Washer Recommendations

My whirlpool is 14 years old and the appliance people can have it when they pry it out of my cold dead hands. (My repair guy agrees - repair it until they stop making parts - not because he gets more work that way but because it's a solid machine and he sees a lot more work from the newer ones. The one I have, according to him, is one of the top two ever made. Good enough for me!)

I hate my front loader. It was top-of-the-line and cost a small fortune (more than my first car!) and really, not worth it at all. It tends to stink, clothes take forever to wash, and IMO laundry needs more than a few cups of water or it just doesn't get clean.

We will replace it soon with an old fashioned top loader, not high efficiency. I recently used a washing machine at a hotel than was just super basic and my clothes were clean and dry in an hour, 1/3 of the time it takes me now. It was eye-opening! Considering I have to run mine 2 cycles and give an extra rinse, I'm not sure if we'll be using much more energy or water anyway.

Imo, the more bells & whistles? The more repairs!

I'd heard too many complaints about front loaders to consider O..
We got a Speed Queen commercial grade top load washer--love it!

I had the original maytag front loaders and I wasnt happy although i did not have the issues most people had. I was lucky... Mine died around 12yrs old.

I got new Samsung with the storage drawers washer and dryer about 1.8 months ago and I could not be happier. So clean, very quiet, functional, live the settings.... I can do delicate and not worry all the way to heavy sanitize setting and not worry.

I use the quick wash for most items and that's not more than 30 minutes and dry time is around 40 minutes. Granted ., I do like sanitize cycle for linens and it runs longer but I like clean sheets!!!

Ours came on a deal from home depot and have extended warranties. Love them and it they died tomorrow I'd buy the same model again .

My go to detergent for years is All (he) and I use downy and bleach. I use so little detergent, I could use regular detergent and it not be an issue and clothes are still clean.

I have a front loader. I don't like it. It takes over one hour to do 1 load of laundry. Crazy!! I also am not a fan of energy/water efficiency washers...when I wash I want to use a lot of water. Cleaning my clothes is not the time to be thrifty or frugal😊.

(There is a quick wash cycle but I don't use it...also 1 load takes me over an hour because I do an extra rinse cycle.).

I also fine it irritating that I now have to wash my washer with a special cleaning detergent made for washers. So for me, I liked my top loader a lot more than the front loader.

I got a Samsung and I have been very pleased.

I use real bleach. Real laundry soap. Meaning I do NOT buy high efficiency laundry soap. I use regular Gain and I do not have yucky smelly issues or any gunk problems. Nothing. I also use regular fabric softener.

I use normal wash, warm water, extra spin, and a few other cycles but usually just normal for everything.

What I don't like about it is that the minimum time for a full wash and rinse cycle is over 40 minutes. In a top loader, old fashioned style, I could do a load every 25 minutes.

Since you didn't ask I'll say I love my Samsung dryer way better than the washer. I love love love it!! I had a gas dryer my whole life and couldn't ever imagine going to an electric one.

I was so shocked the very first load of clothes I dried!!!! It was jeans and they were dry, completely dry in 22 minutes. I had been running my gas dryer about 45-60 minutes to dry jeans AND towels too. Both loads took forever to dry.

I'm sold. I'll never go back to a gas dryer and I'll never go less than a 7' dryer either. It's so huge inside.

We replaced our very old Maytag with a Maytag Centennial HE several years ago. We like it. It doesn't do things like sing at you at the end of a cycle or tell you how long is left, but it works well for our family. The water level sensor is great, so that we don't have to worry about big or small loads, and we personally liked the top load vs front load option. My ILs had problems with their Whirlpool not using quite enough water (too efficient) and not feeling like the clothes are clean enough, and we've never had that issue. I can wash fairly big blankets in our machine, even if the big comforters are out. I think wash cycles on HE machines tend to be longer in general, but we quickly got used to it and it's not really a problem. Our top loader also has no issues with mold or stink and doesn't need to be cleaned every x loads. It's a pretty straightforward machine.

I agree to consider a scratch and dent model. Our washer was at the Sears Outlet for just a few hundred for a cosmetic ding we can't even see now that it's in place. I'm very happy we didn't go with a perfect machine.

Meh. It's a crapshoot.

I mean, really. Any of us who have a machine we love and trust and haven't had numerous repair issues with, has an old machine that you can't walk into a store and buy. Any of the new machines don't have any longevity to gain any real knowledge about quality.

I can simply suggest that you spend a lot of time online researching the exact model(s) you may be considering. See what others say about that/those models. Maybe you'll find one that works well, like I did.

Mine is a Kenmore Elite+ Front loader that is probably 7-8 years old at this point. I've had a few problems with it, but nothing crazy. A few of which were even our fault/user error. (I say "our" b/c husband helps with the laundry and doesn't check pockets. One of our problems was a failure to drain at the end of the cycle. I googled the problem and found instructions on line for how to open up the front panel and open the drain filter and clean it out. I was shocked at the things inside... combs, pencils, hair clips, pocket knives, several dollars in coins, bottle caps, you name it... there was probably one in there... paper clips, marbles...) But most have been things that were sorted out without any expense of a repairman and didn't involve electronics.

Another time, the door was accidentally closed with an article of clothing caught in between the clear plastic of the door and the rubber gasket that runs around the opening to the machine. During the spin/rinse cycle, it got so tight going around that it pulled the gasket partially into the machine. I heard the racket, and stopped it, and it looked like I was in for a new machine purchase or expensive repair. Called out the repairman, but turns out if I'd known what to do, I could have done it myself. Just needed to get the gasket back into place and all was well.

Leaving the door ajar (it is water tight after all) helps alleviate any odor problems (I've never had an odor problem with the machine). Regular bleach can be used to clean the machine, no need to buy "special" products. And the clothes are clean.

It's been a good machine. Reading reviews online can be frightening when you come across some really bad reviews and "horror" stories. But do your research.
Kenmore is (or at least was) made by Whirlpool. There really aren't that many washing machine manufacturers out there.. A repairman once told me that Maytag is no longer the creme de la creme. And to stay away from LG b/c while you may not have any problems, IF you DO, they didn't have "local" repairman for the warranty work. This was several years ago and that may have changed since then... so again, go online and google and look at reviews.

Good luck. Shopping for washers is not fun. But if you can find a scratch/dent one in a store, you might get a great discount... just do your research on that actual machine before you buy. You don't need all the "bells and whistles" features if you aren't going to use them. :)

I have Whirlpool HE front loader. It is a pretty basic model, but it does a great job and is very energy/water efficient.

ETA: The wash cycle is a lot longer than with my old washer, but it spins the clothes nearly dry, so they only send about 15 minutes in the dryer, saving even more energy! My clothes come out clean every time.

I have Samsung front loaders. I love mine, they are 8 years old, no problems but I have read the reviews aren't that great on Samsungs right now.

I will never go back to a top loader. I love how clean my clothes come.

Mine have steam so I can dry clean at home. Not sure if that is your thing, it does add quite a bit to the cost.

I can't say enough good things about Speed Queen.
http://www.speedqueen.com/products.aspx

When it comes to washing machines, I like basic. I like manual knobs instead of touchy computerized settings. I like top loaders that fill up with water. I like machines that get clothes clean on the first try.

When our old washing machine died, I was having a heck of a time finding a new machine that would suit me. The old one was Whirlpool, and when I say OLD I mean it was at least 25 years old. It came with the house and we never needed a pro repair for it in the 12 years we used it. When it finally died, it was the motor that gave out after a long, hard life.

Long story short, someone suggested I look at a little locally owned appliance shop. Speed Queen is not sold in big box stores, so it hadn't been in front of my face until then. We got the AWN412 model and it has been great. (Not sure they sell that one anymore) Even though it seems like it has a lower capacity than some, it is actually spacious. I have no problem washing things like comforters and sleeping bags.

They are made in Wisconsin and have a 3 year parts and labor manufacturer's warranty, plus a 10 year warranty on the...crud...I forget the name of the important part. Anyway, it's better than industry standard.

I see that they just updated their website and it looks like they might custom build with features you want now. No experience with that, but it looks near.

Added: I have a few friends that went with LG models. Every one of them has regretted it, so that is the one brand I feel like I can say you should not even consider.

Do NOT buy an LG. Not only are they expensive, but there are very few techs who are trained to work on them. And if you need a part and they don't have it, the only place in the US to get it is in CA. And if CA doesn't have it, it's some foreign country like Japan or Korea or something. We had to wait WEEKS for someone to come and fix it, then only to find out we needed a part and had to wait WEEKS again for it to be shipped. We immediately got rid of them after that. It was horrible. Good luck.

I have a front loader and love it. It doesn't have a huge amount of bells and whistles, but I find I use one setting all the time. My complaint is that some of the cycles take too long (white vs normal). I end up using the same setting for everything. My advice is to check into cycle lengths and specifications when you are buying. For example, a normal wash cycle shouldn't take two hours (laundry would never get done!). I like it to be quick and efficient. Also read the reviews and decide who of the reviews aligns with your preferences.

I traded in my basic top load Kenmore model for a bells and whistles front load.

I love my new washer and it uses so much less water and detergent!! It has tons of options on wash cycles and water temperatures (a sanitation load, yea!!).

However, you have to clean the tub out every 50 loads or so AND I leave the door open after I use it until it drys out inside or it smells/mildews (it is so air tight). Also, I miss being able to soak things (I could fill my top load with water and stop the cycle and let things soak to get out stains, etc OR use it to dye cloth). You cannot do those things with a front load.

So it is really what you want out of it...I think either way there are pros and cons. If you do get the front loads get the bases they sit on or you will be bending over to load and unload them!!