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 have a top loader and can’t wait to get a front loader.
My husband owns commercial laundromats and only has front loaders. They get the clothes cleaner, spin the water out of the clothes better, and use less water than a top loader. You can’t overload them though, not that you should overload any type of washing machine, but most customers try to cram in as much as they can and that can cause clothes not to get as clean as they could.
A few years ago I discovered the reason I was breaking out with hives around my mid section. I would put on a freshly washed nightgown get between freshly washed sheets and within 30 minutes I was itching and had red whelps all around my body. It was detergents! I use All Free and Clean and I haven’t had a problem since.
Our first front load washer died much sooner than I expected. We got another one, though. They do seem to clean well, and I’ve had no problems with odors. I do leave the door slightly open when the machine is empty.
I’m on my second HE frontloader. The first was a Maytag Neptune which lasted 14 years. True it had mildew issues if you didn’t dry the gasket, but I am fortunate enough to live in an area with humidity in the single and low double digits most of the time.
I like them because they don’t use a lot of water, I am on a well.
Another way to deal with mildew/odor is to occasionally run a small empty load with a good dose of Chlorox-style bleach.
Sorry, that detergent is All Free and Clear.
I have had a front loading LG washer and drier for about seven years now. No problems at all... love the convenience!
I was going to get a front load but was told not to so I purchased this washer and dryer set. I LOVE it. uses hardly any water at all. Only problem is I am shorter and have to really stretch if there happens to be any item in the bottom (or change) LOVE it and after 46+ years of marriage I have owned a lot of washers & dryers.
I wouldn’t buy another front loader ,, if at all possible get a top loader with an old style mechanical timer... I’m real tired of electronics failing.
Mine does not lock the lid.
The guy selling them in Virginia
says he can’t keep them in stock.
This was in 2012 though. Maybe
the EPA mafia has locked the lid ;-)
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