Appliances: Bright Ideas for the Laundry

Doing the laundry is not as simple as it used to be. Many modern washers and dryers have enough time, temperature and fabric settings to confuse a test pilot. The buttons and dials can be especially daunting for people with poor vision, including many of the elderly, and Spanish-speaking Americans, some of whom cannot read English. Now Whirlpool, noting that the U.S. population includes some 28 million people over the age of 65 and about 18 million Hispanics, has become the first major U.S. appliance manufacturer to introduce a line of washers and dryers designed for those large groups of consumers.

Some of the new models feature Spanish-language controls and instructions. Others have oversize knobs and large-type instructions for those with poor eyesight. For blind customers, a Braille operating manual and a Braille overlay that easily snaps onto the control panel of the machines are available. All of the machines are simple push-button models with no fancy electronic controls.

The new Whirlpool line is now being shipped to showrooms. The company thinks that the easy-to-use washers and dryers are both a public service and a promising source of profits.