Appliance Innovations Take U.S. by Storm

The latest in washing machine design lightens the load for consumers

By The LifeMinute Team

July 19, 2016

Sixty percent of consumers say their greatest inconvenience while washing clothes is having to wash separate loads. With U.S. households washing an average of ten loads of laundry each week, new appliance technologies are helping to lighten the load literally. Leading this laundry revolution is the TWINWash system and its "SideKick" Pedestal Washer from global home appliance leader LG Electronics.

President & CEO of LG Home Appliances & Air Solutions Company, Seong-Jin Jo explains, "As you know there are two types of laundry machines. So we have a machine that is not just a top loader or front loader but has the pros of both systems and this is an idea that not only I but anyone who works or studies the washing machine industry would like to have whether it's someone from the U.S. or Europe or Korea or Japan."

Being lauded around the world for its innovative, time-saving design paired with a front load washer the SideKick allows consumers to do two loads at once or separate smaller loads for those special care items or last minute needs.

"The average American family of four does eleven loads of laundry per week. You couple that with the fact that we're all starved for time, it gives back time because you can do two loads of laundry simultaneously," says David Vanderwaal, Vice President, Marketing, LG Electronics USA.

We saw that firsthand at the factory where LG makes these modern feats of engineering and design.

"On average we produce about 300 units per hour," say Jinwoo Jung, Vice President, Washing Machine Engineering, LG Electronics, "Every year we do analysis on consumer demand and we realized that the demand for running different loads of laundry separately was high. We figured out that we have to combine the top loader and the front loader."

The team wanted to create something unlike anything anyone has every seen and they did.

"So we want a washing machine that won't tangle or damage the laundry and with minimal vibration and noise. However, there has never been a washing machine that has all of these pros together," says Jo, "So for the top loader we made a motor where we can control the speed to rotate more strongly or softly and that's the direct drive inverter. This enables the control of the speed of the motor so we can choose what program or cycle we want to run depending on the material."

It has other benefits too; saving water and energy. With TWINWash busy families can now divide and conquer their big and small loads. 21st century home appliances innovations like this are transforming the way consumers in the U.S. and around the world do laundry.

For more information check out LGTWINWash.com.