Front loader or regular wash machine? - Page 2

[odenata]

I've had two different front loaders and loved both of them. First was a Kenmore H4t we had for two years then moved. Rented two places with top loaders, then bought our own place and got a Samsung front loader. Again, love it.

I've done diapers in both with no problem. I do leave the door open between washes and clean the trap out regularly, but I don't have to do anything else. I'm always perplexed when I read about people hating front loaders, because I've had nothing but good experiences with mine.

I love that I can do smaller loads without wasting water. Like Laohaire, both my models let me throw things in after it's started. My Kenmore had a sanitary setting I liked for diapers. I love that they get so much more water out than the top loaders, so things dry much quicker. And I love, love, love that they never get unbalanced and shaky or get a sheet wrapped around the agitator, since their isn't one. I use Country Save soap and I need so little that a box lasts me forever.

As an alternative, if you are wary of front loaders, they do make non-agitator, HE top loaders now as well.

[Usually Curious]

I think most people compare front loaders w/old top loaders. My new top loader uses very little water in comparison to my old one. It senses the load size and uses less than you would think. I can do very small loads in it w/out water waste.

IMO, if you have to leave the door open then the appliance isn't functioning properly.

[laohaire]

Originally Posted by Usually Curious

IMO, if you have to leave the door open then the appliance isn't functioning properly.

Can you expand on this comment, because I don't follow?

The front loader has to seal or the water will leak out. The top loader does not need to seal.

Sealing moisture leads to problems, it's just a natural law.

How would the appliance function (properly or otherwise) without either preventing leaks OR allowing access to air circulation between loads?

And what is the big deal about leaving the door open a crack, anyway?

[SubliminalDarkness]

Originally Posted by laohaire

Can you expand on this comment, because I don't follow?

The front loader has to seal or the water will leak out. The top loader does not need to seal.

Sealing moisture leads to problems, it's just a natural law.

How would the appliance function (properly or otherwise) without either preventing leaks OR allowing access to air circulation between loads?

And what is the big deal about leaving the door open a crack, anyway?

the way our house is laid out, the laundry room is the pass through to the garage. If I left the washer door open on a front-loader, it would interfere with getting through the room to access the garage, and vice versa. It's just not always practical. If my laundry was in corner somewhere, it wouldn't be much of a big deal.

[bezark]

Originally Posted by SubliminalDarkness

the way our house is laid out, the laundry room is the pass through to the garage. If I left the washer door open on a front-loader, it would interfere with getting through the room to access the garage, and vice versa. It's just not always practical. If my laundry was in corner somewhere, it wouldn't be much of a big deal.

I see the reasoning here, but you really only need to leave it open a crack. The door doesn't have to be wide open to allow the moisture to escape.
My set is stacked in a closet in my foyer that's just big enough for it. I literally only have about 1.5" between the closed washer door and the closet door, and that's enough

[laohaire]

Leaving my door open a crack doesn't even make it stick out as far as the handle much less the tray to put in the soap. It's probably 3/4 of an inch?

[SubliminalDarkness]

Originally Posted by bezark

I see the reasoning here, but you really only need to leave it open a crack. The door doesn't have to be wide open to allow the moisture to escape.
My set is stacked in a closet in my foyer that's just big enough for it. I literally only have about 1.5" between the closed washer door and the closet door, and that's enough

Oh, I know, but it would get bumped and open wider, or get caught on someone's pants and open wider. I just *know* it would become a bother.

[Usually Curious]

Originally Posted by SubliminalDarkness

the way our house is laid out, the laundry room is the pass through to the garage. If I left the washer door open on a front-loader, it would interfere with getting through the room to access the garage, and vice versa. It's just not always practical. If my laundry was in corner somewhere, it wouldn't be much of a big deal.

this.

[LemonPie]

I bought a HE FLer 2 yrs ago when my top loader finally died. I have mixed feelings about it. I can wash more clothes per load and they do spin out better so they don't take as long in the dryer. It is gentler on my clothes. But I have issues with the rubber seal getting gross and scummy and the machine getting smelly. The clothes seem to sour really fast if they aren't moved *immediately* to the dryer after washing and they just don't seem as clean. And I had an issue where my door leaked and had to spend big bucks to have a repairman come out and fix it.

Honestly, I wish I'd looked more into the HE top loaders. I'm biding my time with this machine until I can replace it.

[FireWithin]

Our lemon of a front loader just died. thankfully we had gone against general advice and got a warranty the first time it broke down. We are getting a $600 check for a replacement machine.

That said - we are getting another front loader. This time a Samsung. It has a better track record for reliability than our other one (GE Adora).

I think because the technology is newer and more complex than top loaders there is a greater chance of breakage. We will be buying an extended warranty again.

I don't have a problem keeping the door open. I forgot to do it a lot with the past machine and I am lucky we didn't get mildew issues. I can see keeping the door open as a problem with a small child who might get into trouble with it.

[ChetMC]

My Impression with Front Loaders

The big difference is that it's easier to shop for a top loading machine. For less money and effort you are likely to find a model that will do an acceptable job.

If you're shopping for a front loader you need to do a lot more research to make sure that you get a good one. And if you're going to buy a front loader you can't cheap out. While an inexpensive top loader is likely to be decent, a cheap front loader is not. A front loader is a much more complicated machine. You need to get a good front loader to really see the benefits of owning one.

We have a Miele washer and dryer, and we love them. The set runs about $4000 US. Large appliances today are typically built to last ten years though, and Miele still builds their products to last twenty five years.

Some front loaders have trouble with cloth diapers because they don't add enough water. The diapers soak up the little bit of water that is supposed to be used for washing and there isn't physically enough liquid left free to do the job. A good front loader has sensors to add extra water as necessary, and the option to wash with a higher than normal volume of water if you want.

I love that our compact little machines can do so much wash. At one point my MIL offered to do some laundry for us. I sent out what would have been four loads in our small front loader and it was nine loads in her top loader! My machine is tiny compared to hers, so I was shocked to discover that it apparently has double the capacity.

Our FL washer also has sensors to continue washing if necessary. On the weekend I accidentally put a rag in the wash that was saturated with play doh the kids had mixed with water. I meant to throw it in the garbage, but the washer washed until it got it clean. The machine sat in the wash cycle for so long I started to worry that it was broken!

I have often take clothes that people thought were stained and ruined and gotten them clean in our washer.

All that said, I used a cheaper front loader when we rented a house and it was not nearly as good. It was an LG and had okay reviewed, but it was obvious that spending the extra money on German engineered appliances made a difference.

I have never had a problem with stink in our front loader, but I wash two loads of diapers a week at 95C (205F) and those loads go through with Borax (which kills mold and mildew). As well, the door on our front loader rests closed, but it won't latch unless you slam it hard, so it is only sealed when it is washing.

I agree that hot washes with some kind of anti-fungal agent added, and leaving the machine to air when not in use is worth a try.

[IsaFrench]

the last two times I baught a washing machine I was advised to run two blank loads every three months
- one at 90 ° with a whole bottle of white vinegar in it
- one at 30° with half a bottle of bleach in it
it's supposed to help keep things clean in it

[Mama2Cesca]

I love my front loader. We only have front loaders in Belgium. My first washing machine was a Bosch and almost two years ago I sold it and bought another (bigger) Bosch. Things come out very clean(rarely a problem with stains) and I never pre-treat stains. Cloth diapers have came clean in my first machine with no problems(never had to wash any in the second one).

I do try to leave the machine open a crack all the time. However at our current house the machine is right next to the back door. It is usually only cracked a tiny bit. Before bed I will open it up the whole way(when switching a load from washer to dryer before going to bed). We live in a very damp climate and our first house was very damp and we never had a problem wtih a mildew smell.

I was in the USA visiting my parents for half a year last year. My mom has a top loader but nothing fancy. I had to spend so much more time on laundry! Pre-treating stains was needed, smaller amounts could be washed at the same time, things came out wetter. Also could definetly tell that it wasn't as gentle on our clothing. Now strange enough, clothing did smell much more clean coming out of my moms machine! Well you could really smell the detergent. In my front loader you really cannot smell what it was washed with. I am not sure why that is. Maybe front loader does a better job of rinsing?

Every few months I run the machine empty on 90 degrees. I believe Bosch recommends to do this if you normally only wash on 40 degrees or 60 degrees.

[lucyem]

When I had european front load machines they are GREAT! I never had any smells except in the worst of August humidity. They cleaned wonderfully. Cloth diapers and all. This year we bought a US made front load machine. Piece of junk. Smelled all the time. Does not clean very well. So many stains. I am very disappointed. The door finally broke and being cheap, duct tape has gotten us through the past few months. I cannot wait for the duct tape to stop working and I can dump the machine.

Oh but I did solve the nasty smell in my present front load. Use 2 teaspoons of Biokleen laundry detergent and 2 teaspoons of oxiclean. No more smell
Still hate the machine but at least it is not stinky.

[clutterwarrior]

An unexpected advantage of front loaders that I never would have dreamed of...I just heard about someone who lives locally to me, whose kitten accidentally jumped in to their front loader while the person's back was turned, the kitten went through a 30 minute cold wash cycle and amazingly survived pretty much unscathed!! It needed eye drops for the detergent irritation, and had to be put on a drip for hypothermia...the vet said it would have died if it had been a top loader.

[Mama2Cesca]

Amazing that the kitten survived the "bath".

[ChetMC]

No Kidding

Originally Posted by Mama2Cesca

Amazing that the kitten survived the "bath".

Wow. That is amazing. When we bought our machines they told us that they were amazingly gentle, I guess they weren't kidding.

[provocativa]

Somewhere I read about a laundry repairman who invented a cleaner for FL washer stink. I looked up his ingredients, and the product was citric acid-based. You can buy citric acid powder and other acid powder blends in the homebrew dept. of a large liquor emporium for cheap, and put that in on your occaisional super hot cycle. I'd suppose you have to use enough to lower the pH more than vinegar. If using such stronger stuff to scrub the seal, rinse it afterwards. Also, you can buy food-safe bleach from a pool supply store, but I've not tried it. Reputedly better for the world than the chlorine stuff though. Right now I have a top loader, and put boiling water in it to raise the temp when I do a sterilize cycle. When we shopped for front loaders, we did the research and the only ones we could afford were leaky crap, and we had diapers to wash. But then later we found a commercial front loader at a college auction, which worked great but is at my mom's farm for now until our laundry room is fixed.

[Stella_luna]

When we bought our house it had a front-loader and I was so excited. I had the impression they were much better than top-loaders and it was an expensive model. But it was so horrible. I always kept the door open, and ran several loads of just bleach/vinegar, but it still reeked of mildew and ruined many of our clothes by inserting that smell into them. Nothing helped. I had a repairman come to my house to look at it and he said that many front-loaders are just like that and nothing can fix them. I was ECSTATIC when it broke and ran right out to buy a good old Energy Star HE top loader. That was 2 years ago and I like it so much better, and haven't had a problem with it yet.

[Panserbjorne]

Originally Posted by ChetMC 


We have a Miele washer and dryer, and we love them. The set runs about $4000 US. Large appliances today are typically built to last ten years though, and Miele still builds their products to last twenty five years.
 

is it covered for 25 years, or that's the typical life?  as in, if something happens 8 years in are you on your own, or do they repair it?