Front Load Washing Machines

[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]

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:

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]

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]

. 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]

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]

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.

 

[Hermit]

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.

I can give up a washer, a dryer, or go with one of those tiny appartment sets. Or I can have a full sized front load washer with a stacked dryer. That is a major benefit if you ask me. If it fails in 8 years I will happily buy another set. If it fails in a couple of years, I will grumble about it just like I currently grumble about my Jeep.

 

[Gotadimple]

Same here. Samsung steam VRT, and matching electric dryer-comes with a 10 year factory warranty (free).
Did not buy the pedestals, either. Will build a wooden box if needed.

Bought this same pair at Lowes 6 years ago. Still works flawlessly. I do this after running the washer after I have run multiple loads that day:

*Take a towel and wipe around the door seal (go inside the seal)
*Wipe inside the glass door
*Open the detergent drawer and remove the bleach and detergent cups, drain and wipe, and wipe out the drawer. Or alternatively, remove the entire drawer and drain and wipe.
*Leave the front door and the detergent drawer open for 24 hours to let everything dry out.


About once a year, drain and clean out the drain at the front of the washer (lower right behind a door).

Bought the Samsung because at the time LG was having some quality issues. These two brands seem to have mastered the HE technology.

 

[Breedlove]

We bought an LG unit a month ago . One unit washes and drys . Kind of different , DW throws the clothes in we go eat dinner a couple hours later she hangs up the clothes . It is full size . it took a while for her to understand how to program it but now she loves it . The thing makes absolutely no noise , it is a front loader just does its job. No moving clothes from washer to dryer . One unit does it all.

 

[Katsmeow]

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

Well, since we ordered the same model that you have (well, we bought a different color) I hope you (and me) won't be in the 15% either.

We leave the washer door open between uses and have not had a mildew smell.

There just seems to be a huge divide between those who won't consider a front loader versus those who won't consider a top loader. For many, this is an economic decision as the least expensive machines are usually top loaders.

I guess I put myself in the front loader camp although I'm not rabid about it. But, in 12 years we never had the mildew issue. But we did leave the door open a little bit after using the washer, so maybe that was the reason. The washer was in storage for almost 3 months while we moved and when it came out (having had the door closed for almost 3 months) it did have a mildew smell.

About once a year, drain and clean out the drain at the front of the washer (lower right behind a door).

OK. I have to confess I didn't know these things had drains that needed to be cleaned out. Maybe DH knew and was doing it periodically on the one that we are replacing....

We bought an LG unit a month ago . One unit washes and drys.

I looked at these and considered it strongly. The two knocks that I read were (1) longer cycle time since you have to do both in the same machine (you can't dry one load while the other washes) and (2) complaints of clothes not getting dry enough. The first thing didn't bother me since it is just the two of us. We have plenty of time. The not getting dry enough did bother me. If we didn't have room for separate washer/dryer I might have taken a chance on it though. It seems to be a problem for some people but not most people.

 

[jazz4cash]

I'm surprised I haven't seen any comments about what happens if you leave a gum wrapper in a pocket with these HE machines. They don't trap or dispose of debris like the old school machines. I presume the front and top loaders both have this issue. You only need to screw up once or twice to get trained to be extra diligent.

 

[Marita40]

Very happy with my Whirlpool Duet, but you didn’t ask about that brand.

 

[Scuba]

We have to use a front load washer because we live in a condo and have stackables. The only brand at the time we moved in that would fit depth-wise into the space we had was Frigidaire. I must say they have been VERY reliable. We dry off the seal after washing and let the washer air out open for at least 24 hours. Then we close it and everything is fine - no smell.

 

[swakyaby]

We bought an LG front loader 7 or 8 years ago after seeing the most positive customer satisfaction reviews; it replaced an old top-loading Maytag. So far, very satisfied with LG’s performance. Bought the $200 pedestal and have been happy with the back-friendly height and extra storage.

My brother replaced his old top loading washer with a new HE top loader (don’t recall the brand). When I asked him how he liked it, he said it was okay, but that sometimes the HE powder detergent didn’t fully dissolve, would stick to his clothes, and would occasionally cause him to run the washer a 2nd time. I asked him if he added the powder detergent first, then the clothes, or the other way around? He said he added the powder detergent last, on top of the clothes, the way he always did with his old top loading washer. So I lifted the lid on his HE top loader, and there on the lid was the instruction, “If using powdered detergent, add to washer FIRST, then add the clothes.” We chuckled, and he never had that issue again.

 

[Sue J]

The topic is about front loaders but the discussion is all over washing machines so I'll ask this here. As previously posted in the "Rant" topic my 5 year old GE top loader is sounding like a freight train when it spins and it needs a new bearing $350-$500. Not worth it to fix it so I am shopping for a new one.

I am set on buying a top loader. I'm looking for thoughts on having an agitator or no agitator (no agitator machines have a "impeller" or "wash plate"). My current machine is a High Efficiency with an agitator.

If you have a top loader without an agitator, tell me how you like your no agitator machine.

 

[REWahoo]

Consumer Reports says the no agitator models clean better than agitator models and have higher owner satisfaction ratings. Seems counterintuitive, but CR also says no agitator models are rougher on clothes than models with agitators.

FWIW, we just replaced a 7 year old no agitator top loader with a front loader. DW likes the front loader much better as the top loader left clothes twisted and severely wrinkled coming out of the spin cycle.

 

[davebarnes]

Front loaders all the way, baby

I am set on buying a top loader..

You should not be.
Front loaders:
1. Use less water.
2. Use less energy.
3. Remove more water from washed clothes so less time/money in the dryer.
4. Do a better cleaning job than HE top loaders.

 

[Hermit]

You should not be.
Front loaders:
1. Use less water.
2. Use less energy.
3. Remove more water from washed clothes so less time/money in the dryer.
4. Do a better cleaning job than HE top loaders.

You forgot one:

5. They smell bad.

(BTW, I will be buying one.)

 

[Katsmeow]

The saga continues. The washer/dryer were to be delivered today. Long story short, the manufacturer (LG) found that the washer was damaged so cancelled that part of the delivery. Sears offered us a new delivery date for August 18!
For those of you who read the saga of my refrigerator delivery from LG (it took 3 deliveries to get one that was undamaged), this just made me sigh. The only good news was that LG recognized it was damaged before it arrived.

Sears offered to have a product specialist call me sometime in the next 3 days to help me select a replacement. I declined since I have no functional washing machine and didn't want to wait 3 days just to talk to someone to figure out what to replace it with. I figured I could do that myself.

I did check the Sears web page. I knew I didn't want to buy the lower level LG washer as there was a feature on this one that I anted that lower levels one didn't have. I look to see if I could move up a level. The answer was no because the higher level machines were all deeper. I have a hard limit on depth or I will block the door from the garage to the house.

I looked at some other brands but they didn't have the mix of features that I wanted in the size I wanted (hence why I ordered the LG in the first place).

The thing that I didn't know was whether LG allocates washers by store so that this model might not be available for 6 weeks from Sears but might be available more quickly from other vendors. I think that is probably not the case. Home Depot said it was available. Lowe's said 3 to 7 days. Best Buy said it wasn't available at this time. Costco said it was delayed. Based upon all this, I felt that Best Buy and Costco had the most realistic delivery time lines.

But -- what to buy? It finally hit me. I was buying the same unit that REWahoo recently bought except I was buying in graphite steel and he bought in white. I decided that I would prefer to get the model that I wanted and that the white color was not a deal breaker (this is in the utility room and I plan to put a counter on top of them anyway).

My local Best Buy actually has the washer in stock (I could pick up today if I wanted to) so I ordered it online for delivery on Friday. I could have gotten on Thursday but we will be out of town that day.

Of course, I won't know until it gets here. I could have ordered for the same price from Costco but it said that delivery might be delayed as inventory is low. That does make me a little nervous about the Best Buy order. While they may have it in stock today, there may be more than one person who tries to order/buy locally so if the inventory is low it could get delayed.

 

[W2R]

Good move, Katsmeow!!

I can almost guarantee you that you really will not care what color your washer is, given that it is out in the garage with a counter on top of it.

What most of us would care more about, is whether or not it gets our clothes clean. And this one sounds like it does that nicely.

 

[Katsmeow]

Good move, Katsmeow!!

I can almost guarantee you that you really will not care what color your washer is, given that it is out in the garage with a counter on top of it.

It isn't in the garage. It is in the utility room and if the door from the den to the utility room is open it is fully visible from the den. But -- we mostly keep the door closed so the only people who would see it is us or anyone walking from the den through the utility room to the garage (fairly rare for it to be anyone other than us). And, I don't hate the white. I like the black stainless better but the white is fine. I would certainly rather have the white than buy a model I didn't want as much.

Just an aside: When we were looking at the house it appeared that there was no door between the den and the utility room, just a framed opening without a door. I told DH we should get a door put on so that we didn't have to stare at the utility room any time we are in the den (which is the main living area we will use more than the formal living room).

So, I go to look at the framed opening and realize that there is a pocket door! Someone had painted over the edge of the pocket door so you couldn't easily pull it out (obviously the prior owners didn't really use it). I was eventually able to grasp it and pull it out and now we use the pocket door all the time.