Water
In most semi-automatic washing machines, you have to manually turn a knob that enables drainage of the dirty water, once clothes are through with the wash cycle. We recommend checking thoroughly to ensure that the water is drained out completely, else clothes may latch on to an unpleasant odour.
Once the clothes are manually shifted from the wash tub to the spin/rinse tub and go through the spin cycle, they may need to go through another rinse cycle in plain water to ensure 100% removal of stains, dirt and detergent.
Some machines offer this option in the spin tub itself - there’s a water selector that allows you to choose which tub gets the entry of water. If your machine offers this, great! Set the water-filling selector rod at the spin side, allow the tub to fill with water and then set the spin cycle again.
If your machine doesn’t offer this option, we commend filling the wash tub with water again and transferring the clothes back from the spin tub, to repeat the wash-rinse-drain-spin cycle. While this may sound like a lot of work, it actually gives us complete satisfaction that our clothes are absolutely clean and smell great at the end of it all!
5. Drying is important Too
Once the clothes have been washed in the wash tub of your semi-automatic washing machine, they will need to be manually transferred to the spin/rinse tub. Most semi-automatic washing machines offer various spin cycle options - slow, fast, long, short - we recommend choosing one that matches the laundry load.
Once through with the spin cycle, the clothes will need to be dried in fresh air and/or sunlight, depending on the type of fabric and care instructions. The end result - fresh, clean clothes!
6. Maintenance of the Washing Machine
We often forget that a machine can work to its best capacity only if it is well taken care of. Our semi-automatic washing machines will clean our clothes effectively, but we have to ensure that we clean our washing machines thoroughly, not just from the outside but also from the inside.
The most important thing to maintain the washing machine is cleaning the lint filter (that captures all the dirt from clothes) and the overflow filter. Most semi-automatic washing machines come with a manual with specific instructions on how to clean the filters - so we recommend following all those instructions to ensure effective cleanliness.
A few other tips to maintain your semi-automatic washing machine – ensure there is no spillage or residues left behind by the detergent by ensuring that you use only a liquid detergent like Surf Excel Matic Top Load Liquid Detergent that mixes with the water thoroughly, leaving the door open for 15-20 minutes after the wash cycle to prevent build-up of mould and bacteria inside the machine and cleaning the hoses that take water to and fro from the machine to prevent blockage.
A semi-automatic washing machine is easy to use, durable, saves time, especially compared to handwashing and most importantly, gives you more control over your laundry cleaning process. With this guide, you’ll be able to make the most out of it!