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Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive November 2007: Washers and dryers - revisited - AGAIN
OK, I know a bunch of you have the nice front loading machines.
My question(s) are:
You can add clothes once the cycle has started. You just push the "pause" button and the washer stops and unlocks. Wait a second for the water to come away from the door and then put the garment in.
Ditto Vicki and Ame!
ditto Vicki, Ame and Trina, I am always adding something I forgot to a load and it is a HUGE difference in my water/electric/gas bill.
As you know, I have a huge family, so tons of clothes. I can dry a load of jeans, and I mean about 15 pairs of jeans, in under an hour. That is AMAZING to me!!!!!!! I absolutely LOVE my new machines!! And yes, I can just push the stop button to add more clothes.
Another front loader fan here. We had to buy a smaller one due to space restrictions and although it doesn't do as much as a full size washer it's amazing how much it will do. Although I live in awe of my mom's full size front loader...
Front loader washer here. I can add a garment as Ame stated. I had to buy a new dryer last fall and bought a regular one that doesn't match my front loader washer because they are in the laundry room and no one sees them anyway but I did buy one with a larger copacity to match my washer which can handle more clothes. (geez, that was a run on sentence!)
Dawn, when I stayed in England in high school, we had a combo washer/dryer and it was a nightmare. It took about four hours for a load to wash and dry, start to finish and at least 2 1/2 hours of that was drying time. We finally started running a second spin cycle and then hung our clothes to dry...in the moist London air. It was just less hassle. I've always assumed we just had an inefficient unit but my sister had the same problem when she lived there two years ago. They are a huge spacesaver (ours was in the kitchen next to the oven and dishwasher) but they aren't as efficient as you might hope for.
No front-loading advice, except that my mom seems to like hers. You are all just reminding me that I should DO a load of laundry! I just have a top-loader, because we didn't want to spend the money on a front-loader, when we replaced the washer a few years ago.
According to Consumer Reports, front loaders beat out top loaders in both energy efficiency and cleaning ability.
Tink - I've done a bit of research and there are a couple of kinds you can get. One's a ventless model (it seems to be the most prevelant) and it seems to be the kind that takes forever and leaves your clothes damp. But you can get ones that vent outside and those are more like conventional dryers in their performance...Or so they say.
I love mine & will NEVER go back to top loader!
Karen,
WOW, you guys have pretty much sold me. My big issue was not being able to add clothes, etc. once the cycle was started, but I see that's not an issue, after all.
Yes, there is a dispenser for fabric softener.
Where do you purchase the HE detergent???
You can get HE detergent at Wal-Mart and most grocery stores now. We use Tide HE Free, which doesn't have any perfumes or dyes in it.
We don't use HE detergent. We use the concentrated All Free and Clear. I've never had a problem with it. You use so little of it.
http://housewares.about.com/od/laundryappliances/f/hedetergents.htm
Thanks girls!!!!! I think we are going to start researching *which* brand/model, and probably buy a set in January. So any recommendations RE: brand/model are VERY welcome!
We have the Kenmore Elite HE 3 set and love them.
My DD has the Kenmore front loader and matching dryer. She recently had wrist surgery and I went over to help her. I was impressed with the efficiency and time saving of the pair. I had a Frigidaire (I think) front loader from 1970 to 1979. I bought it used from another military family who was moving. It worked great. It did use half the water and half the detergent (no HE detergent in those days). It tumbles the clothes instead of agitating them, which I think makes them last longer.
We just bought a new top loader, price is what sold us. But I can tell you that the sales man told us that they are pushing to stop making top loaders in the next few years. He said the front loaders are much better on the water, electric bill and that they are what people are wanting. He also said that the price on the front loaders should be coming down. He wasn't trying to make a sale, it was just a chat we were having after I had already made my purchase. If I had had the money, I would have surely bought the front load but I needed to replace the washer that day and didn't have time to save up for the other. With 6 people the laundrymat is a nightmare. LOL I had no choice but to get what I could at that point.
Price was my determining factor, too, Bobbie. The transmission went in my washer early this year (right after Christmas, ugh), so I had to get one quick, too. I opted for another top loader. I got a Whirlpool. I've had good luck with them.
Same her, transmission.. And ours is a Whirlpool too. LOL
Anyone else want to weigh in with their favorite brand/model and the reasons??
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