Washing Machine

[Jerry Ragan]

The washing machine is stopped and the wife wants a new front loader. Anyone have recommendations on make and model?

[Bruce Boone]

I've been looking at those too. The guys at Home Depot seemed to think that the LG steam cleaning one was the top of the line.

[Al Willits]

Be careful with the front loaders, we're seeing a lot of bearing problems with them, don't quite believe they'll wash whatever you can jam in them.
They might, but not for long.
We're seeing Frigidare units going out in less than two years, other are a bit longer, but for what you pay for one, they should last a lot longer.

Most warrt are one year labor and even with the bearing covered under warrt, its a spendy repair.
fwiw, three of the six service techs on the help desk I work on have bought Fisher Paykel top loaders.
imho

Al

[Bill Bezilla]

I have had 2 different font loaders over the past 10 years

Maytag Neptune - So so performance

Kenmore HE2 from Sears - Bought 6 months ago.
This has benn excellent so far. Uses very little water, spins clothes very dry thus reducing drying time. ( 1100RPM).
It also has a quick wash for smaller loads that I used all the time. Just 30 minutes - cant't tell any difference from the full cycle.

One important point with front loaders - USe HEdetergent and use it sparingly.

I think you will like them- Especially the energy savings. I will never go back.

[Al Willits]

""""
Maytag Neptune - So so performance
""""""
Consider there's a major lawsuit on the Neptunes because lack of quaility, I'd stay waaay away from them.
I believe the Kenmore unit is made by Whirlpool fwiw

Al

[Karl Laustrup]

We've had the Sears Kenmore He-3t washer/dryer combo since they first came out. I think that's been about 4-5 years now. They average 15-20 loads per week.

Yes, it is made by Whirlpool. It washes bigger loads better than any other washer we've ever owned. I would recommend purchasing both the washer and dryer as a combo as they are designed to operate together. They are very efficient machines, especially the washer. They do require the He soaps, but they use very little per cycle and they use minimal water per cycle. As little as 18-20 gallons for a cycle.

We purchased the maintenance agreement. We have it checked once a year under the agreement. We've had two repairs on the washer and one on the dryer over the time we've owned them. The agreement paid for itself just in those three repairs. Two of the repairs involved circuit boards which are very expensive.

Would I purchase another? Yes!!

I'm not a Sears salesman, just a satisfied consumer.

Karl

[Kyle Kraft]

I have the Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer and have been pleased with their performance.

The price was right, as my brother-in-law works at Whirlpool and can get a substantial discount:D .

[Mitchell Andrus]

My wife and I tried a front loader. One from Europe somewhere... Asco or Asko...

Supposedly very efficient... sips water, makes it's own hot water (220V), very little soap, etc., etc.

NUTS to that. A full load was 1/2 half that of our new Maytag. It ran for two hours!!!! to "gently tumble" while washing with almost no soap. The repair man came three times in two years (after warrantee) to fix different problems and finally stopped servicing these lemons altogether. Any benefits to owning this thing went out the window in run time, electric heating cost and trips to the laundromat while waiting for weeks for parts - no kidding here - a new pump took five weeks. That was nearly 45 loads at the laundromat that time. We owned it for four tourtured years.

Before buying anything, check for cycle run times (load turn-around) and make sure there are two companies in the area that will come and fix it, warrantee or not.

[Kyle Kraft]

So does that mean if you bought a Yugo and it was a piece of junk, you'd never own another car?:)

[Mitchell Andrus]

No, I wouldn't buy another car designed like a Yugo. BTW, my front loading "Yugo" cost more than our new top-of-the-line Maytag. I paid for a Cadillac, got a Ford Pinto. Live and learn, and teach.

My new top loader gets a very large of laundry done in 35 minutes. Loads half that size took 2 hours in the front loader. >>> 35 mins vs 4 hours.

This isn't a Yugo thing, it's about figuring out ALL of the variables and deciding that a front loader was a poor choice for me and my family of four.

[Max Lucciola]

I've always had good experience with Bosch tools, so when we needed a new washer ~ 5 years ago, we took advantage of a rebate deal and got a Bosch Axxis washer and dryer. It does a great job, and although it might not have the capacity to suit a family of 6, it holds quiet a lot. The only problem we had was that the brushes needed to be replaced last year (it's used a lot). Bosch actually replaced the whole motor under warranty I reckon because the labor to replace the brushes is > than the cost of the motor. Anyhow, now I have a spare motor.

Likes:
Clothes are very clean
You can load it up and set it to start at some future time
Fits in a small space
Spins at something like 1200 rpm so most of the water is removed
If you put a stuffed animal in you can keep kids entertained

Dislikes:
Sounds like a jet engine during spin windup
Twice a year you need to find the manual to figure out how to reset the clock.

Good luck.

[Ken Garlock]

Jerry, the only name your need to know is "Duet", Whirlpool Duet. We have had the washer dryer pair for 4 years and have had no problems.

[Chris Barton]

Consumer Reports (if you can believe them anymore) rated the LG, Bosch and Kenmore as their 1-3 best front loading machines.

[Al Willits]

Take consumer reports with a grain of salt, they were just nailed for the baby seat scam and I've seen them rave over a Kenmore product and dislike a whirlpool one, and both were the same stove.
Kenmore don't make nothing, they just put their name on it and change a few cosmetics.

Personally I have a tendency to believe the service techs where I work, we have over 375 techs out in the field and few will buy a front loader.
If they had to, most would go with the Duet line. fwiw
Just my thoughts fwiw
Al

[Ron Kerpsack]

Hi
owned a kemore for 3years bearing went out, inner tub broke and the repair bill $275 if I do the work and $600 if the repairman does it check out the Samurai Repair forum. They have alot of posts about the same thing. Until they come up with a better design I went back to the top loader half the price of a front loader and twice the life. Hope this helps

[Bill Lewis]

Be careful with the front loaders, we're seeing a lot of bearing problems with them, don't quite believe they'll wash whatever you can jam in them.
They might, but not for long.
We're seeing Frigidare units going out in less than two years, other are a bit longer, but for what you pay for one, they should last a lot longer.
AlWe bought the Frigidare units when they first introduced and front loaders were just becoming popular (again). So this is probably going on 10 years or so without any problems. The wife would like to have a larger door, but we won't even think about replacing these units until we begin experiencing problems. Maybe we've been lucky so far.
So Al, what's the word about these LG units? The LG brand is relatively new, but it is cropping up everywhere from appliances to cell phones, to TV's. What's known about LG?

[Al Willits]

""""""""""
So Al, what's the word about these LG units? The LG brand is relatively new, but it is cropping up everywhere from appliances to cell phones, to TV's. What's known about LG?
""""""""""
OK, first off I wouldn't say every front loader you buy is gonna self destruct 2 days after you hook it up, what I will say is, in our exprience the front loaders (and that's all of the major brands) are having some problems, and that's more than what would be expected.
The front loader design is an excellent idea, unfornately the front loader you see at your local launderymat is a lot more washer than the home version.
I don't think the manufactur's have quite worked the bugs out of the home version yet.

LG included, btw steaming might be a good feature, but the unit does not generate the amount of steam that the TV commericals show, this was even told to us by a factory rep at a trainning session, seems to work, but don't expect loads of steam..:)

Another note while I'm on a roll, the maytag top loader you buy today is probably not the one that our folks raved about, maytag has two basic top load models, one uses one v-belt, the other two, it's the two belt model ya want, if ya can still find it.
The single belt model is much cheaper built.

Also my thoughts on these are just that, my thoughts.
But they come with 30+ years in the HVAC/Appliance repair industry.
But, I wouldn't be so foolish as to think I couldn't be wrong.
Your expriences may differ.

Al

[Glenn Clabo]

Al,
In that I own one...can you tell me what "there's a major lawsuit means"? I believe you are talking about the units that were bought before April of 04 right? "This lawsuit alleges that owners of Maytag® Neptune® Front-Load Washing Machines have claims concerning the door latch, wax motor, motor control and related circuit board failures, causing the machines to function improperly and users to experience odor, mold and mildew. " Is this the one...? If it is it has been settled and we sure haven't had any problems with that. I will defer to your experience and hope that we don't have any bearing issues...by being careful about over laoding it.

[Don Bullock]

My wife loves her Maytag. With all our dogs she does a lot of washing each week, including many heavy blankets during the winter. When we have puppies it seems that the washer is going 24 hrs. a day.

[Lee Schierer]

We have had a Kenmore front loader for a couple of years. LOML loves it, Shee can load up what she wants and it comes out clean and dryer than ever. The model number we have is 417.44042400. I don't think it was the HT3 model, but was the next one down in price. It definitely uses less water and detergent than the old one we had for 25 years.

[Jim Becker]

I'm planning on going with front-loaders when the new laundry room in the addition comes into being...if the budget allows.

[Al Willits]

Glenn, that'd be it, haven't heard of enough improvements in latter models as to I'd go buy one.
May have missed some though, takes a bit before we get a track record on stuff we fix.

Like I said, doesn't mean every one out there is gonna self destruct, and I for one would not try to convice you/anyone on what you should or shouldn't buy, I'm just telling ya my exprience with them, take it for what its worth.
Al

[Chuck Saunders]

Had a Maytag - fairly early model, ran well for a few years then the door latch problem and the good money after bad seemed a poor choice. I kept it for washing shop rags and stuff. bought a Duet, life is good. Fisher-Kaypel looks pretty cool, their top load dryer looks like it is the size of a 55 gallon drum. Maytag should be getting better or at least on par with Whirlpool since it is the same company.
Chuck

[Art Mulder]

My wife and I tried a front loader. One from Europe somewhere... Asco or Asko...

Supposedly very efficient... sips water, makes it's own hot water (220V), very little soap, etc., etc.

NUTS to that. A full load was 1/2 half that of our new Maytag. It ran for two hours!!!!

Wow, Mitchell, sounds like you got a lemon.

Just to provide an alternate viewpoint... 8 years ago we also sprung for a european front-loading washing machine. Ours was a basic AEG model. Spins to 800rpm. Yes, it uses 220. Yes, it preheats the water itself (doesn't even USE the house hot water, only has a cold hookup). And yes, the cycles are almost 2hrs

However, we have not had any of the other problems that Mitchell did. About 6 months ago the door latch broke (7 years of kids slamming it...:confused: ) and I located the part importer and got some new door parts shipped out. So I have maybe $50-$75 in parts that I put into it. No other breakdowns at all. As for volume... that is a trickier one. We find that you can stuff an awful lot into it. Certainly enough to fill the dryer. But I don't know how you measure. Compared to current washers, I dunno, it seems to me that the current washers on the market are bigger than the ones that were there 8-10 years ago.

The cycle time is a pain in the neck, I admit. You can't sit down and do 4 loads in a morning and get all your wash done. We just change the way we do things. Most mornings we throw in a load and forget about it. Round about noon my wife has one of the kids move it from the washer to a dryer. It's just a different way of doing things.

Keep in mind that back in 1998/99 when we bought our washer, there were almost no domestic front loaders on the market. So if you wanted a water saving, tumble washer (gentler on clothes than an agitator), there just weren't many options.

If I was buying today, I probably would look at the domestic models - like the Kenmore that Karl mentioned. There is a lot more choice now on the market with front loaders. But as long as the washer keeps working, we're content.

...art

[Al Willits]

Most front loaders (all that I know of) and the Fisher Paykel have very high spin speeds, so choice of dryer may not be that important, wife seems to think dry times on our Fisher are beter than half shorter than the old top load whirlpool we had, we went with a appox $325 Kitchenaid mid priced dryer intead of the more expensive upper end models/options.
The Fisher dryer is a nice looking unit, haven't heard anything good or bad yet, but they are a bit spendy.
fwiw
Al

[Jim Bell]

Bought the Maytag front loader about 9yrs ago. It was absolutely the worst. The good news is I bought it at Sears and after 18 mos and 2 washers with around 10 service calls Sears actually refunded my money with an apology. I bought the Frigidaire set and haven't had problem one. They fit under the counter so we have a place to fold clothes and room for cabinets above.

[Dan Mages]

I've had a GE front load washer for the past 4 years and have never had a problem with it. I do agree that the 1200rpm spin cycle does create a bit of noise, so put it behind a door if possible.

Dan

[John A. Williams]

We've got the Whirlpool Duets. Absolutly no problems with them at all. We have a family of five.
John

[Mitchell Andrus]

Thier whole washer/dryer product line has been discontinued.

[Russ Filtz]

I was looking at one, but saw too many posts about bad odor/mildew caused by the convoluted door seal and poor drainage. Water just sits there. People were leaving their doors open, using towels to dry the seal every time, spraying bleach, etc.!

On a top load I do leave the lid open from time to time, but on the front loader, I had no room to do that. Seller on my new house left a big top load for free, so that answered my problem!

[Michael Cody]

I was looking at one, but saw too many posts about bad odor/mildew caused by the convoluted door seal and poor drainage. Water just sits there. People were leaving their doors open, using towels to dry the seal every time, spraying bleach, etc.!

On a top load I do leave the lid open from time to time, but on the front loader, I had no room to do that. Seller on my new house left a big top load for free, so that answered my problem!

Got to leave the door open a crack to let it dry out ... I have 5 year old Kenmore HT3 -- bought scratch&dent from Sears Repair via EBAY no less for under 1000$ for the pair. Work great, no complaints. But you do have to leave the door on the washer open a crack to let it dry. Everyone I read a review about these said that, don't see it as a big problem.

[Paul Turner]

Here is a link to another web site having the same discussion, but with a slightly different twist...
http://u15205752.onlinehome-server.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=14146&mid=95432#M95432

[Russ Filtz]

Got to leave the door open a crack to let it dry out ...

But you do have to leave the door on the washer open a crack to let it dry. Everyone I read a review about these said that, don't see it as a big problem.

My problem was the washer was in a narrow passage from my garage to the house. The door open would be a nuisance for me! I really wanted to buy one, but common sense in my situation prevailed!

[Al Willits]

Russ, some of the manufactures are recommending you wipe the front seal out with a combination of bleach and water after each use, does seem to help in some cases....fwiw

Al