The cleanup process involved removing junk by hand and then decontaminating two million tons of soil using special "soil washer" machines.
And just a note: The hot cycle of washer machines will typically heat up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, while dryers reach around 135 degrees Fahrenheit.
Ms. Ingram was pleased to find not only a small washer-dryer machine inside the unit, but laundry machines on the floor, too.
The Toshiba Corporation has engineered fan belts out of its washers, selling machines to the noise-phobic Japanese that are "quieter than a library".
Meanwhile, households as a whole have been consuming water at an even faster rate, thanks to the housing boom and the widespread use of flushed toilets, dish washers, washing machines, swimming pools and garden sprinklers.
Called the Tromm Steam Washer, LG's machine will be about $1,600.
The problem, we thought, was coming from the washer, a decrepit machine that had many clothes calls in its 15 years (that's about 100 in appliance years) but now seemed to be a victim of death by drowning.
The standard cages were scraped out manually, washed in a tunnel washer using washing machine powder, before autoclaving.
Items covered included washing machines, washer dryers, televisions, videos, audio equipment, cookers, microwave ovens, fridges and dishwashers.
Travelers on a slightly tighter budget may opt for the 400- to 800-square-foot suites ($275 to $400), each of them offering free high-speed Internet access, a full kitchen, dishwasher, washer, dryer and fax machine.
