LG Electronics launched the LG WM8000 to be the largest capacity front-load washing machine, designed to address consumers' desire for saving time and energy.
LG commissioned a national survey that showed women in the United Stated spend, on average, eight hours per week doing laundry. The study showed that more than 75% of American women described doing laundry as "tedious."
The WM8000 washer, at an industry-topping 5.1 cubic feet, enables consumers to wash more clothes per load and wash large, bulky items such as bulky bedding. It also offers a feature called Turbo-Wash that can shorten a wash load by 20 minutes. The system combines the Spin and Rinse cycles to cut load-time while maintaining cleaning performance. The washer is equipped with LG's proprietary Inverter Direct Drive motor, offering better energy efficiency and using fewer moving parts than the motors in conventional models. The washer also offers a control feature called 6Motion, using six wash motions (tumbling, scrubbing, filtration, rolling, stepping, and swinging) in various combinations, based upon the fabric, to optimize cleaning performance.
The LG survey showed that American women do laundry on average 2.8 times each week. In the survey results, women reported that doing laundry caused them to neglect other aspects of their life: exercise, 30%; family time, 28%; their social calendar, 20%; and other everyday tasks. When asked what they would do if they could cut laundry time, respondents said they would spend more time with family/friends or simply relax.
The survey also showed that summer is the season with the biggest laundry demands. More than one-third of respondents said they do more laundry in the summer than any other season. Other findings:
* 22% of respondents who have a washing machine said large loads was one of the features they most wanted from a washer.
* 21% cited energy efficiency among the most wanted features.
The new washer also has the Smart Diagnosis feature, to help diagnose and troubleshoot mechanical issues and limit service visits. A smartphone app is available to alerts customers to simple problems, such as a loose water hose or door left ajar.