Chip Chick
Is it too good to be true? We won’t know until Samsung’s washing machines start making it into homes, but for now, at least the claim is worth some attention — with their new QuickDrive technology, Samsung is saying their new washer can clean a load of laundry thoroughly in just 39 minutes. It’s like using the quick wash mode with no downside, and if that’s the case, that’s pretty exciting!
The IFA tradeshow is going on in Berlin this week, making this one of two weeks out of the year when we get to talk about washing machines and vacuums with enthusiasm. This year, Samsung is showing off their WW8800M washing machine, a front-load washer (not one of Samsung’s infamous top-loaders) that includes a lot of the washing features Samsung has introduced over the years, plus some new ones.
The marquee feature for this year is QuickDrive. Using the washer’s Super Speed setting, the washer’s Q-Drum can gently move clothes from the top of the drum to the bottom and side to side, jarring dirt loose at a faster rate. That works with older Samsung features like EcoBubble, which really pushes washing technology — it uses air and water to create tinier bubbles that can more effectively blast away dirt.
The washer also has the AddWash door Samsung introduced a while back, which lets you toss in stray socks mid-cycle in case they fell out of the pile in transit. You’ll also get Samsung’s smart washer features (yup, those exist). Particularly useful for laundry novices is a smart assistant that will suggest features based on color, fabric, and how dirty the clothes are. The washer can also run diagnostics on itself, sending an alert to the user’s smartphone should there be a part at risk of breaking down.
So, can it really clean clothes that well in 39 minutes? We’re skeptical until the washer is proven, but we’re willing to entertain the possibility of it being good enough. That’s nothing to sneeze at — if good enough means you can cut down on water and electricity bills over the course of the next decade, that could be a pretty good deal. We’re not sure when the WW8800M will be available yet or how much it will cost, but we’ll be keeping an eye on it!
Check out more of our IFA 2017 coverage right here!
