Use a mesh bag with any articles of clothing that have long sleeves, or long legs, especially items that get very heavy when wet like jeans or sweaters. The agitator in the washer side is very powerful and therefore free floating long articles of clothing can get tangled or twisted together during the wash cycle. I have found that the clothing still gets perfectly clean when mesh bags are used, but with no tangling or damage to the fabrics.
When using the washer for the first time try adding the load of laundry with NO SOAP, just water and set the timer for 3-5 minutes. Frequently there is a great amount of soap residue and buildup trapped in the clothing fibers and you will see this as foam or even suds appearing when the clothing is just agitated with clean water. As you wash those same clothes in the Panda a second or third time you will need anywhere from teaspoon to about a tablespoon of high efficiency liquid soap per load depending on the type of fabric, type of detergent, size of load, and how soiled it is.
When not in use, leave both doors to the washer and spin dryer open. This will help any water droplets left behind to evaporate, avoiding any issues with moisture, mold or mildew.
I am attaching a detailed video comparing the two machines so if it has not appeared yet, please check back in a day or two. If you have a question that has not been covered here please use the comments section to ask; I will do my best to answer.
06/27/13 Edited to add: Regarding rinsing: The instructions do NOT state the following tip, but after using the machine for over two months I have tried this rinsing trick with great success. Because my method is NOT part of the original use instructions, I can only recommend you try this next tip "at your own risk". By following these steps, you can quickly and efficiently rinse the just cleaned load to be completely soap free AND you can save the soapy water for re-use with next load (assuming the water is not extremely dirty from the previous load).
Step 1: do NOT drain soapy side. Just transfer the wet soapy clothes to the spinner basket.
Step 2: with *both* spinner doors OPEN, add 5 minutes time on the spin timer. This will cause the spin side to continuously drain any water you will be adding while you rinse. For this step, to add water you can use a diverter/sprayer, the original hose, or small bucket with a pouring spout.
Step 3: When feel you have finished adding enough water to rinse the clothes, use the plastic screen gadget that is included with the spinner to press the clothes down, compacting as them as firmly as possible.
Step 4: Close the lid and allow the machine to spin the clothes as dry as possible.
Compacting the clothes shortens the spin time by effectively wringing at least part of the excess water out and also prevents a waterlogged, unbalanced load from making the whole machine "shimmy". This is also why it is a GOOD thing that the spin side is SO small - for optimal performance in spinning the clothes.
Step 5: If you still see any soap residue in the water being drained, re-set the timer for another 2-3 minutes and use either the hose provided or even a small measuring cup to slowly pour a small amount of additional water into the spin side inlet hole; the added water will be very rapidly dispersed into the garments and provide an even cleaner rinse. Repeat any of the steps as necessary but just make sure there is at least 1-2 full minutes of uninterrupted spin time left where no additional water is added in order to have the most water wrung from the clothes and have the shortest possible drying time. Good luck! - DG
08/18/13 Edited to add - Immediately after posting the original review I had submitted a revision with a disclaimer stating the source of the item(s) under review. I was not aware until today that the revision was not accepted or posted by Amazon, possibly due to the fact that the video portion of the review depicts TWO products with two different sources. To be 100% clear and transparent, I have created and posted over 800 reviews, and as of this edit, all except three items were purchased by me with my own funds; the reviews are either marked by Amazon as such, with a badge stating "Amazon Verified Purchase" or I often state where I purchased the item in the written review, ex. big box store, Walmart, etc. Since I am entirely new to having a product submitted to me for review, this video is unique as it features a product of both circumstances. The video demonstrates my experience two units; the one referred to as the "blue machine" I paid for with my own funds through Amazon.com in Nov. 2011. I received the "white machine" (the greater subject of this review) directly from Sepgo, Inc. at no cost to me for the purpose of testing and review in May 2013. Regardless of source , the opinions expressed are 100% my own with NO influence from any other person or company. Thank you to a youtube user whose question alerted me to the fact that my disclaimer stating such had not been added as requested; my integrity as a reviewer is very important to me and I am glad to have the opportunity to clarify the matter. Sincerely, -DG
I purchased this to avoid having to go the laundromat and have been very pleased.
Good Things
-It's small and convenient
-It's light enough to move alone when empty
-It's surprisingly effective
Bad Things
-The "Lint Trap" isn't great. If you want to launder an item that has a large amount of lint and don't intend to run it through a dryer with a good lint filter then you should prepare to find another way to remove lint.
Other things
-A buzzer would be a nice addition to this unit.
Tips
-Find out how long it takes to fill your device with hot cold and warm water (yes, test each one individually. Odds are your flow rate is dependent on temperature of water). Use those times as a guidline for filling times so you do not have to watch it patiently.
-Weight matters more than size. Heavy items can weigh the agitator at the bottom down and if the clothes aren't spinning somewhat aggressively they wont get clean. If you are unsure of how much to load, fill the tub and add your soap and start the wash cycle. Keeping the lid open begin slowly feeding in clothing items one at a time allowing for the agitator to reverse directions and assuring that the clothes are still moving aggressively before each new addition. If the movement slows and doesn't return after 2 or 3 agitator reversals then you have put in too much and should take something out (you can pop it into the spin dryer tub while it waits)
-When the spin dryer is on the unit wobble a bit and can be noisy depending on the surface the unit is on. I have this unit on a metal shelf and have taken to keeping a folded towel underneath it to lessen noise and help prevent the unit from wandering when it wobbles.
-For people concerned about the size of the unit, some loads I wash often look like: My sheets (both fitted and flat) and pillowcases in one load; 3-4 pairs of khakis at once; 1-2 pairs of jeans at once ; 4-6 button down shirts at a time; 2-4 polos at once(weight dependent); 1-2 bath towels at once (if washing a bath sheet it can only handle one)
I was going to wait a couple of weeks to write this review... but I feel compelled.
Let me start out with I'm just an average Joe, on my wife's amazon account that we bought the wash machine on.
We've only had the Panda for 2 days, but we have used it about a month's worth thus far... so I feel I am experienced enough to write this.
This machine is GREAT! If you're like me, you hop to the reviews and usually get the same responses reworded over and over again and you get a general feeling for the product. My reviews tend to be more or less rebuttals or further insight to what others have said.
First off, let me start by saying this is my first time living in an apartment (3 years now) and ever having to deal with a laundromat... I HATE that. The Panda fixes it! I no longer have to time machines or strategically plan when I wash my clothes. The freedom of this alone is well worth the cost.
As for performance... you can read other reviews to get the ins and outs... I'll just say it does what a reasonable person thinks it will do. It cleans clothes and relativity dries them. This is not a high end washer and drier combo. It won't remove that red wine you spilled on your lap while eating caviar... but it'll get your clothes clean. I'm not sure why so many people expected the dryer to get the clothes 100% dry all while not having a heating element... it's common sense people. It dries them to barely damp, and a quick hang dry does the rest. If you are looking for more than any of this I have a simple solution... get a better job, get paid more, buy a house and get a great washer and drier... but for us average Joe's... this thing works great.
I've also read that the dang thing leaks. Yup... There was a little water on the ground after my numerous loads tonight. Not sure if it was user error or machine defect. I put the unit in the bathroom and wiped up the water with a towel after... it wasn't that much water. Now I know what you're thinking "but I don't want water on my bathroom floor." Do me a favor and remember your last time in the laundromat... (still remembering?) yeah... that's what i thought... who gives a crap about a little water on the ground? At least I'm not at the laundromat.
Overall... this thing works great for what it is. Do not expect a high end perfect washer and drier b/c honestly... if that's what you are expecting then maybe you need a dose of reality. But for us average Joe's just trying to get by in this world... this little machine makes life a whole hell of a lot easier.
Ordered the weekend of 1-30-16, received on 2-2-16, first use on 2-3-2016..... AND ....I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS UNIT!! I have named it my little beast! It's lightweight, but is A VERY POWERFUL little machine, from the washer to the Spin dryer, it doesn't disappoint! Sure it requires a little more effort. But when the trade off is lugging laundry down to a laundry room with not enough washers for the number of units in the building that usually has broken units and the manager never cleans the room and there's spiders hanging out in the corners of the room! In addition, I have had clothing stolen out of my loads.... I don't mind the little effort using this requires! This SIZE is PERFECT because before I'd have to save up enough laundry to do in the big machines downstairs, which would take a week and a half and I'd have fewer options for what to wear and a mountain of laundry to do when it came time. The Water inlet hose fit both the kitchen and bathroom faucets no problem. I had leaking when using the unit, but found it to be user error. Don't over stuff and don't fill water above 3/4 of the height of the lint trap. Use the laundry mesh bags as everyone suggests. I say it's a must! Even with those they get tangled up from the power of the agitation this unit provides. That spin dryer is da bomb! Items come out barely damp and while it is true you will need to split the load washed into two to spin. It only takes it 3 mins or less depending on the item thickness. That time just flies right by! **note there is a metal clamp in a Baggie that comes with the unit but it's not listed in the instructions it's the water inlet hose clamp for the faucet....also there is another water inlet on the right side of the unit...apparently that feeds water to the spinner but I dint find this necessary ....that also isn't mentioned in the instructions**. For detergent this doesn't need much, and I'm not kidding! I use liquid detergent and found that 1.5 soup spoonfuls was just enough, using 2 spoonfuls for dirtiest loads and if I added Oxyclean powder to the load, I decreased the detergent used. It will be overly sudsy if you don't and will require and extra rinse cycle. My only regret is not jumping off the fence to make this purchase sooner. I'd been stalking this and the larger unit for over 3 months. I am VERY HAPPY with my purchase and very glad I bought the smaller unit. It fits perfectly in the kitchen is lightweight and really easy to carry around if needed and I think in the long run this unit is more likely to fit into future homes I may move to. I will be using other suggestions made in other peoples reviews for extending the water inlet hose so I won't have to move this around. This came in a shipping box that had the top part slip over the bottom foam part. I am keeping that with plans to cover it in a wipe-able plastic shelf liner in the same off white color as the kitchen cabinets so that I can use it as a cover to keep it from view should the manager of building need to enter. ;-) I learned my lesson, I won't be fence squatting to purchase the dryer too! That's in my very near future.....Great product that works like a champ!
Please understand that this little machine will NOT replace a normal laundry set up. It isn't intended to, but it does do exactly what is promised to the consumer. All you have to do is READ the instructions carefully, and be patient. I had water on my floor the first usage due to human error, not due to product quality. (Be mindful of where the drain hose is when you select drain, hahaha!)
I ran several loads, and found...
1. A mesh laundry bag truly is a MUST have. Pant legs will knot up if you don't and though it didn't ruin my clothing with out them, it honestly makes the job easier. I bought two fine mesh bags at a discount store for eight bucks.
2. READ that manual! and whip out your tape measure to see if your sink drain is in the 20-80cm height. Mine is 82cm. I solved the drainage issue by hanging the hose over my tall kitchen garbage can, and pouring the water out into the sink. (My garbage can has never smelled so april fresh! Yay! "no effort" can cleaning.)
3. Look for the hose clamp. Mine was in a little baggie, separate from the hose. This will keep the hose snug on the faucet head.
4.DO NOT expect the spin tub to make your clothes bone dry, but do what the manual says, and wring them out prior to stuffing them in the spin tub. The clothes do come out dryer than what you would get from an average spin cycle in a machine.
5. If you HATE the laundromat, want to save a few bucks, AND understand that this machine requires your full attention at ALL times, then this little guy might be a great addition to your studio or small apartment. Understand that the process requires work, so I would suggest doing a load daily, if you are used to 3 loads in a normal machine in one trip.
6. RESHAPE and smooth your clothes to minimize ironing.
Feature Product
- Small Portable washing machine goes anywhere with only 28lbs weight
- Easy to operate, and powerful Just fill with water and set timer
- Perfect for Apartments, Dorms, RV, Travel, your second washer at home
- One side of washing, one side of spinning
Description
After we successfully introduced you Panda single tub washer, the new twin tub with spinner is also a good choice for you.
This Panda Washer with spinner is completely portable suitable for caravan, picnics, short trips, for house, condos and apartment using. More surprisingly, Panda Twin-tub Washing Machine has drainage pump out, just hang nook over side of sink, or bathtub. Please understand it's not a fully automatic washer, you may need a little more work between washing and spinning.
Model: XPB36
Transparent lid
Voltage Frequency:110V/60Hz
Washing Capacity :7-9 lbs
Washing Power :240W
Spin Dryer Capacity :3.5 lbs (Half of the washing capacity, you may spin twice)
Spin Power: 120W
Spin RPM: 1300
Length of inlet hose: 43inch
Length of drain hose:54 inch
Unit size 22.83 × 14.17 × 25.59 inch
weight: 28 lbs
Package Size:23 × 15 × 26 inch
Shipping weight: 33lbs
1 year manufacture warranty
Inlet hose: If it doesn't match with your tap, please just use the bucket to fill into the tub directly.
Drain hose: The drain hose must reach a height of at least 7 inch minimum and 47inch maximum. However, Placing the drain hose low gets the best result for drain.
We guarantee all washers are brand new, if you find some water or watermark, it's manufacture testing.
I can't stress enough how great this washer is but there is a reason why it gets a 4 star and not 5!
Here is the breakdown.
PROS:
1. Super compact- we got the small 7.9 lb loader. You think it's small but it ain't that small! I'm a size small-medium. My husband is a small but his clothes are generally bigger and thicker. Here's a quick breakdown of what can go in in one load.
1 of my blue jeans, 3 t-shirts (size small) and 2 men's t-shirt, 2 boxers and 2 of my toddler (2T).
Another load- 4 of my toddler long pants, 4 of my toddler t-shirts, my one set pajamas and one size medium leggings
One king size sheets and 2 pillow case, 2 large towels (not beach towels)
See? It ain't so small but the machine is small and portable!
See picture for size
2. It's lightweight. I can carry this washer from one room to another. This machine is about 28 pounds
3. IT AGITATES CLOTHES SO WELL!
Ok, so I washed my blue jeans that I had for a little over a year. This pair of jeans have been washed many times throughout the entire year and when I washed it in the PANDA, the jeans bled like a new pair of jeans. For an old pair of jeans to bleed bright blue makes you wonder how well our apt's full washer washes. So here's a photo of the blue water draining into the tub after agitating old pair of jeans. Will post a video of agitating process if it allows a video
4. The spinner doesn't completely dry your clothes but it does a pretty good job making it damp- to almost dry! My husband and i were amazed!
CONS:
1. Spinner is very small. With one load in the washer, you would have to do 2 separate spins. It's not too bad bc spinning only takes 2 mins each but it's another step you have to take
2. FILTER SYSTEM. (Lost one star) They say they have one but IT DOES NOT FUNCTION. (See picture). I saw a reveiw done by one of the reviewers and she put her sheer pantyhose stocking on the end of the draining tube and THAT WORKS. It's sheer enough to drain the water but also catches all the lints.
3. Wish there was a use of detergent guideline bc you don't need a lot! Our first mistake was putting less than .5 of 1 (smallest load on the detergent cup) and it was still a lot of soap. We had to rinse our clothes 3 more times. It's a learning experience, I guess.
Overall, amazing washer and spinner! I highly encourage this washer!
I currently live in a second floor apartment. My joints and balance are screwy, so I walk with a cane so that when I fatigue I don’t turn my knees or ankles. I can’t carry large objects up and down the stairs very well or very consistently. Since there’s no laundry in my apartment, I’d also need a way to get laundry to and from my place to the laundromat.
Realistically this meant paying my brother to do laundry for me when it was convenient for him. He tries hard, but I couldn’t exactly be sure I’d have enough clean clothes to get me through if I had to travel. I’d periodically end up having to do laundry in my bathtub, let the laundry drip dry inside of the shower curtains, and hang the laundry all over my place. While not a huge deal to have the laundry hanging around, sometimes for a week before being dry, it’s hard to do laundry by hand.
Then a little apartment washer came through my social media feed. While a little bit pricier than I typically spend on things, it was a small fraction of the cost of a full sized washer, and it had a spin dryer. I ended up talking to my payee person and had him arrange things so I could have enough spending money the next month to purchase one.
My model is a Panda Small Compact Portable Washing Machine (6-7lbs Capacity) with Spin Dryer. It’s more work than your typical washer but it’s a life saver. Here are the steps I follow:
Making sure that the drain hose is in the sink and the drain switch is set to wash, fill the tub with the fill hose. The fill hose attaches to the sink faucet on one end, and drapes into the wash bin in the other. The fill time is about 5 minutes?
Add a TINY amount of laundry soap. I’m serious, it needs hardly any.
Close the lid and set the timer to the appropriate cycle length. The longest is 15 minutes, and I usually just set it to that to be certain, though it could be as low as three minutes for undergarments.
When the cycle is done, switch the drain switch to drain. This takes about 5 minutes. You can optionally wring the clothes or if you have only one garment in there (like I usually do) you can throw it in the spinner while the wash tub is draining.
Wipe down the wash tub, clean the lint trap and re-secure it, switch the drain switch to wash, and fill the tub again.
Close the lid and set the timer to the appropriate length of time for your rinse cycle. When it’s over, double check that there aren’t suds. If there are you’ve added a little too much soap to the wash cycle and it will need another rinse. If so, repeat steps 4-6 until there aren’t suds.
Drain the wash tub, and put a garment at a time, two max, in the spinner. It will spin out a lot of the water, so you’ll have something that is just damp and can be hung any where without worry. I have washing and spun something one day and been able to wear it the next. The longest spin cycle is 5 minutes. Make sure that the load is balanced. If it is, after it is up to speed it will be very quiet. If it continues to shake, the load is unbalanced and you need to re-position it.
Hang the spun clothes on hangers someplace where it can dry. There will probably be lint involved, so if you are wearing them to work or other important places, invest in a lint roller?
It is a lot of steps, but it’s a thousand times better than hand washing everything and now that my laundry is caught up, I have less of a stressor. It also is helpful for autistic reasons. I can wear literally the same dress every other day and have it be clean, instead of buying two of the same dress on sale. I can wear exactly whichever of my clothes I want when I want.
If you have easy access to a regular washer/dryer, you probably won’t understand the sheer relief I have right now. (You should probably keep with those if you have access to them- the amount of work involved can be overwhelming for people used to modern washer/dryers.) It is amazing.
small white panda washer next to my bathroom sink. It fits easily into the space and the drain hose points into the sink. The lids are closed and you can see the dials.
The down side is that I can’t wash my blankets in it. It’s not big enough for the spinner to fit the whole blankets. But it can handle individual sheets and all of my towels, and all of my dresses that can be washed in a washer. Another issue is that the drainage hose can seep a little, but it’s not enough to be a huge issue- I just have a towel there that I change out periodically and it’s fine, but buying a washer mat would also work.
You also need to keep a dish towel nearby to wipe down the lid and control panel in between tub fulls. I don’t actually count this as a downside, but some people might. The reason is that the control panel needs to be kept dry. I had a week where the spinner timer was on the fritz because it got wet, but as soon as it dried out it was as good as new.
I also run a whites or empty cycle with bleach once a week to keep it clean and mold free. I let them soak overnight in the bleach.
So that’s the Panda washer. It has really helped me with my stress levels by making one major task less overwhelming and less unpredictable.
I've lived in a few apartments without laundry hookups before, and tried not to let my weekly laundromat trips bother me as I didn't see any alternative. Many times, the apartments themselves (for the price, location, or other perks alone) were worthwhile to me and I didn't think it a big deal to head to a laundromat to wash clothes. I still don't necessarily hate those trips, but they do get exhausting, expensive, and are never something I look forward to doing. It takes hours, a lot of physical effort to carry laundry down stairs and to my car... let alone, when I lived in a city, I'd have to carry laundry baskets down busy, bustling blocks sans a car, and pay around $20 a trip.
This machine, then, pays for itself in just a few months' time for me. It takes much smaller loads than the commercial-sized units in laundromats, so that's a change I had to get used to. I can wash maybe 10 t-shirts at a time, or 5 t-shirts and a couple of pairs of pants. To me, this isn't a big deal because the fact that this is in my house makes it easy for me to do multiple loads a week.
The washer section has a higher capacity than the dryer section, as is easy to see in the photos. I find that doing very small loads in the dryer does help them dry more thoroughly, but you can rest assured that you will likely never have a bone dry piece of laundry out of this spin dryer. It gets pretty close to dry, and if you hang it out (outside or on a dryer rack) for a couple of hours, you're good to go.
Some things it washes better than others. I've had no problem with intimates, light-weight shirts, cotton pants, etc. But it does have some issues with heavy sweaters, jeans, and towels. Nothing too bad, just that it doesn't fit very many at once and that they can come out of the dryer rather stiff sometimes.
This thing, overall, has been such a lifesaver to me. At the price, I can't see rating it anything less than five stars. The instructions are clear. It requires maybe five minutes more "work" out of a person doing laundry than a regular machine, but I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to do laundry at home in a home I couldn't have before Panda.
Great little washer, fits in my bathroom. I use this washer for my clothing which I always hang up to dry. It has limited my trips to the laundromat to once or twice a month to wash towels and bed linen. I do recomend using wash bags for your pants and long sleeves as they get tangled up and a few tablespoons of vinegar to help with lint. Also a floating lint catcher is useful as the lint trap is not too good. Only use a few teaspoons of soap is needed if you use a high sudsing soap, a tablespoon for lower sudsing. As stated by some of the reviews this is a hands on washer, so if you are looking for an automatic laundry experience this is not the machine for you.
I love this product. My husband and I rent a tiny one bedroom house. We have been here almost three years. I have always loved our home, except that we have no washer dryer hook up. I loath going to the laundry mat. We live in a small town and the only mat is scorchingly hot in summer and freezing in winter. The washer and dryer arrived a day sooner than the first expected arrive date. I have used this everyday since we got it four days ago. The first few loads I did the hose flew out of the sink during the drain cycle and soaked my kitchen floor. I have since learned how to adjust it so that I can just keep a watchful eye on it, and I have had no further problems with draining. The agitator is very harsh, if i wash delicate's I wash them a max of 6 minutes, the longest cycle being 15 minutes. I bought lingerie bags to wash tanks, bras, undies etc. Cloths still come very clean and dry just fine as well. I will be going back to purchase larger bags for jeans, hoodies, sweaters etc because they become very very tangled while washing. The spinner is much smaller than the washer and you can only wash or spin, cannot do both at the same time. But i do not mind, i can usually spin everything in two too three cycles depending on the type of clothing I washed and how much I am doing at any given time. We store the washer in our bedroom, it has handles, and is easily lifted by myself and carried to the kitchen where I use it. I gave it a 4 star because I do wish it had a delicate cycle, like maybe at 6 minutes it would agitate at half of what it does normally. Other than that it has literally been prefect!! Such a money and time saver, defiantly worth every cent spent. (including, the not so cheap shipping lol)
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