<p>Our GE washer…that I thought was going to last 15+ years (aren’t washers supposed to last that long?) has gone on the fritz after 5 years and our repair guy said it’d be more expensive to repair than buy new…plus, its been one thing after another with this dang machine.</p>
<p>Anyone have a washer that they love? We’re looking for something without tons of controls or programming…we just want a simple machine that can be run daily (3 sports team members in the household) and last for multiple years. </p>
<p>We have a 2.5 year old GE front loader… it is a piece of junk. The door automatic locking mechanism locks, unlocks, and finally locks again each and every time, regardless of cycle. DO NOT buy another GE, but you probably weren’t going to anyway, right? Don’t get sucked into buying a GE front loader-- even at a “bargain” price. I paid only $650 for mine-- but I got what I paid for.</p>
<p>There are a lot of good machines on the market. Samsung, LG, Whirlpool, Kenmore, Miele, Maytag. The front loaders are pricey ($1,000 or more). If you want a basic top loader, it will cost you about half the cost of a front loader, but it generally won’t wash your clothes as gently and it also won’t extract as much water in the spin cycle so drying time will increase, costing you more money for energy use plus more wear tear on your dryer.</p>
<p>Just got a front loading 4.3 cu ft LG last year- caught both the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals! LG now more highly rated than previously. I can empty the water left after washing which is likely to prevent mildew 9 an eventual problem with the front loader I left behind in the old house)- also door can be left nearly closed but air can get in. When I considered a top loader I discovered the spin speeds are highest on front loaders. I like the different options and have washed my King sized cotton bedspread successfully- beats needing the laundromat for big stuff. I replaced the ordinary top loader the previous owner had. Load sizes were frustrating with that, as well as water extraction with the spin speeds. HE top loaders won’t handle rugs as well as front loaders due to how they agitate. The LG comes with steam for both washer and dryer- not needed but pricing was good. I “kicked tires” at local stores- discussed merits with several experienced salespeople and the local appliance store that was most helpful ended up having the best price. I also did online searches.</p>
<p>We recently had the maytag repair guy come, who did have us listed on the warranty, but the parts were $1200! So, I said okay, what would you recommend if I wanted a washer to last for 15 to 20 years? He explained that all washers, no matter what the brand, are now made to last only 5 years. That there are only about 2 companies that produce all of the washers and they just put their brand names on them. He said we had 2 options:</p>
<ol>
<li> Go to a used appliance store, find a good quality washer with METAL parts and then have everything professionally refurbished.
option 2</li>
<li> Buy a top-loading machine, the cheapest we could find like at Costco, with no bells and whistles and no computer pad because water eventually shorts it out. He said to expect to replace it every 5 years. Sorry, he didn’t recommend the front-loaders because he said, they hold the barrel with 1 pin/screw which is too much stress on the screw from all of the spinning, and that they eventually become moldy from the water that stays in the machine.</li>
</ol>
<p>Have had nothing but front load machines in our household for the last 20 years & will never go back to a top loader. </p>
<p>When I visit my parents & use their top loader, the abuse to the clothes is like beating them on a rock. Plus, even w an extra cycle of spinning, a top loader will never spin out as much water as a front loader because of the inherent load-balance problems of top loaders. Front loaders don’t “walk” in the spin cycle if the laundry is not evenly distributed, so they can spin much, much faster. Having to put the moister clothers in the dryer for longer means more cost operating the dryer, more time waiting for your clothes, and more opportunity to ruin them.</p>
<p>The large capacity front loaders can wash a staggering volume of laundry in one go. It’s the more efficient way to go.</p>
<p>I bought a 3.6 cubic foot kenmore top loader with agitator for $399 in December. </p>
<p>It has a locking lid…didn’t want this but appears standard now.
It has dials not a computer pad. However with all the balancing and load measuring I am sure the computer is running the show.
It takes time to balance the load on its own. Takes time.
It has an agitator…I wanted my clothes clean.
The agitator is much more gentle than the old machines.
It spins very fast so that the clothes are much dryer than the old machine was when they come out.
Most cycles are really long.
I think the express rinse cycle just shoots water at the clothes and does not fill the tub. It appears to do the job.</p>
<p>Here is how I use it. </p>
<p>I only use the express cycle for normal loads of clothes. 38 minutes start to finish. I always put it on large load.
I only use liquid detergent .
You can start the machine with the lid open. Pour in your detergent and rinse out the cup. Put in the clothes and then close the lid.
When I put in a large load or a load with bleach I rinse twice.</p>
<p>Hate front loads. Stinky loads can leave an order in them worse than top. I am a heavy duty washwoman, and I would not get a front loader again. I did to get the counter space and I’ve been sorry.</p>
<p>I have an LG front load washer that I love, but I wouldn’t buy another LG product because of the problem finding someone to service them. My usual service guy said it’s because LG’s have too many different parts, and no one wants to stock them, so they have to order parts for every repair.</p>
<p>In contrast to top loaders, the front loaders have doors that are airtight. Therefore, between loads you should leave the door ajar to let the interior “breathe” and dry out.</p>
<p>We got a Whirlpool Duet front loading washer and the matching dryer a few years ago. I adore them both, particularly the washer. It does a fabulous job on everything from handwashables to rugs and queensized comforters. Cannot say too many good things about them. AND they were made in Benton Harbor, Michigan by American workers.</p>
<p>We have maytags, a top-loader which is the only thing I would consider personally, and we really like it. We run it every day. They are older, I’d guess around 10 years old. My favorite parts about it are that it is large enough to wash our oversized comforter, and that it only has a few simple settings. Hot or cold, delicate or regular or whites (something like that, it has all the standard basics), and you can pick tiny, small, medium, large, or jumbo loads. I usually always run it on cold and regular and just change the load size to whatever is convenient. </p>
<p>I hate front loading machines, but we now have a huge top-loading machine without an agitator, and it washes sleeping bags, comforters, and smelly athletic clothes beautifully. Only thing I dislike is that there is no soak mode. So I would not recommend my particular model, but I would recommend any top-loading machine with a soak cycle and no agitator. I have athletes in the house as well as outdoorsmen (camping, fishing, etc.) and that soak cycle is sorely missed!</p>
<p>We’ve had a Maytag Bravos 300 top loader for several years. I was afraid I wouldn’t like it because of the electronic control panel, but I’m really happy with it. It doesn’t have an agitator so I can wash large items. It has a soak cycle, rinse & spin, drain & spin, clean washer cycle, and 9 wash cycles. For each cycle you can choose water temps for both wash & rinse, spin speed, and soil level. My husband is in construction and I have 2 teens, so “heavily soiled” gets a lot of use. It’s a work horse.</p>
<p>We have the Electrolux frontloaders and they are great so far, about 2 years. Huge capacity, easy to use, wash and dry in under an hour if you need. </p>
<p>Agree on the GE being junk. We had bought those to save money, then they destroyed thousands of dollars worth of clothes. </p>
<p>I just now dried jeans and towels in 24 minutes… can your top-loader do that? A front-loader spin cycle extracts so much water out of your clothing at times you’re not even sure if you started and finished a wash cycle.</p>
<p>I have a Whirlpool Duet and we have had to replace the door seal twice. It now sits in a tray with a leak alert. But I still really love the capacity and not having an agitator. I agree with the above poster that you should leave the door ajar when not in use.</p>
<p>The new top loaders even with agitators have increased their drum speeds greatly. They are automatically re adjusted for loads. My new machine really does take out a great deal more water from the clothes than the old machines. Spin cycle 700rpm…</p>