Front Load Washing Machines

[Car-Guy]

The DW wanted a combo set of the front loading Samsung Flex washer and dryer. Caught the pair on sale at Lowes for about $2500 a year ago. They are big and heavy (size matters here too I guess) but she loves them. They also have a small washer on top for delicate things and a small dryer on top for light things too. So I guess you could say they are both front end and top end loaders. Although she uses the front end loader compartments 95% of the time. So far, problem free.


BTW, we also replaced our Kenmore(s) which were 10+ years old. Another note. if you buy these, have them delivered and setup. The dryer isn't that heavy but the washer is.

[skipro33]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFDubb LOL who wants to deal with that? What benefit do you get out of the front loading washer to justify buying a second one knowing you will have to do something like this? I'm genuinely curious. All it took for me to avoid buying one when I needed to replace ours was a 30 second google search on the subject.

y
The advantages of the front loading machine is the amount of water used per load. Here in California, that's a concern. Also, the spin cycle is like warp 6. The clothes come out almost dry enough to just hang up and ready to wear in minutes if you don't want to use a dryer. In fact, we rarely use our drier, just hang on a line. This has saved us a lot of money on energy costs.

[DFDubb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skipro33 y The advantages of the front loading machine is the amount of water used per load. Here in California, that's a concern. Also, the spin cycle is like warp 6. The clothes come out almost dry enough to just hang up and ready to wear in minutes if you don't want to use a dryer. In fact, we rarely use our drier, just hang on a line. This has saved us a lot of money on energy costs.

That might be the case if compared to an old agitator style washer, but modern top load HE washers do the same and use a similar amount of water.

[Hermit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFDubb LOL who wants to deal with that? What benefit do you get out of the front loading washer to justify buying a second one knowing you will have to do something like this? I'm genuinely curious. All it took for me to avoid buying one when I needed to replace ours was a 30 second google search on the subject.

My house is small and a main goal was to have everything needed for daily living on the main floor. The washer/dryer will go in an oversize closet in the living room and have to stack. I will see what I can find on the internet about the fan. I may want to do that because I could not close the closet door with the washer door open.

[skipro33]

Another advantage of a front loader is the near-zero overhead clearance. We use the top of the washer and drier and the space above it for storage, both short and long term.

[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zona One regret is that we did not buy the pedestals. I strongly dislike having to bend down so low to move the laundry between the two. Right now it's just a minor nuisance, but as I get older I could see it becoming more annoying. When these appliances wear out (but hopefully not for many years), I will insist on either the pedestals or building a DIY stand for them.

I think most people who say they want a top-loading washer aren't really after that feature, what they really want is a drum that spins on a horizontal axis (rather than the tub of a top loader). They aren't excited about stooping down to load clothes through the front door, or having to buy a pedestal. There is one machine sold in the US that allows loading comfortably through the top, but operates with a drum that spins on a horizontal axis (like a top loader). And has no door gasket to leak. The amazing Staber (which gets a lot of press here, mostly from me!). Not cheap, not glitzy, not for everyone, but built like a tank, gets cloths clean whie being gentle on them (like a front loader), low water use, easy to repair when the time comes.

[W2R]

When I moved into my new-to-me dream home in 2015, I needed to buy a new washer and dryer set. After reading a billion internet threads about bad smells from frontloader washers, I chose a model of LG high capacity top-loader He washer that was highly rated by Consumer Reports.

It has been great and my clothes have never been cleaner. I really don't care about the low water usage, since I just pay the minimum amount for water ($2.xx/month). There is plenty of water in south Louisiana for the population living here. But, like front loader He washers, it doesn't use much water at all.

Also - - and this may not be important to anybody but me - - both the washer and dryer play soft, pretty little tunes when they are done, instead of the deafeningly loud, horrible BLATTT!!! by the buzzer that my previous (cheap, GE) dryer made. It could seriously be heard half a block away even though the dryer was inside, the volume was not adjustable, and it would nearly knock me off my chair. To me the pretty tunes are very important.

A day or two ago I thought it was broken, because the place where you put the liquid detergent was filling up with water that wouldn't drain. I went on YouTube and found a one minute video by LG that showed how to remove that part, wash it, and put it back, to fix the problem. Apparently I was supposed to do that once a month and for 35 months had not been doing it. When in doubt, read the freakin' manual.

My LG washer is pretty deep, but I am tall and can reach the bottom easily right now. As I age, I will probably choose to use my reacher/grabber to get that last sock out, just as I do with my matching high capacity LG dryer at present. I think it would be nifty to have a front loader at the same height as my wonderful laundry cart, but right now for me it is not worth risking the mold and smell issues that some front loaders apparently have (or had?).

[DFDubb]

LOL I have LG too and also much prefer the little song at the end to the obnoxious buzzer.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFDubb LOL I have LG too and also much prefer the little song at the end to the obnoxious buzzer.

Oh how cool! I'm not the only one, then. I thought I probably was the only one who cared a lot about the songs.

[TrvlBug]

We purchased a stackable LG when we remodeled recently. The washer leaked intermittently from day one. LG was out 4 times (at an extra $100 per because it took 2 people to take down the dryer) and the washer, of course, did not leak when they ran their test. LG refused to honor the warranty because the washer worked perfectly. Ready to toss both the washer and dryer and replace with stackable Speed Queens, however, Pacific Sales replaced the washer on their dime and this one worked perfectly.

I will never buy an LG product again because they will not honor their warranty. I mean really, leaking from day one. I can see if I was trying to get them to replace after the warranty ran out, but what benefit am I getting by wanting a working washer other than no water on the floor. We even sent them videos.

[l8_apex]

Bought the largest (and most expensive) LG FL and electric dryer in 2011. Never had an issue yet with either. Skipro's comment has me worried however, hopefully that design issue was resolved by the time my washer was manufactured.

My suggestions:
1 - With any FL, keep the door open all the time the washer isn't in use.
2 - I use dry powder detergent and don't use the liquid fabric softener in the washer. Just the standard (cheapest Costco branded) stuff has always worked fine.
3 - If your washing causes buildup of any thing like lint on the big front gasket, remove that stuff when you're pulling the clothes out of the wash. I need to do this as I have two big dogs.
By doing 1, 2, and 3, I have never had a mold issue. I've never needed to replace the gasket, nor buy the special chemicals used to fight the mold issue.
4 - If you need to move the washer from one home to another or similar, re-install all of the moving bolts that originally came with the washer. They hold the drum in place while the washer is getting jostled around, which is necessary for whatever reason.
5 - washer water hoses with 90 degree fittings on the end usually allow for getting the washer pushed up against the wall. Obviously be careful with any inlet/outlet hoses not to kink them.

I prefer front loaders as they don't beat up clothing as much. Mine also has a water heater inside, so if I want to get my whites their whitest, I use bleach and that setting.

[chrisny9]

We have Kenmore and have had no problems at all in the 1.5 yrs since we bought it. Our Neighbor has samsung and loved it until it needed to be serviced for something which took months before they could get the part to fix it. According to the repair guy they are known for poor reliability and and even worse customer service. Just too many "cool features" that are easily broken and hard to fix I guess.

[Midpack]

Our 26 year old Whirlpool clothes washer is still running like a top and cleaning clothes well. The service guys tell me it could run another 26 years if I take care of it, it’s DIY repairable (I’ve done two repairs at $9 and $21), and they say you can’t buy any washer built as well at any price nowadays. I’m sure it uses a lot of water, but I hope it never breaks...

[mystang52]

Happy wife happy life. I'm still second-guessing our decision to replace our old washer-dryers with new ones. The old ones were working just fine, but DW thought we should upgrade. My quarterly water bill is about $100. How much of that was for our washer? It has to be a small amount. So, with our new washer and its water-efficiency I estimate it will pay for itself in about 57 years, give or take.
Oh, we bought LG Top loader; I didn't want the continual bending down needed for front loaders, and I've read too many stories about how front loaders smell.

[Katsmeow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo We bought washer Model #: WM4370HWA and dryer Model #: DLEX4370W

Great minds and such. This is what we ended up buying only in the black stainless.

We ended up rejecting the Kenmore Elites as they averaged 3.5 rating on Sears own site versus 4.5 to 5 for LG and Samsung. I also read other review sites and they didn't seem to be too enthused about recent Kenmores.

The Samsungs looked interesting. But all of the ones we liked were too deep (33"+). We have just enough room for standard size (about 30") deep or we would have to move the door to the garage or change the door swing or something. We don't really need one of the behemoths since there are just two of us so we simply rejected the Samsung washers although they received a lot of good ratings.

I looked carefully at the LGs and the above model seemed to have the features that I wanted but wasn't too large.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFDubb LOL who wants to deal with that? What benefit do you get out of the front loading washer to justify buying a second one knowing you will have to do something like this? I'm genuinely curious. All it took for me to avoid buying one when I needed to replace ours was a 30 second google search on the subject.

We had a front loading washer for 12 years and had no problems with it. No hint of mold or mildew during all the time we used it. We did leave the door open a crack in between use so maybe it was because of that.

Advantages of the front loader: More energy efficient, less use of water, gentler on the clothes. Easier to get into than a top loader. One advantage of front loader is you can stack them (which we did for awhile in a prior house). In this house we won't stack them but we will put a folding counter over them.

We elected not to get pedestals since we do plan to put a counter over them. The washer can use a Twin Wash pedestal where the pedestal isn't for storage. It is an entirely separate washing compartment. If we still had kids at home we would have gotten that. But with just two of us we don't really need it.

[MooreBonds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mystang52 My quarterly water bill is about $100. How much of that was for our washer? It has to be a small amount. So, with our new washer and its water-efficiency I estimate it will pay for itself in about 57 years, give or take.

Better ratchet down that SWR to just 2.5% to ensure you have enough to make it to payoff!

[ncbill]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R A day or two ago I thought it was broken, because the place where you put the liquid detergent was filling up with water that wouldn't drain. I went on YouTube and found a one minute video by LG that showed how to remove that part, wash it, and put it back, to fix the problem. Apparently I was supposed to do that once a month and for 35 months had not been doing it. When in doubt, read the freakin' manual. My LG washer is pretty deep, but I am tall and can reach the bottom easily right now. As I age, I will probably choose to use my reacher/grabber to get that last sock out, just as I do with my matching high capacity LG dryer at present. I think it would be nifty to have a front loader at the same height as my wonderful laundry cart, but right now for me it is not worth risking the mold and smell issues that some front loaders apparently have (or had?).

Hmmm...please PM that youtube link...

And DW is ~5' so we just leave a plastic step-stool in front of our LG top-loader.

[Walt34]

I still have memories of the front load washing machine we had for a while when I was growing up. It leaked a lot but intermittently so Dad was never able to figure out where the leak was. Calling a repairman was not an option, we didn't have money for that and we either fixed things ourselves or lived with it.

Dad was also an electrician at the power company and did side jobs on weekends, so he had a 1/2 inch drill with a one-inch auger bit with a 3 foot extension for drilling holes in floor joists to run cable through. It looked pretty menacing, think "horror at the dentist's office". Also, the washing machine was located over the crawl space of the house since it had only a one-half basement. (All this does have a point to it. Bear with me.)

Dad, also being a transplanted Pennsylvania redneck, was known to have a beer or three every now and then, and had consumed a few when the washing machine began leaking again. Sitting at the table looking at it, the cheap and effective solution to this recurrent but so far unsolvable problem came to mind. He went downstairs, retrieved the large drill, and drilled a one-inch diameter hole in the floor where the water was leaking out from the washing machine so the water would drain into the crawl space. Problem solved!

We lost a lot of marbles to that hole, along with pencils, and any other evidence of misdeeds that we wanted to get rid of if the offense called for that, if it could possible fit. The crawl space in our house was known throughout the neighborhood for not only being filled with spiders as big as one's hand, but venomous snakes and monsters, as well as more likely than not as being haunted so no one ever went in there.

Getting back on topic, it is apparent to me that in 50+ years no manufacturer has yet been able to solve the leaking problem consistently. This is why I will never own a front loading washing machine. In fact, just last week we bought a new Whirlpool top loading model WTW4816FW2 which so far works just fine.

[Janet H]

Last year I bought new LG machines (home depot) and stacked them (new digs, less space). They are vented outside but we had to order a converter to do a side vent configuration (you can convert LGs to vent through the floor, to the rear or from the side of the machine). All good. We got the sale model, in white. They are stacked on the floor - I get a little exercise bending over to empty the washer. Models were WM3180CW and DLE3180W. They were on sale @499 each. Delivered. They do a good job and have been hassle free. Not very exciting, but that's a good thing.

[HI 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/