We’ve got a fancy front-loader and I don’t especially care for it. Aside from all the other complaints up-thread about them, I’ll add that it seems to wad the clothes into tight little knots and makes it near impossible to pull them out without dropping half of the newly clean laundry onto the floor. Its a pain in the ass that I never knew existed when we had a top-loader.
And a second on the Earth-shaking spin cycle.
I wonder if I just got lucky or what? I don’t have any of these problems with my front loader. In fact, i find it tangles up my clothes far, far less than my old top loader did.
YMMV indeed!
I got a front loader HE. While I love its capacity and water savings, there are some downsides. The mold issue has already been named. I’ve also noticed that I can’t leave clothes in the washer overnight anymore without them smelling musty by morning.
Also, since it uses so much less water, dog hair doesn’t wash away like it used to with my top loader. That’s been a major bummer.
I’ve had to learn how to tweak the settings, too. For instance, I almost always use the pre-rinse and extra rinse features when I’m doing underwear or sportswear. I want those suckers clean! I use the sterilize feature on my bedding to get rid of dust mites for my asthmatic husband.
I’ll take Counter Intuitive Options for 500 please.
Miele make the best washing machines, but few can afford them…
It’s a British site, so will have no information on machines in the USA, but WasherHelp explains a lot about washing machines, particularly on how in Europe at least, due to Marx’s Iron Law of Concentration, most of the makes are owned by a few companies who then stick a different badge on essentially the same machines.
Do NOT buy a low end Maytag-we just got rid of ours (3 repairs in 3 months, once warranty expired).:mad:
I will never buy another Maytag (or any other Whirlpool brand) again. First pair lasted 20 years, second less than 6 - and after selling me on repair insurance plan, they cancelled it and refused to repair it. Finally after 2 weeks with no laundry, they agreed to refund the insurance.
Very happy with new LG.
This is everything I hate about my front loader but I have to add it tangles the clothes up something fierce - to the point that things have ripped being pulled out of the wash. I have to fold and flatten all jeans before they go into the dryer or they will dry with the legs still twisted. Mine hasn’t had a mildew smell - we live in AZ - but mold accumulates around the seal and is impossible to remove. It’s also not an option to leave the door open because we have to walk past it to get in and out from the garage and there’s not much room. I wouldn’t buy a front loader again.
It’s actually really awesome for getting out wrinkles. HOWEVER this reminded me- my dryer has this feature and it doesn’t work for shit. It just makes my shirt a soggy lump that never dries. So I still use my old method of tossing said wrinkly item in with a damp (clean) rag.
It’s not a huge deal, but it was part of the reason I bought the dryer, and it doesn’t work.
Glad it was useful. The cheapest you can go appears to be toploaders from Kenmore, Whirlpool, Samsung, and LG all at $700 (store costs are probably higher), with the LG WT4801C[W] being the highest rated (then Samsung, Kenmore, and Whirlpool). What’s funny with washers is that, no matter the brand or model, people either love or hate what they bought and the averaged score winds up around 3/5. So I’m not sure you can do better than just looking at the inventory at the store and picking one you want.
you can take my Whirlpool top loader away from me, but I’ll cause you mortal wounds in the process.
We inherited my mother’s circa 1970s Kenmore washer. I don’t remember her ever having any issues with it. We haven’t had any issues with it either. The damn thing is tank. It’s probably going to still going strong long after we’re gone.
We have a fairly new top loader HE model from Samsung, very nice. As others have said, the top loader HE washers don’t have that old agitator in the middle, they use a completely different washing mechanism that also allows for much bigger loads.
This is good advice. I see so much love / hate for the things that I’m pretty much ready to throw my hands up and choose the biggest one with the best warranty. I’m planning on parking a small desk fan front of the machine to help dry out the drum when not in use, and get a extra loud kitchen alarm to remind us to pull out the wash - leaving the clothes in overnight is something we accidentally do on occasion.
Just out of curiosity, aren’t front loaders better for fluffy things like pillows and quilts that tend to get lumpy when you do them in a top loader?
Also, can’t you get front loader type machines, IOW ones that have an sideways mounted drum, that you load from the top and not the front? I think the drum has a door that slides open to access the interior.
Personally, my next machine will be a top loader (vertical drum) with no central spindle/agitator or one that is unobtrusive so that I can easily handle bulky objects.
on front loaders, be sure to clean and drain the filter. On LG front loaders, its the 6 inch by 3 inch door, front of machine, near floor on far left. Open door, place rubber tube into an old plastic 2 liter Coke bottle. Drain it into bottle (water will stink!). AFTER draining, unscrew (1/2 turn to left is all it take) the plastic filter drum next to tube you just drained. Do this only after draining, or you will have 2 pints of stink water on floor. Pull pet hair. etc off of the filter (it is a cylindrical drum shape) and then replace it and turn 1/2 turn to right to tighten it to seal.
the other important tip: Ask if your front loader has a direct drive drum. This means, is the AC motor mounted directly onto the back of the drum, on its same center line. If not, it is offset, and now you have a “transmission” with moving parts - the top service item years later.
Also, note that for $100 more, some offer a dry clean option, like LG.
One other bonus: yes, long wash cycles. But very, very , very high RPM on final dry spin. So less time in Dryer = less energy used = lower elec bill.
if possible, do not put Front loaders on wood floors - the high speed rpm, on a slightly out of balance cycle, will cause it to walk an inch or two each time. Wood floors flex, unless really well made house. Not a huge issue - just slide it back into position after each use. Best in concrete basement or house with no basement on concrete slab.
this will give you a better appreciation of the very very high speed rpm of front loaders
DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME
Bwhaaahaaa… warn a guy before making him laugh at work, would ya?
Right before Christmas (always has to happen then, right?) our old washer died. We ended up getting a HE top loader, and as many have said, it has multiple plusses: less water, quieter, less soap (a LOT less soap). The only thing I don’t like about it is the twisted clothes (again, mentioned by others). There is some diligence involved in shaking the clothes out completely before tossing them in the dryer. It does take a lot less drying time though.
How come we are not using ultrasonic washing machines now? Like those 1950’s Mechanix Illustrated articles said?