Category: Daily Living
I'm new here so this may be on the wrong board. Does anyone make an accessible washing mmachine?
Pobably not. Saying that though, I did find on the internet about ayear or so ago that there was a "talking washing machine" that was made in India with an Indian/English accent voice. By the sound of it though, it was probably more for entertainment than to help visually impaired people and it was only being sol in india at the time.
Just get a standard but modern type washer. Me and my Bf when we get a place together will have a Hotpoint Ultima washer dryer. What he's going to do since he's partially sighted, is he's going to program the Ultima so I can just hit the memory button when I want to put a wash on, or I'd just set the thing to 40 degrees and hit the Start button. You barely know that washer dryer exists, it barely makes a sound when it's running. Scared the hell out of my BF's parents Rottie when he first heard the water sloshing round in the drum with the clothes, bless him, lol.
Jen.
There are some companies, Whirlpool and Maytag I think, that will send you Braille overlays for the dials. You just buy the machine and call the company with the serial number of your machines.
Also, this should probably go in the daily living category. Maybe a CL can move it.
You could just mark your washing machine up with either bump ons or that tube of tactile paint that you get from RNIB that I have no idea what it's called. Sorry about that. But basically you can put whatever you're using at the different points you want them around the dial if it's one of the ones with only a few programs.
Good question.
I don't know of any that are totally accessible, but let me give you a little advice, stay away from the totally push button ones, especially those where the buttons are totally visual.
If you can find those with dials instead of buttons, the dials can easily be marked with a raised marker or tape (though tape tends to come off in the wash) <lol>
Bob
this is proof that we all like different things. I personally like the button ones better than dials, because most of the time, I can feel the buttons. That, and a flat-pannel display is easily markable. The markers don't come off.
Becky, I had no idea you could get Braille overlays from the companies. Way cool! Thanks for posting that.
braille overlays? Hmmm, i'll have to look in to that.
Yeh, I'm impressed! Kudos to Maytag and Whirlpool!
I personally prefer the dial ones because I can't stand flat panels. I mark mine with locater dots.
Becky