My washing machine & dryer are dying a slow, painful death. DH & I are looking at new sets. We've been researching top load & the front loaders. May I ask, which do you have? Do you like it? Why do like it? TIA for any of your opinions.

Kate G.

By Yjja123 on Saturday, July 28, 2007 - 10:45 am:

I have the front loaders on pedestals.
I love them because it is easy to transfer wet clothes to the dryer.
The HE is great because it takes a lot less time to dry.
I love that I can do twice as much laundry at once.

By Trina~moderator on Saturday, July 28, 2007 - 11:01 am:

I have front loaders (Kenmore Elite HE3) and LOVE them! Front load washers are more energy efficient and use up to 65% less water than traditional top load machines. This is important to us because it is less taxing on our well. Front loaders are also easier on clothes, at least that has been my experience.

One note of caution, I learned to keep the washer door open when not in use to prevent a musty odor from forming. Closing the door creates an air tight seal, and with moisture in the tub that creates the perfect environment for mold.

By Amecmom on Saturday, July 28, 2007 - 11:38 am:

Front Loaders here, too Kenmore HE3t and HE3. I've found if I do a load with bleach on the sanitary cycle (super heated water) once a week I have no mold issue.
I didn't do the pedastles for two reasons. 1 - it makes the machines too high to fold clothes on and 2- my kids couldn't help do laundry because the openings would become too high.
There are so many choice out there now. Tromm(?) by LG has a steam wash cycle, I think.
The colors are great, too. I'd love to get new ones for our new house, but I can't justify the expense, so we'll be taking our with us.
Happy hunting.
Ame

By Yjja123 on Saturday, July 28, 2007 - 12:13 pm:

I have never had an issue with musty odors or mold. I do not leave my door open either. I DO have a bleach load once a week---maybe that is the difference?
I bought the Whirlpool set a few years back because they were in the top 3 on Consumer Reports. The Kenmore were also in the top 3. I would reserach before choosing--simply because they are expensive.
Enjoy your new set!

By Marcia on Saturday, July 28, 2007 - 12:37 pm:

I just bought the Kenmore HE front loaders a couple of weeks ago, and I love them!! I chose to stack them instead of getting the pedestals, which really saves space. The only problem with that is that it's killing my already sore back to bend to the bottom to put the washing in. I might rethink the whole stacking idea, but that's really just a personal choice. Love the machines!!
Speaking of being able to do so much more laundry at a time, I just did a load with a king size sheet set, a queen comforter and 2 big pillows. They are excellent machines for a family of 7!

By Trina~moderator on Saturday, July 28, 2007 - 12:40 pm:

We don't use bleach because we were told it's harmful to the bacteria in our septic tank. We use color safe bleach only, which of course wouldn't have the same effect on killing mold.

By Cocoabutter on Saturday, July 28, 2007 - 04:15 pm:

According to what Consumer Reports said in the June 2007 issue (page 42), front-loaders are very expensive. For best results, plan on spending $900 or more. This is all due to new energy standards set forth by the US Dept of Energy this year. Traditional top-loaders (with the agitator) seem to sacrifice cleaning ability in order to meet the new standards. High-efficiency top-loaders (HE models- without the agitator) are not as energy efficient as front-loaders yet are just as expensive.

The top five best Top-Loader picks are:

Whirlpool Cabrio HE WTW6600S[W] $1,000 (HE)
Kenmore Oasis HE 2708[2] $1,000 (HE)
Whirlpool Cabrio WTW6200S[W] $700
Kenmore Oasis 2705[2] $900
GE Profile Harmony WPGT9360E[WW] $890 (HE)

The top five best Front-loader picks are:

LG Tromm SteamWasher WM2688H[WM] $1,500
Whirlpool Duet HT GHW9400P[W] $1,200
Kenmore Elite HE5T 4708 [1] $1,500
Maytag Epic MFW9700S[Q] $1,400
Bosch Nexxt 500 Series WFMC3301UC $1,100

By Yjja123 on Saturday, July 28, 2007 - 04:29 pm:

I have the Whirlpool duet set.

By Debbie on Saturday, July 28, 2007 - 05:11 pm:

We have the LG, and we love it. My brother and SIL have it also. They feel the same.

By Cat on Saturday, July 28, 2007 - 11:57 pm:

We have the LG set, also. Love them. They were my luxury appliances a couple years ago. I do leave the washer door open because it tends to smell musty if I don't (dh closed it while we were in Vegas last week--he doesn't know because he never does laundry!). They were worth the money.

By Jjb on Sunday, July 29, 2007 - 02:08 pm:

We have a Kenmore front loading machine without the pedestal. We bought our dryer with the washer but did not get a matching one. It saved us a lot of money and it works the same. What I love most about my washer is that it's HUGE. I can fit a ton of clothes in. We didn't get the pedistal because we weren't getting the matching dyer and we wanted to save money.

By Kateg on Sunday, July 29, 2007 - 09:10 pm:

Thanks a lot for all the information & opinions. It has helped! We decided to get the Maytag Epic front loading set. We found a really good deal & were able to do really good $$ wise. We aren't getting the pedestals, as DH is going to custom make one for us - DH is 6'7" & I'm 6'4" - so the extra height is going to be nice. DH helps out with the laundry a lot. I'm so excited - they've got to order them & I've got to wait 2 weeks!

Thanks, again!