Advice on Purchasing a New Washing Machine

My mother-in-law has a front loader and it always gets mold around the seal around the door. It gets wet every time and never gets to dry so it's not a suprise. Also with a toddler the front loaders are a safety hazard. Plus they're just more bending and reaching for the stuff in the back. I love my top loader.

N.,
I dont know much about the front loaders, but my Dad & Stepmom have one & my Dad said it cut their water bill in 1/2. Guess they are more efficient when it comes to water. I have several friends with them too who say they love them.
We have a top loader that we've had for about 6 years & have no issues with it at all.
Sorry I'm not much help, other than the water saving tip.
H.

Hi N.

We have the Kenmore Elite top loader, and I love it. It's energy efficient and has several different cycles. What ever you purchase buy it at a Sears Scratch and Dent Warehouse. That is where we bought ours and we got a great deal. The scratches are very small to the point where you can't even see them, and the discount is very good.

Good Luck
C. :)

I LOVE my Maytag Neptune front load washer & dryer. So much so that when we moved to a new house we paid extra to bring them with us. I can't pinpoint why I love so much, they're quick (around 45 min per load, you can also opt for quick cycle for less dirty items), do a great job cleaning, hold a lot, and I like the front load as you can pile laundry on top and still access the doors.

My mom just bought a top loader washing machine without the oscillator and she hates it. She has complained that it does not get her clothes as clean as she would like.

I would go with what you were suggesting. I purchased a front loader a few months back and I don't really care for it. Aside from having to leave the front door to it open so it doesn't smell all musty, when you load the clothes in it and you have a full load, the clothes fall back out and you have to keep stuffing them in. Also there is a valve you have to clean out once a month that is quite painful because it is on the bottom and it has to lay flat in order for all the water to run out. If I were to do it again, I'd get a top loader.

I bought a front-loader about 2-3 years ago. I haven't had any problems with it, but there is a tendency to twist/bunch the sheets and things. My model seems to have longer wash cycles than a top-loader. If I had it to do all over again, I might go with what you are looking into... No agitator in a top loader... As I really like being able to fit QN sized quilts in the washer! But, I am content with the front loader I have.

There CAN be a mildew issue, but if you follow the manufacturer's instructions, (keeping door open after use to allow to air dry - and once every couple of months running a "cleaning" cycle -use nothing but bleach) there don't seem to be any problems. My biggest problem in that regard, is keeping my husband from walking past and slamming the front door shut on it! LOL

Regardless of top load vs. front load, be aware that purchasing a High Efficiency model means that you will need to buy HE laundry soap to do the wash. It is a little more expensive, and some brands don't make one, or it's hard to find in the HE formulation. If you use Tide or Cheer, it's a non-issue really. But if you like Arm & Hammer, it is more of a challenge to find the HE soap.

Happy laundering, whatever you choose!

I have had my GE energy star front loader for about 7 years it is great. I leave the door open to air dry and you could pour a cup of white vinager in to clean out the washer on a wash cycle. Use less soap, no vibration, sometimes the sheets are tangled I think thats a given when your items are being spun and turned for 45 min.
B.

Hi N.,
We bough the Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer about three years ago. It's a front loader. The normal wash cycle is 40 minutes. The longest wash cycle (extra dirty, extra rinse) is 60 minutes. I also has options for shorter wash cycles for delicates and hand washables (25 an 30 mins, I think). I really wanted front loader, thinking it would help avoid the tangled knot of clothes that I used to pull out of my top loader. But, it doesn't. Still the clothes get twisted and tangled. I have heard that the top loaders without the oscillator do leave the clothes bunched (as you said), so I guess you have your choice, twisted or bunched. I actually notice less vibration with the front loader than our old top loader, but that could be just becasue our other one was so old. Honestly, I don't know anything about the mold. I have not noticed any in/on our machine. I do keep the door open when not in use, to let it dry out, but I did that with the top loader as well - -just a habit of mine.

I think those new steam washers/dryers look really cook. I think they came out just after we bought ours, so we missed out on that option.

Wanted to add, we have never had a clog, or water drainage/leakage problem with our machine.

I'm having some problems with my front loader-- yes, it breeds mold (actually, I think it's mildew)-- but once we figured that out and cleaned off the rubber liner thingy, we figured out if we just leave the door open a bit then it can air dry and keep the mildew at bay. I love the super capacity of it-- I can wash a zillion towels at once, and I use a LOT less detergent than when I had a top loader. I can see your concern about the vibration, though, if you're not on a slab--- but my old top loader washer/drier moved a lot, too.... soooo... sorry-- I don't know if I've said anything helpful!!!

HI, I have had both kinds of He washers. We had a great Kenmore Elite Calypso. Top loader with no agitator sticking up in the middle. It was awesome for years and then just totally satopped working, Sears couldn't find or fix the problem. I also researched online and found they no longer make the Calypso and many peole had similar problems after a few years. SO we just bought a new front loader from GE -our laundry room is small, so we had to choose based on size rather than features. It is ok, noisier though. There is always a mildewy looking spot on the gray rubber under where the circle window is -I can't seem to clean it off. Hands down I like the top loader better. When I wash my four year old's clothes, his tiny socks and underwear fall out when trying to load it. It is a super huge pain -I can't even imagine how bad newborn tiny tiny stuff will be with it. If you can find a top loader with good reviews, my vote is to go with that. I miss my old one terribly. I would stay away from Kenmore though since they don't seem to be able to fix their own machines...that was purchased 6 years ago, I assume there are better top loaders out there by now.

Good luck!

Let me just say, do not buy a Maytag or Whirlpool product. I'm so happy that I finally get to say this to someone. We spent well over $2000.00 on a washer and a dryer and yes, we have a front loader. We have had nothing but problems with it. We are actually having problems with it right now. Front loaders get clogged inside and out. Socks disappear into the rubber that's inside the door or they travel and get caught up some where else inside the washer. They don't drain properly. We barely had it a year before the water wouldn't drain out of it. If you opened the door, the water would pour all over the floor.

The guy who came by to fix the problem who didn't speak very clearly; had barely any English skills, blamed it on our plumbing. We decided to get new units to be more energy efficient. We didn't have a problem with our old units and we had them forever.

Also, when we tried to get our rebate, they conveniently lost it so we couldn't get our rebate.

Maytag is merged with Whirlpool so they are not the same company they once were.

I'm actually thinking about getting a new washer as I have a two almost three year old and our laundry is piling up as the water comes out through one of the pipes all over the floor; as I said before, these washer's get clogged. I have to keep a pot underneath just to do laundry.

My mother recently bought a top loader; I wish I could remember the name but they are better than they used to be.

Heed my advice buy another brand. Good luck.