She must be popular for all the guys to help clean the snow off it.
Posted on 01/29/2014 7:47:36 PM PST by servo1969
I'm planning on buying a new washer and dryer in the next few months and my wife has always wanted a front loading washer.
Everyone I talk to including my mother, my sister and my best friend's wife tells me whatever I do DO NOT get a front loading washing machine.
I have been told they get mildew-y, they leak, they tear up easily and that they just don't clean your clothes as well as a good top loader.
All my washers to date have been top loaders and, excluding a part here or there, have each lasted more than a decade. I have never paid to have a washer repaired because I do the work myself. This has made me pretty familiar with their inner workings but I've never owned a front loader and have no personal experience with them.
So, my question is to anyone who owns or has owned a front loading washer. Are they really as bad as people say? Because the impression I keep getting is that they start out fine but end up being way more trouble than they are worth.
I’ll add that weve had it 3 yrs - no smell whatsoever
If you do choose to get a front loader, ensure that the drum is mounted on a direct drive. The laws of gravity put great stress on the drum as it is mounted to the machine from the back. We switched back to a top load (Samsung) and are extremely happy.
Another benefit with top load is that you can interrupt the cycle to add that dropped sock or garment. No go with the front load.......
We have a big smooth rock in the creek by our house. Never a midew problem.
Allergies are a real problem, so you were wise to do that.
Front loaders are the best esp for washing delicate fabrics and for hand washing. I love to sit with a glass of wine in front of my front loader, watching it wash my silk underwear in hand wash mode. Mesmerizing.
you cancelled your tv service didn’t you?
“the door opens the other way than her dryer so the door gets in the way, making switching laundry from washer to dryer that much more of a chore.”
Yeah, I noticed this problem until I simply reversed the position of the units. Please, don’t tell me she never thought of doing this. Also, (and I’m whisperin now...) please tell that she can....you ready for this? Stack them.
I have a front load washer and I hate it. I have to leave the door open all the time to keep it from smelling. Also, I find it harder to load and unload. My daughter has a top-of-the-line front load, and I hate it also, buy it does not smell.
Tell your aunt to check to see if either the door to the dryer or the door to the washer can be reversed. We had to reverse one of mine, I forget which one, because of the same problem your aunt has. Now they open away from each other so it is easy to move load from washer to dryer.
Make sure you get the elevation feature so you do not have to bend over to load the machine. It will save your back.
I kept our old Speed Queen going for 25+ years. I miss that thing for the reasons you state. Our new one locks the lid and basically says "Go away!" when it starts!
In Germany, all we had were the top-loading machines, and I LOVED them! Here, I could not afford the price. It is good to let the door stay ajar when not in use if you have a very damp environment. Otherwise, just wipe the edges of the glass door occasionally. Sometimes there is soap buildup around the edges, but that depends on the maker. I never had ANY mold or mildew...which is what causes the smell. I think they clean better, personally. I still wish I had that style now, but when we moved back, at that time I could not afford $1600-2000 a set. That was the selling price locally.
She must be popular for all the guys to help clean the snow off it.
according to his allergist, he’s basically allergic to everything. Tide and many other soaps just know how to really get him to break out.
After our last top-loader broke down, we got a used LG front loader. That was about 5 years ago, and it's still going strong.
Mildew should not be a problem as long as you keep the door open when the machine isn't in use, so it can air out. (The instructions say this.) Also, once a month you run a cleaning cycle - an empty washer with some bleach.
The front-loader uses less water, and I've also found that its spin cycle gets my clothes drier, meaning less time spent running the drier as well.
My bedroom is around the corner from the laundry room, and my experience is that the front loader is considerably quieter than the top loader when it is running. The loudest noise is the clothes tumbling. (The spin cycle is just as loud as a top loader's, but that's to be expected, and unlike a top loader, an unbalanced load won't cause it to walk across the room, either.)
On the downside: it's more expensive to buy, and probably to repair, though we haven't had to do that yet. And a typical load of laundry takes a lot longer: probably an hour or more compared to around 30 minutes for a top loader.
"Trisodium phosphate (TSP) is an inorganic compound with the formula Na3PO4. It is a white, granular or crystalline solid, highly soluble in water producing an alkaline solution. TSPs are used as cleaning agent, lubricant, food additive, stain remover and degreaser.
Trisodium phosphate was at one time extensively used in formulations for a wide variety of consumer grade soaps and detergents, but ecological problems have largely ended that practice, at least in the western world. Substitutes are not as effective." - wiki
It's around $10 for 4.5 lb. box of this stuff and that's enough for months.
You must pay attention when handling this powder. It's corrosive and has to be treated with respect. You don't need to wear a respirator or wear a face shield or anything like that but you do want to be careful where you store it and what you let it come into contact with. Do not store it in a damp location. In fact, I'd keep it sealed inside a moister proof container of some kind just to make sure it doesn't harden into a big block.
My wife adds a tiny bit to each dishwasher and laundry load. And I mean a tiny little bit - like 1/4 teaspoon. That's all it takes! Suddenly all the detergents work again the way they used to! Clean dishes and glasses! Really clean cottons out of the washer!
My question is - Do you think putting a teensy bit of phosphate back into each load would help keep the mildew out of the hoses and the door gasket?
Way back when I had a job in a restaurant kitchen. One of my jobs was washing pots, and practically the first thing the chef told me was to put the detergent in the sink after it was filled, not during. His rationale was simple and quite obvious: Soap that is floating on top of the water, is not in the water working on the dirt.
The same is true of laundry detergent. The purpose of detergent isn't to make pretty bubbles. It's to break the chemical bonds between the dirt and your clothes.
Suds are simply a side effect of the fact that detergent is hydrophilic (tends to be dissolved in water), and air is not. They don't actually accomplish anything—except, on front-loading machines like clothes washers and dishwashers, to place unnecessary pressure on the door that might damage it.
At this point, yes, but if you are ordering them, why not get a configuration that will allow the washer to stand in front of the hose bibs and drain, and the dryer to stand in front of the power outlet, gas line, and exhaust hose outlet?
What I really want to find is a company that refurbishes 30-40-50 year old appliances.
See, I know it’s often said that suds don’t accomplish anything, but as I said earlier, I don’t buy it.
I understand the nature of surfactants and what they do. Facial cleansers which produce suds remove more oil and dirt compared to non-sudsing ones. I have curly hair, and I know from experience that washing it with conditioner is going to retain more of the beneficial oils in my hair than washing it with a lathering shampoo, which strips oil.
Sometimes I want those properties, sometimes not. But hair and facial skin are not garments. I want suds in my washer to clean my clothes. HE detergents were invented for the purpose of being “green” and environmentally friendly. I’ve never bought into any of that stuff, and I’m not going to start by believing that a spoonful of non-sudsing HE soap is going to get anything clean. Sorry.
And if a washer is so temperamental that the pressure of some suds can damage it, that’s another reason for me to skip it. ;)
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