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 prefer Cat front end loaders, though Case and Mitsubishi make some good models. John Deers are underpowered and don’t start in the cold.
Oh—washing machines. Never mind...
Read through some comments upthread. I got a front loading, stackable Bosch as a gift in 2001. When I found out how much it cost (2x regular w/d) I had a fit....BUT it works like a charm. Never had mildew, and clothes came out so much cleaner.
Even a smaller machine takes what is a full load in a much larger top loading machine because there’s no agitator taking up all that space. It runs on little electricity, little water and very small amt of detergent so is really cost-effective to operate. By now, it’s paid for itself several times over. You really DO get what you pay for.
not that there is anything new under the sun i did know a fat girl once years back that made my topload seem like there was no center agitator
Same her, a stacked set of front loading washer and dryer.
3 years, zero problem. I do leave washer door open after the job just to air it out and dry any moisture remaining.
I love the dryer sitting on top of washer...so easy to load and unload clothes. The brand is Sears.
What more could you ask for? :-) I suppose it helps that, in our case, they replaced machines that were from the 1970's (fine examples of Maytag's legendary reliability that they were!).
http://www.lg.com/us/washer-dryer-combos/lg-WM3987HW-washer-dryer-combo
If your wife does most of the laundry then you should get what she wants!
If it becomes a problem you could always sell it and view the difference as a learning expense.
I bought a GE front load stack from Home Despot two years ago. I had to learn a few things.
1. Run “Sanitize” cycle with 3-4 cups of bleach monthly.
2. Clean the lint trap prior to Sanitizing and wipe the gasket.
3. Use the least amount of detergent possible or else the dried items will smell from retained detergent. The clothes get very clean with about 1/2 cup. Not bad.
4. The washer spins items to the point they are practically dry already so long dry times are unnecessary.
Once I figured this stuff out I really like the set.
Would I go back to a top load washer? No.
Love mine. Have no clue as to why others dont
Mine is about 5 years old and work fine.
it you have a top loader, with an agitator,..take hold of the agitator and pull it straight up....We had a smell in ours and found that within the agitator was a filtering device which was EXTREMELY FOUL.....built up residue for probably YEARS,,,,,,,PATHETIC, but easily cleaned. Ours is an old Maytag which does a excellent job but since it was here when we moved in, I didn’t
know about the lint trap in the agitator....
I used my inlaws’ front-loading washer and dryer the first time we went to their place at the beach. That was the only time; now I save the laundry to do at home.
The front loader required HE detergent which doesn’t produce suds. I know they say suds don’t get clothes clean, but sorry, I do not want to look at my clothes “washing” in clear water.
You don’t have the option of stopping the machine during the cycle. If you want to add bleach or fabric softener, you have to add only the amount the little drawers will hold. I prefer to decide myself how much to put in.
The dryer literally took half the night to dry a set of sheets. And it was noisy. We had to postpone going to bed because it took so long.
My MIL hates her own machines and has told me they don’t clean well.
Here at home, we have a Whirlpool top loader. My husband got it before we even met. It’s twenty one years old and still going strong.
never tried it. never will.. anything “Tide” we have tried has caused my son to break out.
So we just banned “Tide” from our home.
I had a Maytag Neptune set and now in a different house I have a Electrolux I like even better - has windows. I don’t ever plan to go back and never had/have mildew problems.
I can stop mine on a pause setting and open them.
I always called them exercise rooms for gold fish.
Both sets are full size, not those apartment sets. They stand side by side, not stacked. Plus, my new set is on stands where I never have to bend over and have stainless steel interiors.
BAD? Bad? Is it bad? You have got to be kidding!
The front load washer made its debut in 1910, the same year as Frankenstein, the Mexican Revolution, the Ottoman Empire rebellion, the founding of the NAACP and the Boy Scouts, not to mention Earth passing through the tail of Haley’s Comet! This clearly was the beginning of the downfall of man, not the Garden of Eden, as commonly believed, and the greatest evil of all to come out of this catostrophic period of history was the front load washing machine.
BEWARE THE FRONT LOAD WASHING MACHINE!
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