>> front loaders. They use only a fraction of the water top loaders use
>> (and, if washing hot, only a fraction of the energy). It's a feature
>> of the principle: instead of filling the whole tub, it is filled only
>> to some 10% or so for each cycle.

I fail to be convinced.  At the load level WE use for clothes, 10% of  
the water would result (I think) in a somewhat damp pile of cloth and  
caked soap.  Now, if the load size is supposed to be 1/4 what it is  
now, so that it can actually tumble, and we have to do 4 times the  
number of washes...  I guess I believe it will save SOME water, but  
I'm not sure that it's significant...

We'd save a lot more water adjusting the American "Cleanliness Fetish"  
and wearing fewer than two sets of clothes per day (one for work, one  
for exercise, one for lounging, one for sleeping.  Not ALL sets are  
washed after one day of wear, but the average is greater than one...)

BillW

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