I Could TALK about Cleaning All Day Long! (My Trip to the Maytag Labs)

I’ve always loved reading cleaning tips and tricks.   I love discussing the whys and how tos of all things related to home management.

Actually doing them?  Oh.  Well, that isn’t nearly as fun.

So my trip last month to the Maytag labs in Michigan and the World of Whirlpool in Chicago was truly fascinating.

Seriously.  I LOVED hearing what they do to test the appliances and learning the ins and outs of making washing machines and dishwashers and ovens work their best.

The number one thing I learned?

I should really read the manual.

Seriously.

I knew this already, but now that I’ve met the people who write them and seen the way they test things to be sure they know the BEST way to use the appliances . . . I feel guilty for never having even considered reading them before.

The second thing I learned?

I honestly had no idea how much effort and thought goes into the testing of these appliances.

Slight rabbit trail here, but as a mom who often wonders how my kids’ various interests and abilities will play out in their careers, I was in awe and slightly giddy seeing the various people who work in the Whirlpool/Maytag labs and learning what they do every day.

I doubt that this man dreamed of working on washing machines as a little boy, but he truly seems to love his job.  He runs the lab where they run washing machines 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

See the holes in the top of the washers?  Those tubes put detergent into the washers so they can run non-stop even on evenings and weekends.  (SO cool!  My boys thought this was awesome!)

There’s another lab (top secret so I couldn’t take pics) where they test how the dryers work.  And the washing machine lab runs all sorts of fabrics and standardized stains to see how to best get them out.

The most important thing I learned?

Use the various settings on your appliances. 

Those settings do have purpose.  I generally am a same-setting-all-the-time kind of girl, so to realize how much SCIENCE went into all these various settings inspired me to start using them.  It was the same way in the dishwasher lab, and I’ve been AMAZED at how much better my (already fab) dishwasher works when I use the right settings for various loads of dishes!

Who would have thought?

I’ll share more details about the dishwasher and oven soon when I write about my own Maytag appliances.  But for fun, here’s a picture of the “Real Whirled” house where we stayed.

Get it?

It’s a gorgeous condo where Whirlpool houses eight newly-hired college graduates for several months at a time.  They go through intense corporate training, and LIVE with the appliances they’ll eventually be selling.  They wash their clothes and cook their meals and learn in real life how the appliances actually work.  How cool is that?  I loved hanging out there with the other Maytag Mom bloggers.

That’s me, Stacy from Stacy Uncorked, Cindy from Akron Ohio Moms, and Brandy from Newly Crunchy Mama of 3.

 

I wrote this post participating in an Maytag Moms Ambassador program by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Maytag. I was provided with a trip to the Real Whirled house to facilitate my post