Productopia | Washing Machines

For many people, one night a week -- or even part of the weekend -- is routinely taken up by a trek to the nearest coin laundry. This can expensive, as well as time-consuming. Portable washing machines can offer a solution to this problem. These space-saving units can be tucked into a closet until they're needed, then wheeled into the kitchen and hooked up to the kitchen sink. No more schlepping out to the laundry, no more pumping in quarter after quarter; just connect one hose to the faucet, feed another down the drain, and you're ready to wash.

Professional review sources, such as ConsumerReports.org, do not cover portable washing machines. However, while researching our report on washing machines, we did discover one washer this size that receives lots of enthusiastic reviews from users at retail sites: the Haier HLP21N (*Est. $230). This product has more than 275 reviews from buyers at Amazon.com, as well as another 100-plus at HomeDepot.com, and it earns high overall ratings on both sites -- around 4.5 stars out of a possible 5. Read more

One of the hot topics at this year's Consumer Electronics Association conference in Las Vegas has been "connected appliances." Several companies demonstrated washers, dryers, fridges and ovens that can tweet, sync and link to your home's network, with varying degrees of functionality. Read more

Last week, we stopped by the joint Whirlpool/Maytag press event intended to show off fancy new laundry gear. Are you ready for an LCD touchscreen and a USB port on your washer and dryer? Also new are dedicated function buttons -- kind of like the "popcorn" button on your microwave, only for jeans and towels instead. You can also custom-select dirt levels and can tweak controls to maximize energy efficiency. And did we mention the new auto-inspired paint jobs? But do you really need any of this stuff in your laundry room? Instead of gee-whiz digital tech and iPhone-style control panels, we think two new under-the-radar features are more likely to cut down on everyday laundry annoyances. One of those -- a new baffle system for dryers -- was a real slap-your-forehead moment for Whirlpool engineers, according to senior brand managers Tanu Grewal and Brandon Buckingham. Read more

Need a new dryer? Today's drying technology is fairly standard. Instead, current clothes dryers mainly differ in terms of noise insulation, capacity,  appearance, and extra features. For instance, pricier dryers may feature more bells and whistles like electronic control panels and stainless-steel drums, but experts say all these extras aren't essential. Recent reviews demonstrate that some budget brands also perform very well. Read more