Front Load Washing Machines

[Winemaker]

We have a brand new GE washer/dryer (at the time) set left behind in DMIL's house when she rented it out and moved in with us. Tenants defaulted due to lack of rent payments and then parole violation, went to jail. Tenants were DMIL's neighbor's son and wife. We brought them home and installed here as they were less than 6 months old and abandoned.

DW hates them and can't wait til they break and we can go back to regular washer and dryer.

[jazz4cash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFDubb There is nothing old school about modern top loading washers. They're every bit as efficient as front loading, but clean much better and don't have the mildew on the seal problem. I'm a big dude so I hate squatting for a front loading, even with a pedestal. That said, modern top loading washers are very big and it's hard for my wife to reach small articles at the very bottom. Front loading is a failed gimmick IMO.

+100
We bought top a top load LG washer and matching dryer about 8 yrs ago. No issues but they don't clean as well as the old school machines with agitator. I think it uses a bit more water than a front load but still pretty efficient. We really like them.

[38Chevy454]

Just a comment, Kenmore is just badge engineering; a rebranded model from one of the appliance mfrs. Look at the Kenmore and then look at others, you will quickly see who makes the Kenmore. My only concern with LG or Samsung is availability of parts, I prefer US mfrs.



We recently bought new FL washer, went with Whirlpool as we set up the whole new house appliances and combined all the products for bigger rebate. BTW, Black Friday is when appliance deals are the best for the year. Of course Black Friday is now several weeks long, but just watch the ads for Black Friday and it will have the best appliance prices.

[Bamaman]

Front loaders are expensive and they don't wash better than an old, top loader.
My wife's life is all about washing clothes, towels and linens. She was talking today how much she loves her Speed Queen washer/dryer.
And that comes from someone that washes all day, every day.

We had a Maytag Neptune front loader, and it was a piece of junk.

[Telly]

Since I do all the installation and repair work on everything, I'll never own a front loader. To me, they are a mechanically-flawed design. Too much mechanical moment on that drum support and bearing.
And I don't think much of the marketing concept... selling a machine that is too low, and then charging the customer big bucks for a matching "pedestal". It's like selling a 6 foot stepladder, minus the bottom 3 feet, which can be purchased separately...

Personally, I would never buy an LG-anything. And probably not a Samsung appliance.

And both LG and Samsung top-loaders have been prone to "explode". One of our kids bought a Kenmore (that was made by LG). Was OK for a few years, then one day started to make terrible sounds on spin. DIL just stepped out of the laundry room when it blew. It banged violently around between the dryer, the back wall and the side wall. The top came off. The washer's outside cabinet was pushed out all over. It smashed in the side of the dryer next to it far enough to pin the dryer's drum (took apart dryer cabinet to push dent out far enough to salvage dryer). Dented the rear wall's drywall and smashed the side wall.
The problem was the cheesey outer tub support. Four rods run from outer tub up to gussets that are diagonally across the 4 corners of the top of the cabinet. LG uses plastic gussets, Samsung uses thin metal. Both fatigue and break, and they let go during the spin cycle, their highest-stress time. When they break, the inner spinning drum and the outer tub connect, and all the energy is dissipated by the whole tub/drum assembly whacking around something terrible. The outer cabinet gets smashed into a circular-like shape from the original square shape, and it bashes around the room. In this case, the top did not fly off and hit anyone, as they sometimes do. There have been injuries, and one lady was knocked out when hit on the head by a flying washer top panel. Many youtubes on it, have seen it on TV locally too.

The replacement washer that was selected is another Kenmore, this time made by Whirlpool. It is supported by four rods with integral shock absorbers, and the top mounts are steel rails that run across the cabinet top.

My trusty 30 year old Kenmore (by Whirlpool) has the old support idea, with the big undercarriage and the 3 springs going up the side. The tub is supported from the bottom, not hung from cabinet corners. The old ones like mine are like tanks!

[Helena]

.

Last year my Kenmore washer died via a lightening strike [but the much older dryer beside it still lives.]

I didn't like that most of the new washers are the low water types and I had heard horror stories about front loading washers either smelling or leaking. So, I bought a top loading Maytag that had both low-water and high-water options. So far, so good.

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman Front loaders are expensive and they don't wash better than an old, top loader. My wife's life is all about washing clothes, towels and linens. She was talking today how much she loves her Speed Queen washer/dryer. And that comes from someone that washes all day, every day. We had a Maytag Neptune front loader, and it was a piece of junk.

Again, she might want to take good care of her Speed Queen, the new model has been thoroughly panned in reviews http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ml#post2067538.

Rumor has it Speed Queen is planning to exit the consumer residential washer/dryermarket and sell commercial only, they’re working off excess parts inventory now. Most consumers weren’t willing to pay the Speed Queen premium despite the premium performance of their pre 2018 washers.

I was planning to buy a Speed Queen if/when our current washer died, not any more.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CNET I'm not sure where to start, so I'll just jump right in. Whatever you do, don't buy the $1,049 Speed Queen AWNE9RSN115TW01 top-load washing machine. Its outdated design, shocking inability to remove stains and small internal capacity make its inflated price all the more absurd.

[ncbill]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HNL Bill I had a pair of LGs that worked flawlessly for eight years, before I sold the condo and them with it. The quality and reliability of LG and Samsung, along with most other manufacturers has gone down hill. Right now, Electrolux has at least one top-rated model. Front-loaders use less water than even the best top-loaders, and they have steam functions, cause less wrinkles in clothes, and dry them more efficiently, and also damage clothes less. I wanted to go back to a top-loader, but NONE of the reviews I could find, showed that a top-loader could match the performance of a top-rated front loader. I've washed field clothes laden with iron-rich soil, heavy duty stuff, delicates, and fine dress shirts. I'd never go back to a top loader. Just my 2 cents...but in all fairness, I haven't had a change to try the new models that use less water. Check out the CNET reviews of washing machines! https://www.cnet.com/topics/washing-machines/products/

I think you're referring to the old-style top-loaders with a central agitator, not HE top-loaders like mine (just a big stainless steel tub, no agitator)

HE top-loaders do use slightly more water and can't spin as fast, but there are no worries about mildew on the rubber seal, or rear main bearing failure (surprisingly common on the first generation of HE front-loaders sold in the U.S.)

For those who bemoan the recent Speed Queen design changes, IIRC Maytag still sells a old-school commercial washer with central agitator.

[HadEnuff]

We recently purchased a paired set of LG front loader and dryer. Here was our reasoning:

1. No matter what brand, and I mean each and every brand, and no matter what style (front loader, top loader, HE, agitator, no agitator...etc etc) somewhere between 10% and 15% of the reviewers absolutely HATED their machines, and were totally pissed that they ever bought them., So we figured that since there was no sure thing out there, we'd get what we wanted, pay the big bucks, buy the longest extended warranty available, and if we got screwed, chalk it up to the cost of living in the new millennium.

2. Whirlpool and Maytag are the same machine, and I would have considered them, but for some reason they have decided to hide the drain plug filter INSIDE the damn machine, so to do this very simple bit of maintenance you now have to practically disassemble the machine to get access. So, I scratched them off the list.

3. Samsung evidently makes decent machine, but the most common source of dissatisfaction was their unwillingness or inability to make replacement parts easily accessible. Horror stories abound about folks waiting weeks and weeks or months, for parts to get the machine fixed.

4. LG has some similar issues, but from what I can glean, not quite as bad as LG..

So, we went with LG. We wanted a front loader because we live by a lake, and our septic "system" consists of a holding tanks where all of our blackwater, and graywater collects, and it costs us $ to pump out, so we felt the water savings was an issue.

It is way too early in the game to know if we will be among the lucky, or unlucky. It burns my bacon considerably to be put in the position of having to buy something this expensive, and being unable to find a company that can make a product that doesn't alienate 10-15% of their customers, but that's the way it is.

I'd happily sacrifice "features" (like steam, or "smartphone diagnostics"), for "quality" (like, ability to perform primary function i.e. clean and dry my clothing).

Good luck!

[REWahoo]

^ What he said.

My decision process was much the same. We're on an aerobic septic system where excessive water degrades effectiveness and increases how often we have to have it pumped, so a front loader offered the best option. We replaced a Whirlpool HE (turns out it wasn't all that effeicient) top loader that DW did not like - didn't clean all that well and rough on clothes to boot.

After five months, nothing but good things to say about the LG. Maybe we got lucky and won't be in that 15%...

[Chuckanut]

One may with to check the predicted reliability score given various machines by Consumer Reports. It's not perfect and not a guarantee of no problems, but it's certainly better than one-off stories and sales person statements.

[RunningBum]

I read Consumer Reports before my purchase last year. IIRC they rated front load machines a lot higher than top load, and said they got clothes cleaner. I found a good deal on a Kenmore set that was a rebadged LG, similar to the LG brand I was replacing (broken due to my user error, long story). I don't mind bending down since I'm already doing so for the dryer. No platform. If I really needed it raised I'd probably do that unless I could build a platform that could be easily moved if I needed to get back there to clean the dryer vent, which the builder put behind where the wash machine has to go due to how the door opens. Dryer door is reversible, washer is not.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut One may with to check the predicted reliability score given various machines by Consumer Reports. It's not perfect and not a guarantee of no problems, but it's certainly better than one-off stories and sales person statements.

Agreed. CR reliability information is far from perfect but better than anything else I am aware of. The following CR quote was a major factor in why we chose LG:

Quote:

Front-Loaders LG earned an Excellent score for predicted reliability and a Very Good for owner satisfaction.

[HFWR]

Still using my 22-yo Hotpoint set...

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Agreed. CR reliability information is far from perfect but better than anything else I am aware of. The following CR quote was a major factor in why we chose LG:

I did the same, and my LG WT5680HWA washer is still the highest rated top-loading He washer according to CR recommendations. I am very happy with it and my clothes have never been cleaner.

[nash031]

LG front loaders for about three years now, no issues. Similarly highly rated on CR, not sure of the model however. We didn't spend the money on the stands. Happy with the purchases. We wash/dry probably 6 loads a week with a baby now.

[jazz4cash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Telly . To me, they are a mechanically-flawed design. Too much mechanical moment on that drum support and bearing. And I don't think much of the marketing concept... selling a machine that is too low, and then charging the customer big bucks for a matching "pedestal". It's like selling a 6 foot stepladder, minus the bottom 3 feet, which can be purchased separately... Personally, I would never buy an LG-anything. And probably not a Samsung appliance. And both LG and Samsung top-loaders have been prone to "explode". One of our kids bought a Kenmore (that was made by LG). Was OK for a few years, then one day started to make terrible sounds on spin. DIL just stepped out of the laundry room when it blew. It banged violently around between the dryer, the back wall and the side wall. The top came off. The washer's outside cabinet was pushed out all over. It smashed in the side of the dryer next to it far enough to pin the dryer's drum (took apart dryer cabinet to push dent out far enough to salvage dryer). Dented the rear wall's drywall and smashed the side wall.

Ding. Ding. Ding. The horizontal bearing load along with the need to seal the door introduce design complexity with no benefit. We do love our topload LG and fortunately it hasn't exploded yet. With the high speed spin function, I can see how it could do a lot of damage if a bearing or support fails. Ours runs very smooth but I've seen special isolators for sale to keep these dynamos from dancing across the floor and even heard that some laundry room floors need to be reinforced! Also they sell a product to control odor because the door seal design won't drain, holds water, and gets moldy unless you leave the door open or fabricate a homemade blower.

[brucethebroker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Newventurer Have owned Samsung pair, with pedestals (they were free with purchase at Best Buy), for 10 years. Bought the 5 year warranty, never needed it. 2 weeks ago for no apparent reason the machine stopped draining the water after the wash. I looked up the problem online found the fix was a drain pump, ordered it on Amazon, it was delivered in one day, put it in over a 3 hour period, works great. $40. These have survived 3 teenagers doing their laundry in them so we are quite happy they still work.

Same here. Samsung steam VRT, and matching electric dryer-comes with a 10 year factory warranty (free). I use cold cycle most of the time-have not used the steam. We leave the washer door open between uses and have not had a mildew smell. I wash sneakers in it a couple of times a month (don't like to wear socks...) and it seems to handle it OK.

Did not buy the pedestals, either. Will build a wooden box if needed.

[meierlde]

I notice the mention of an older hotpoint, the old GEs and likley hot point with the filter flow could be made to walk around the room if the load was unbalanced, since the tub spin and pump where on the same shaft. So when it was full of water and began to empty and spin it could start making loud bangs, and even start walking to the hose limits. (Ge changed models 15 years ago this is washers from the 1960s to 1990s. to make it walk you could put in very few big towels.

[HadEnuff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunningBum I read Consumer Reports before my purchase last year. IIRC they rated front load machines a lot higher than top load, and said they got clothes cleaner. I found a good deal on a Kenmore set that was a rebadged LG, similar to the LG brand I was replacing (broken due to my user error, long story). I don't mind bending down since I'm already doing so for the dryer. No platform. If I really needed it raised I'd probably do that unless I could build a platform that could be easily moved if I needed to get back there to clean the dryer vent, which the builder put behind where the wash machine has to go due to how the door opens. Dryer door is reversible, washer is not.

Now that I think of it, DW did spring for the CR subscription so she could research the top loaders, and LG was a winner. That was also a factor. Since we were "blowing that dough" we sprang for the two pedestals ($500!!!), but we are, if anything, cramped for storage space, so the storage is handy, if grotesquely overpriced. So far, DW is happy, and thus, I am happy as well.