If you were buying a new washing machine...

[GISDiva]

...what would you get?

We might retire our old one.  It's an earlier model, very basic front loader (Frigidaire), and it has gone through one cloth-diapered kiddo.  It did...well, it did just OK with getting the diapers clean.  We often had to do many, many extra cycles of rinses because of smell issues and whatnot.  It was absolutely great for regular clothes, but there wasn't any sort of option to use extra water to really rinse everything out properly.

So this time around, I thought I'd look into an HE top loader because there was more of an opportunity to do a soak if I wanted, but there are such mixed reviews on them too.  My DH read one review from someone who works on a farm and they said their Maytag HE top loader just didn't get their work clothes clean.  I grew up on a farm, I'd rank some of my son's diapers right up there with farm clothes.  

So, those of you who have newer washers or know someone who does, what models have worked well for cloth diapers?  Which ones have the best variety of settings to achieve cloth diaper zen?  ;)

[CookAMH]

I'd get what I picked out a few years ago...a top loader where I can control/override the water level. I have felt that was important for CD laundry.

[GISDiva]

Yeah, but the thing is, this is our last kiddo.  So I don't want to commit to 10 plus years of an inefficient machine just for two or three years of diapering either.  This is tough...

[here we are]

I have a kenmore he top.loader from last year, i need to check model #. I am expecting&hoping it does well with diapers. It has a soak cycle, and other cycles like bulky& delicate which.i.use for their higher preset water levels..It was best in its class according to consumer reports, whatever that may mean. It also has extra rinse cycle too, so you can just rinse=another 20 minutes. Some of the "regular"cycles have a lower water rinse or spray rinse, sometimes my partner uses those &depending on what/how much is washed i see soap stains so i avoid those cycles. So far so good, now i have to decide if we want to extend the free warranty from sears for a year for 100$ something after hearing all the disaster stories..

[dakipode]

I have not washed any diapers (yet) but I just want to share this about cost of ownership: we have a washer/dryer set from 1994 or so, given to us for free, and we've replaced parts on them ourselves. $30 part, $0 labor etc. The guy at the parts store commented last time that the newer washers tend to have very expensive control boards and you really can't fix them yourself. Over the years I think we've spent less than $100 on parts and we just Google "how to ..."

[here we are]

Thats what we tried to do Dakipode, but I searched for months&couldnt find anything used that didnt already need parts. I got fed up&figured if it wasnt worth it to them...maybe i was wrong...I heard about control panel too but when i looked into it , it seemed like they could last a while.....i hope so! But realistically i shouldnt count on it, so i am just extra gentle, not overstufffing. It doesnt make sense why this is so complicated . I will probably be on the search for an older one one day&what if theres none left? Do the 90's machines live as long as those 20year lifespan ones? Oh, please dont let my machine die!

[CookAMH]

Originally Posted by GISDiva 

Yeah, but the thing is, this is our last kiddo.  So I don't want to commit to 10 plus years of an inefficient machine just for two or three years of diapering either.  This is tough...

I'm actually far happier with a top loader for regular laundry as well - larger loads, can soak in stain remover, etc.

[dakipode]

here we are, on the older machines there's really not that much that can break. We've replaced the pump and some cams that spin the agitator on the washing machine, that's it. So realistically you could probably make them last 50 years, just replacing one part at a time... On the dryer we've replaced the switch that senses when the door is closed and a fuse.
The parts guy told me that the control panels on the newer ones can be finicky and either they last or they don't and they're like $80 to $200 a piece.
Working on the washer and dryer is not that intimidating and there are lots of great step by step tutorials on YouTube.

[here we are]

Hope for the best right? I guess I was also considering water savings/energy usage & hoping it would make a big difference with bills being "efficent".