front loading vs. top loading washer

[mlleoiseau]

We just bought a house and need to buy a washer/dryer. Dh wants to buy a front loading one. From what I could tell, they are more energy and water efficient. But I've read that they may have problems with mold, that you can only use high efficiency detergents, you cannot add vinegar to the rinse water and you cannot use degreasers to pretreat your clothes.

I do use Dawn to treat greasy stains on dd's clothes all the time. I do use vinegar in the rinse water. We are sensitive to detergents and can only use fragrance and dye free ones.

Anyone have any strong opinions on front loaders versus top loaders?

Tia!

[Pancakes]

I've had a front loading washer for the past three years. I've used regular detergent and he detergent without ill effects. I've also been using a home made laundry soap and fabric softener that uses vinegar for the past month or so, also without ill effects.

I have experienced some mold/mildew on the gasket ring around the door in the past, but it wipes off with a towel. I would usually wipe it every time I did a towel load. However, I have not had any mold/mildew show up since I switched to the home made soap and fabric softener. Not sure why, but it's not there anymore.

[lovemyfamily6]

We have a front load set and we'll never go back to top loading!

We use Allen's Naturally powdered detergent and vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser with no problems. We use cloth diapers too, which I was nervous about at first, but it has been fine!

We did have mildew on the gasket and it smelled terrible. I tried all kinds of things to get rid of it. I read that you should leave the door open after each load so it can dry out. We had the extended warranty and the service guy came out last week and replaced it and now it doesn't smell. We learned the "leave it open" trick too late the first time.

[Einley]

I wrote out a long response and it didn't post grrr.

Okay I had a front loader for years and then we moved two years ago and I got top loader. It doesn't have an agitator thingy so it is supposed to be gentle like a front loader. Regardless, I miss my front loader so so much. I loved it! I never had issues regarding detergent, vinegar or mold. It so was great

[ladyinred]

Originally Posted by lovemyfamily6

We have a front load set and we'll never go back to top loading!

We use Allen's Naturally powdered detergent and vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser with no problems. We use cloth diapers too, which I was nervous about at first, but it has been fine!

We did have mildew on the gasket and it smelled terrible. I tried all kinds of things to get rid of it. I read that you should leave the door open after each load so it can dry out. We had the extended warranty and the service guy came out last week and replaced it and now it doesn't smell. We learned the "leave it open" trick too late the first time.

Thank you so much for posting that! We got a front loader in July and I've been wondering about the smell for some time now. Plus I heard that it was harder to wash cloth diapers in HE front loaders. Do you have to put them on the rinse cycle twice or anything?

[sweetcheeks]

We got a FLer back in August and have nothing but great things to say about it. We will never go back to a TLing machine. Our water bill has gone down considerably. With the set we bought, we got a free year's supply of HE detergent so we've been using that and will probably continue w/a generic cold water HE detergent after we use up this supply later this year. We also got a year's supply of fabric softener but since DH and the kids are sensitive to scents I've been using vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser w/no problems at all. We haven't had any problems w/smell but we were advised from the get go to leave the door open and let it air out after each wash (this thread has reminded me I do need to clean the door gasket though). Oh, and I love how you can stuff the machine pretty full. What would be 2-3 loads in my old TLer is now one load in my FLer.

[Einley]

Originally Posted by ladyinred

Plus I heard that it was harder to wash cloth diapers in HE front loaders. Do you have to put them on the rinse cycle twice or anything?

I rinsed them twice in mine, but that was probably of my own paranoia than really needing to. I rinsed them twice in my top loader too.

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

I have found it more difficult to get cloth diapers clean as far as yucky toddler poop, but I just wash them extra if needed. Fyi I have been doing 2 washes and 2 rinses for cd's and my water bill is gone down 15$ a month so I would say the savings is worth it. I have used vinegar in the wash, I just put it in the bleach dispenser. And I have found the he detergents to be about the same prices in my area as the regular detergents. I got three bottles that do 96 loads for 12$ at sam's club. And I think they were maybe 50-1.00 more at wal'mart. Plus less plastic/better for the environment. We got our washer/dryer at lowe's on clearance for discontinuing them, they were 50% off the regular price, so we payed about 800 for the pair. Well worth it, imo.