@EarlVanDorn - you can now order “BubbleBandit” - for phosphates in both of their products i.e. laundry booster and dishwasher detergent. (They also sell laundry detergent but it costs an arm and a leg.) BTW as a chemistry teacher, I do think TSP is acceptable, as long as it isn’t “TSP substitute”. By the way, phosphates are not as much of an environmental problem as they have been made out to be - certainly they are less of a problem than repeated loads or harsher chemicals to get stains/odors/dirt out. In fact, commercial/industrial users are still permitted to use phosphates for washing, so that should irritate us commoners. 
@fretfulmother I have read a little about phosphate, and supposedly TSP can leave a white precipitate on your clothes. For that reason it isn’t really the best choice for clothes.
I bought a 20 lb. bag of phosphate off of Amazon for $40 about a year ago. I’ve used maybe five pounds and can’t find the bag (I have no idea how I could have lost it, save that we did a bunch of remodeling). I went back to order more and it was unavailable, so I paid the same price for 10 pounds. I think if you compare the price of the Bubble Bandit to TSPP that the latter is far more economical, even at $40 for a 10-lb. bag. I’m sure you know, but the phosphate is just an additive; you still need soap!
You are absolutely correct about phosphate not being very harmful. I read somewhere that back when laundry detergent had phosphate it made up about four percent of the phosphate in the environment. And the amount that was being used in diswashing detergent was truly negligible. At any rate, we have a septic tank, so our phosphate isn’t running off into the sewage system anyway.
@EarlVanDorn - Thank you!
Yes, I made the same price decision for laundry (would rather add as booster) but for dishwashing, I couldn’t deal with the mess of two powders getting everywhere. And since BB periodically has sales/discounts on their dishwashing powder, and since dishwashing powder is often pricey on its own ($8 for a box of Cascade?!) it seemed sensible enough.
I have a front loader. And yeah, I leave the door open to prevent mold, but it looks sloppy and stupid that way. It’s a design flaw. I don’t know why people don’t acknowledge that!
And I did buy the pedestals, thinking I could store laundry supplies. What a waste. Laundry supplies don’t fit and now I don’t have the top to use as a folding surface as I did before.
I’m happy to go HE for the environment but I can’t say I’ve noticed any performance difference other than no tangling around a central post.
We’re very happy with our Samsung front loaders. We keep a hand towel close by and wipe off the rim after each use, and keep the door open for an hour or two. But the slight bit of extra work seems worth it. They use less water, and do a great job cleaning our clothes. No complaints at all.
Another vote for the Samsung steam front loaders. I had a Frigidaire Affinity front loader for about 8 years before it died last year, and I went to the Samsung after doing research on Communist Reports (not a typo). I am a germaphobe so I liked the “sanitize” cycle and the steam option, which I use a lot. The model I picked is usually deeply discounted at Lowe’s.
The drum drive has a 10 year warranty on it, and you can reach the filter by yourself. That was one of the big issues I had with the Frigidaire-the filter kept filling up with hair bands (we all have long hair including my H, and everyone left hair bands in their pockets), and you had to call a guy who had to open the whole thing up to get to the filter and it was $100 bux every darn time.
I never have mold issues because the last load is always a hot wash with bleach. As long as you end with that, your washer will be fine, in my experience. I do leave the door cracked a bit when the washing machine won’t be used for a while.
Am I the only one who thinks the door left ajar looks sloppy? what other thing in your house needs to be left ajar like that?
@Pizzagirl - for us, it’s open as the default so you can put laundry in as it’s generated. I think of it as like having a trash can be “open”. Even our dishwasher is ajar when it’s ready to receive more dishes. If we had a top-loader, that would be open too for the same reason, except when running/clean. Also a visual cue as to the state (clean/dirty) of the stuff in the appliance.
We’ve have a Whirlpool Duet front loader for about 6 years. It’s the high capacity, steam cycle version. This replaced a first generation Maytag Neptune stack unit. That Neptune was a frigging nightmare. Luckily DH can fix most anything. He had to sodder the motherboard on two occasions. He disassembled the entire washer unit because it was leaving grease marks on the laundry. So I was reluctant to purchase anything even remotely related to Maytag (Whirlpool is made by Maytag).
The Duet units have been problem free. My German relatives have been using front loading machines for decades and always left the door open so it I was already familiar with that requirement.
@Pizzagirl . I don’t find the look sloppy, but then again, our units are in a separate utility/pantry type room. Also, I don’t leave it wide open, just about 1 inch or so. It’s actually hardly noticeable.
My washer and dryer are in an unheated, unairconditioned garage. It’s warm and humid. I can’t imagine the critters that would breed in there if I had to leave open a washing machine door to a watery barrel!
“Am I the only one who thinks the door left ajar looks sloppy? what other thing in your house needs to be left ajar like that?”
I leave mine slightly cracked so it doesn’t look like it’s open.
I sometimes leave it completely open to really make sure it’s dry if we’re going on vacation, but it’s in a laundry room so it doesn’t bother me. I leave doors and cabinets open (which makes my husband crazy), so the washer door is fine…
6 out of 7 days per week the washer door is closed. It is out of the way in a laundry room, anyway.
My washer is behind bifold doors. I would,have to,leave the doors open if I had a front loader…and wanted to leave the washer door open. Not going to happen. I put the washer behind doors so I could close them.
I’ll be getting a top loader…to replace my top loader…someday!
I have Whirlpool Duet front-loading washer and dryer. I adore both of them.
One day, we may be able to hook them up in such a fashion that we can take advantage of the feature that steam tosses laundry in the dryer to de-wrinkle it. But in the meantime, they are just great.
Paid slightly more to get the models made in Benton Harbor, Michigan, rather than Mexico.
I checked our laundry closet - phew we have a few inches of extra depth if needed if we need to someday replace our 25 year old washer/dryer. For now we are very happy with old, simple Maytags. We’ve done a few repairs over the years, but always under $150 and worth it. If we need to do replacement someday, I’ll be back here for hints
My LG steam dryer works by manually filling a container with tap water (specifically states that type of water)- no hookup to a water source. Need to refill after several loads- and I emptied it when done. Washer came with steam (not on my must have list for either but the sale pricing made them the ones to get) but no extra hookup for that either.
I’m confused about those of you who leave the door open to collect laundry as it accumulates. Do you just randomly throw laundry in there every time you go down? What if someone put some light clothes in and then someone else threw jeans in.?
I clearly have a much different system, if you can call it that, than some. I don’t do all the laundry on the same day. Some days I do a bunch of loads, other days I spread them out. Depends on my work schedule and how I feel that day 
I throw kitchen towels in there because the kitchen and the laundry room are on the same floor. The clothes accumulate upstairs in the hamper. On Friday evening, I slam the washer door shut and start it. This way, I have the towels ready for the next week by Saturday (I despise paper towels and use cloth ones in the kitchen). I sort the rest of the laundry and do it over the weekend.
My dryer has the steam option. It is hooked up the to the water pipe. When we were looking at dryers I told DH that I thought that it would be a very handy option. He said I bet you don’t use it much. I thought he was nuts. well… granted we haven’t had it that long but so far I have only used it once and that was just to see if it worked.
@surfcity - we don’t sort laundry (never have, even in my childhood home or DH’s), so yes, as soon as laundry is generated, in it goes. We run at least one load per day (three active kids including sports, kitchen towels - agree with the person who uses cloth, etc.)