Do a Google search and you'll never buy a front loader. They have
serious design flaws.
I have had intimate contact with 5 different brands of front loaders
and now have a GE brand High Efficiency top loader which I love and
has none of the flaws of the front loader. It uses the same amount of
water that a front loader does but without all the problems and is
much quieter - an added plus is that the wash cycles take a lot less
time than a front loader.
Where do I begin?
Let's start with the balance issue you spoke of. The front loaders
are inherently off balance from the beginning. How they "overcome"
that is by starting and stopping to redistribute the load because all
the clothes want to fall to the bottom. This adds significantly to the
time it takes to do a load of clothes. So if you have kids or other
reasons you need to wash lots of clothes you'll get fewer done in a
day. Not to mention the capacity is smaller with the Front Loaders.
But you say dryers are front loaders so why would the washer be off
balance and the dryer not? The dryers are tumbling the clothes
whereas the washer has to spin at a much higher speed to force the
water out of the clothes.
When they get off balance, which is many times on each load they make
lots of noise and they tend to walk across the room more easily than a
top loader because they are taller. Don't even think of adding one of
those under washer storage drawers to make the washer be at a better
height to loading and unloading because that aggravates the walking
situation.
Maintenance is greater on a front loader. You MUST clean the seal
inside the front door that goes around the door often and very well.
You must also regularly run empty loads that are high in bleach quite
often. You also need to run empty loads about once a week with an
expensive cleaner called Affresh. Why do you have to do all these
things? It's because the front loader doesn't use enough water to
wash down the drum well enough to get rid of all the detergent film.
So what?
Your front loader has a totally different type of door on it than did
your top loader. The front loader door must seal so that water
doesn't run out when it's working. Did you ever build a terrarium
when you were a kid? Once you closed it up you ended up with
condensation inside your terrarium and many times strange things began
to grow in there. The same thing happens in your washer.
The detergent film that doesn't get washed out of the drum is food for
strange mildews and other beasties so you must leave the washer door
open all the time and do all the cleaning rituals I mentioned before
to try to stay ahead of the mold and mildew smells. You can try, but
you'll never make it. Your clothes will begin to smell musty and
people around you will begin to ask "What's that smell?" everytime you
come near there.
Towels and other heavy cloth items seem to accumulate the smell the
most.
How big is your laundry room? Will it even accomodate an open front
loader washer having the door open all the time?
The only people I've ever seen that like their front loaders are ones
that wash very few loads of clothes. I haven't seen one over here,
but in Europe they have an all in one machine that washes and then
dries. The heater element takes care of the mold and mildew issues so
they work better, but you can't be washing another load while you are
drying one.
On Aug 25, 2010, at 7:43 PM, Ken Bogart wrote:
Last washer I bought was about 3 years ago to replace a 20 year old
top loader that was service free. I found a top load GE with huge
capacity for about $350.
The front loaders cost three times as much, and have less capacity.
But they do also use less water... I figured the payback on the
water savings was about 15 years.
Will washing clothes in a fancy, designer colored, overpriced,
potentially unreliable front load washer make you happy? Why spend a
ton of money for something that is hidden away? Keep the upfront
savings and buy a Miata accessory instead.
Ken Bogart
-----------------------------------------------------
96 Montego Blue FFS Coldside (His)
97 Black & Tan (Hers)
90 Crystal White (sons)
------------------------------------------------------
http://www.miatacare.com
http://www.cincimiata.com
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MiataMail.com list owner
On Wed, Aug 25, 2010 at 7:58 PM, <[email protected]> wrote:
This is a personal consumer/user question regarding front loading
clothes washing machines.
I know many testing organizations compile lists of Best Buys based
on features and the results of short term, limited testing, but the
reports of those LIVING with and USING a machine provide a lot of
very useful data for the propsective purchaser.
Has anyone had ANY brand of front load washing machine (and dryer,
for that matter) that has been, for a year or more, Pain Free (no
repairs, no balance problems, no problems getting clothes clean, no
control malfunctions), and the machine hasn't had problems that
could not readily be resolved under warranty, or by owner or
technician provided service if out of warranty? Has anyone had a
recent acquisition (say, less than 3 years) NOT cost them a large
sum of money in repair or parts costs?
I have a 17 year old top load Maytag that could now use a number of
replacement parts (things do wear out over time and with heavy use),
so I'm considering a new "better" washing machine (although some
needed parts are still available through ApplianceClinic.com, a good
source). From what I've read while researching washers on the web,
NONE of the new models from ANY manufacturer seem to last more than
a few weeks before something goes wrong. Seriously! If you go to
ConsumerAffairs.com and search on any brand washer, you'll be
confronted with so many horror stories that you may NEVER feel
confident about spending cash on a new machine. There are nearly as
many horror stories about warranty and service repairs, as well.
Therefore, I'd like to know if there is anything really positive to
be said by consumers about modern clothes washing machines in regard
to durability and / or the manufacturer's acceptance of
responsibility to the consumers.
Thanks,
Jerry aka LGO
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