I think the day has arrived when I have to get a new washer. I have a Kenmore that is about 30 years old - top load, agitator, 2 simple dials, nothing fancy but it gets the job done. When the kids were little I remember wishing it would break so I could get one of those enormous front loaders to do all the kids’ laundry at once. Not an issue any more with the kids grown up.
It sounds like these machines have really changed. I don’t think I want a front load - I’m tall, plus I’ve heard concerns about mildew. I like the top load for ease of getting clothes out. The HE without agitators apparently take over an hour to do a load now? WTH? At first I liked the idea of no agitator figuring it would be easier to wash a big bedspread etc but that’s a lot of time.
And do I replace the dryer now too? It’s electric but we ran a gas line when we built the house. Not sure of the pros and cons of gas vs electric for a dryer.
Just don’t get an “energy efficient” “water saving” thing that takes forever to run one load and you have to rinse everything at least twice to get rid of the soap residue.
After all the horror stories from friends, I’m keeping mine forever. When it dies, I will do CPR to revive it.
Goodness, what kind of crap are you guys suffering from? Never have to do any rinsing with my Miele, and the full cycle can be as short as 30 min. Just washed a king-sized comforter in it. Even the stupid LG in House2 does a very good job… So what are those horrid models?
That said, sadly, Miele discontinued its super capacity washer (they were only selling them in the US, and then the housing crash hit everyone hard) so they only offer a small one now that they sell in Europe as well.
Take a look at Speed Queen front loaders… That’s what good laundromats use.
I’m an engineer and I hate badly designed items. I just bought a Speed Queen dryer and it is the boss, Check out their washers.
HE washers stink whether they are front load or top load. Saving on water means that cat hair, dog hair,or people hair will still be on your clothes after washing.
Had to give up our 22 year old great washer and dryer. Replaced with front loading Electrolux because they warranted that you could return if it caused excess vibration and that matters on the second story. Avoid that brand. Dryer control panel was completely fried at 14 months, washer door has been adjusted twice and the user interface is horrible.
Wish I had a positive recommendation, but want to spare others. Good luck!
I pop my clothes in the dryer on fluff before throwing in the washer to get all the dog hair off.
My front loader (Bosch) does lock when cycle starts, but if I need to throw something else in I just hit the pause button and it unlocks. The time it takes also depends on the cycle you pick. My quick wash is 30 minutes, hand wash is 23, reg cycles are 58 minutes, etc.
I never have to rinse my clothes twice. Maybe you are putting in too much detergent. Front loading HE washers require very little detergent.
I really don’t think I want a front loader because I already find it very uncomfortable to load and unload my dryer. Even with the pedestal (that I don’t want to pay for ) If you convince me, maybe I’ll consider them, but I’d really prefer a top loader at this point.
I have a top-load washer & dryer that we bought about 3 decades ago, Maytag which were the top of the line. I’m crossing my fingers not to have to buy anything new. The repair guy told me mine are better than anything currently on the market. If I were buying, I’d probably get whatever they have at Costco and cross my fingers that it would last.
I got a Maytag in 1979 that was wonderful. When it finally gave up the ghost after nearly 30 years I got another Maytag. It was total . The relatively newer Maytag was trouble after trouble. I was thrilled to have it taken away a month or so ago and replaced with a Speed Queen.
Our new Speed Queen is a solid simple machine that as far as I can tell is, well, actually probably built better than a tank.
I have a front load and think getting clothes out is a lot easier on my back than pulling them out of a top load. I would never want a top load again. It s high efficiency. I never have an issue with soap in the clothes. I find it so much gentler on fabrics with less twisting than I’d get with the top load. But whatever you end up getting, they are a lot better now than 30 year old models.
Got my Electrolux front loader set in 2008; Love them. Swapped them out for the set in the condo when I moved. Never a problem, but I do leave the washer door open when not in use.
The simpler the better - recently replaced my non-agitator top load high efficiency with an agitator top load high efficiency (very simple - very inexpensive - has old fashioned dials). Much happier with this new one.
) If you convince me, maybe I’ll consider them, but I’d really prefer a top loader at this point.