Panasonic’s CARE+ Edition: A washer dryer for low-maintenance laundry
A washing machine that cleans itself, simplifies your routine, and preserves your wardrobe? Panasonic’s CARE+ Edition does exactly that.
By Home & Decor Team -
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We replace our kitchen sponges every few weeks, wash our mop heads after cleaning the floor, and empty our vacuum cleaners after every use. Yet somehow, we expect the washing machine to stay clean all by itself.
We get it: how dirty could your machine get if it’s constantly churning with detergent? Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. Detergent residue and sebum, along with trapped moisture, create the perfect environment for mould to thrive. For all you know, your washing machine could be the culprit behind those musty odours and mysterious marks on freshly washed clothes.
Fortunately, advanced models like Panasonic’s CARE+ Edition are designed to look after themselves with self-cleaning technologies, while looking out for your wardrobe with a suite of fabric-care features. Here’s how.
Caring for your machine
Can’t remember the last time you ran a tub clean? Panasonic’s CARE+ Edition takes that task off your to-do list with Auto Tub Clean, which cleans both the inside and outside of the drum after every wash cycle.
Once you’ve removed your laundry, Auto Tub Dry takes over with a 30- or 60-minute programme that reduces moisture within the drum – so long as you close the door within eight hours of finishing your wash. That’s much easier than trying to remember to leave the washing machine door ajar after every load.
If you own a front-load washing machine, there’s one more spot to think about: the rubber door gasket. Its folds are great at keeping water in, but they’re also a breeding ground for mould and bacteria. Auto Gasket Clean uses two jet sprays to flush away detergent residue and lint after every wash, sparing you from having to crouch by the washer and dig into its creases.
Auto Gasket Clean runs automatically during every wash cycle.
Caring for your time
You might have heard of the “clothes chair”, which is something of an internet meme because almost everyone has one. It’s where lightly worn clothes end up when they’re not clean enough to go back into the wardrobe, but not dirty enough to justify a full wash. But by the time you’re ready to wear them again, they’re creased from sitting in a pile or, worse, still carrying traces of last night’s hotpot dinner.
Steam Refresh is an elegant solution to the clothes that sit somewhere between clean and dirty.
Sure, you could freshen it up with a fabric spray or a quick iron, but sometimes that’s not enough, or simply too much of a hassle. Enter the Steam Refresh function, which uses steam – not water and detergent – to reduce wrinkles and deodorise lightly worn clothes in just 37 minutes. (And even if you forget to remove them immediately, the drum continues to rotate periodically to help prevent new wrinkles from setting in.)
Steam Refresh lets you extend the interval between washes for premium or delicate fabrics.
Steam Refresh also means your cotton shirts and polyester dresses only go through a wash when they truly need one, which brings us to another aspect of laundry care that’s often overlooked: caring for the fabrics themselves.
Caring for your clothes
Life’s too short to choose between a hearty bowl of laksa and your favourite light-coloured summer outfit. But as careful as we are, stains are inevitable, and our first instinct is often to reach for stronger detergents or another wash cycle. Panasonic’s StainMaster+ offers a gentler alternative, using steam to tackle stubborn stains while removing up to 99% of allergens.
StainMaster+ tackles different types of stains, from coffee spills to muddy uniforms.
Speaking of preserving your wardrobe, you don’t necessarily have to turn up the heat to remove stains. If you’d rather not subject your premium activewear or luxury sheets to high temperatures, a cold wash may do the job too. Panasonic’s Blue Ag+ technology, on the other hand, eliminates up to 99.9% of bacteria even in a cold wash with UV light and Ag ions, giving you peace of mind without putting unnecessary stress on your clothes.
With Blue Ag+ technology, you no longer have to reach for the temperature controls to achieve a thorough clean.
Of course, all that care during the wash can be undone by prolonged heat in the dryer. We’ve all had a favourite piece of clothing come out looking a little worse for wear, whether it’s a polo shirt with a curled collar or a pair of shorts whose elastic waistband has turned wavy.
Panasonic’s answer is the Optimal Dry mode, which automatically adjusts the drying time according to each load, which keeps your clothes and uses only the time and energy needed to get the job done. And if that shaves a little off your electricity bill, that’s a nice bonus too.