GE frontloading washer and dryer and washing diapers

[jenrett]

We just moved into a new house and are trying to decide between keeping the GE frontloading washer and dryer that comes with the house (well...for $400) or bringing our oldschool whirlpool cheap-o toploaders over. 

I know sometimes there are issues washing dipes in HE washers but does anybody have experience in particular with GE and have some tips?  What would you do?

Thanks!

[laurabfig]

I don't have experience in particular with GE but we have a FL washer and dryer and LOVE them both.  I've exclusively CD'd my son for the past 5 months with NO issues whatsoever.  There are many really great threads on here about washing CD's with a HE FL machine.  My routine (which I perfected after reading a lot here on MDC) is throw all the diapers in (about 3 days worth- mostly prefolds, some bg aios and other random doublers), run a double cold rinse with no detergent, then run a hot regular load with about 2 Tablespoons of charlie's liquid soap with an extra rinse.  That's it- then dry on high.

I think the energy and water-saving benefits of a FL washer and dryer far outweigh any inconveniences in washing CDs.

[EmmaJane]

The GE/Kenmore/Frigidaire sibling FLs are good machines, but the little differences between them matter. We used to have a Kenmore version; for that machine, one cold wash, then one hot wash, both with extra rinse on, worked great.

Then its bearings died (after 7 years) and we had to replace with the Frigidaire flavor; same machine, different controls, and the spin speed is not as high. Because of the change in spin speed, from I think 100 RPM to something like 700 RPM, we now have to run two hot washes after the cold wash to stop hemp inserts from building up stink after a few washes... waaaaah.

(My husband keeps threatening to replace the circuit boards on the Frigidaire so its spin will go just as fast as the old one did-- let's overclock our front loader! oh yeah... but he hasn't done it yet.)