# Front Loading Washer



## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

My wife and I bought one of the low profile washers a couple years back and are very displeased with it. This washer broke down after about a year's use. It has never washed our clothes like the old time regular washer not to mention it tears our clothes.

We are trying to find a good front loading washing machine that we want to buy sometime in the future, anyone have a recommendation from experience.


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## Rango (Dec 13, 2013)

I went back to the old school top loader way. Speed Queen was my weapon of choice but they do make front loaders. It likely costs more than what HD or Lowes sells but for a reason. My SQ does a load better, bigger and in half the time. It probably uses more water but I don't care.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

Rango said:


> I went back to the old school top loader way. Speed Queen was my weapon of choice but they do make front loaders. It likely costs more than what HD or Lowes sells but for a reason. My SQ does a load better, bigger and in half the time. It probably uses more water but I don't care.


I appreciate your information, I will check SQ out, we are just tired of this machine tearing our clothes and we have to wash then at least twice to get them clean.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

I just read a couple of reviews of the Speed Queen VS the LG which had rave reviews. I can see right off the Speed Queen is by far the better washing machine but $1,000 more is putting it out of our range. 

Thanks for putting me on the right path, I do appreciate it.


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## Rango (Dec 13, 2013)

BigJim said:


> I just read a couple of reviews of the Speed Queen VS the LG which had rave reviews. I can see right off the Speed Queen is by far the better washing machine but $1,000 more is putting it out of our range.
> 
> Thanks for putting me on the right path, I do appreciate it.


You might consider a top loader. Mine was $720 something, shipped and my Samsung was much like the LG. Pretty, lots of options with music but good luck washing a comforter in it. 

I took mine completely apart to figure out what was wrong. The spider arm on the drum was deteriorating, soap gets trapped back there and eats away on the pot metal looking material. Everything checked out so it had to be the mainboard. No longer available.


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

We have the Whirlpool front loaders......does an outstanding job.


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## DexterII (Jul 14, 2010)

Our Maytag washing machine and dryer went 25 years with very minimal repair costs, so nothing but fond memories of them, but we also replaced them with Speed Queens, about 3 years ago, and are very happy with these. The top loading washing machine was just under $650 with tax, and they had front loaders as I recall, but weren't interested, so don't know how those prices compared. The two main things I liked about the Speed Queen units were the "made in America" labels and the no frills controls. The thing that I can't understand though is the popularity of front loaders. Not saying that anyone who wants them shouldn't have them, that's why there are choices, but I am going to hold onto a top loader as long as I can. I guess that one of the big draws is water savings, and I am all for legitimate conservation of resources, so maybe there is merit to this. On the other hand, it seems logical to me that components are going to last longer when the weight of a load of water and wet laundry are spun on a vertical axis rather than a horizontal one. And the bigger issue is the number of people I have heard complain about the mildew associated with front loaders. And I have been in utility rooms of people who say that it is not an issue, seemingly oblivious to the smell of sweaty gym socks around their washing machine. However, a buddy of mine went through this, and they found that they could control it by simply leaving the door ajar when it was not being used, so maybe that's all there is to it. Well, don't know if that helps, my whole nickel's worth for only two cents.


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## PaliBob (Jun 11, 2008)

BigJim said:


> .......... trying to find a good front loading washing machine..........


I still have a 20 year old Sears top loader but am looking for a replacement and after doing a search on CR I found these two 
highly rated candidate's:
.


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## Jim F (Mar 4, 2010)

There's got to be something wrong with it if it's tearing clothes. I've had good luck with my Kenmore front loader and have had it for about 9 years now. It replaced an Amana conventional top loader where the agitator self destructed in about 3 years.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

Rango said:


> You might consider a top loader. Mine was $720 something, shipped and my Samsung was much like the LG. Pretty, lots of options with music but good luck washing a comforter in it.
> 
> I took mine completely apart to figure out what was wrong. The spider arm on the drum was deteriorating, soap gets trapped back there and eats away on the pot metal looking material. Everything checked out so it had to be the mainboard. No longer available.


That is starting to sound like the way to go, we like the front loader but if there is going to be problems with mildew and leaks we don't need that.

We have a GE right now, after only a year the supports that hold the tub up gave way and it wore a hole through the bottom of the pan where the motor sits. I took the machine apart and used 2x2s to prop the supports up and that took care of that. But the low profile aggitater just twists the clothes and makes small holes in them. 

Since the clothes are twisted so tight, they can't get clean so we have to wash them several times to get them clean.

I really appreciate all the responses, thank you so much for helping us make our decision.


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## Jim F (Mar 4, 2010)

That's definitely a dud model. Leaving the door open between washes helps with the mildew problem in the boot seal. Also, occasionally running empty with bleach.

The new top loaders without the agitator seem to give all the same benefits of a front loader- less water per wash, less damaging to clothes without the problems or door leaks and moldy boot seals. but, they do run a little higher in price than the font loaders.


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## Druidia (Oct 9, 2011)

DexterII said:


> The thing that I can't understand though is the popularity of front loaders. Not saying that anyone who wants them shouldn't have them, that's why there are choices, but I am going to hold onto a top loader as long as I can. I guess that one of the big draws is water savings, and I am all for legitimate conservation of resources, so maybe there is merit to this. ....


Front loaders are very very practical when washing pillows, comforters and large floor rugs. Washing pillows in top loaders is not so effective when the pillows are just squished around the agitator. 

I like Speed Queen front loaders too. They're workhorses.


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## Rango (Dec 13, 2013)

Druidia said:


> Front loaders are very very practical when washing pillows, comforters and large floor rugs. Washing pillows in top loaders is not so effective when the pillows are just squished around the agitator.
> 
> I like Speed Queen front loaders too. They're workhorses.


I tried to wash my ample sized comforter in my Samsung front loader. Top of the line model. It flopped around and didn't get a good washing. The SQ toploader had no trouble. I haven't done a pillow yet but the agitator is smaller than they used to be.


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

This thread is almost comical. Reminds me of the mindset of incandescent vs CFL. Some people, regardless of the facts still believe incandescents are better than CFL's. 

If anyone recalls the history of front loaders, after the firsts wringer tops, front loaders were the thing. Then it was top loaders. Now we are back to front loaders. 

The front loader design is by nature a much better way. You use the natural tumble motion to scrub the clothes vs beating them with an agitator. 

But, hey, this is America. Use what you want. As long as I don't have to pay your utility bills I don't care.


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## Rango (Dec 13, 2013)

ddawg16 said:


> This thread is almost comical. Reminds me of the mindset of incandescent vs CFL. Some people, regardless of the facts still believe incandescents are better than CFL's.
> 
> If anyone recalls the history of front loaders, after the firsts wringer tops, front loaders were the thing. Then it was top loaders. Now we are back to front loaders.
> 
> ...


Where's the comedy? I had a front loader for 8 years and and happier back to a top loader. My experience trumps your opinion on what my experience should be. There are pros and cons to about anything and people offering up each isn't a debate, it's a discussion.

My top loader takes half the time, a bit more water, less electricity. Where's the savings? My clothes sometimes need an industrial cleaning so the soft tumble action doesn't quite do it, maybe great for blouses but not so great for my heavy pants. 

And Fords are better.


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## Jim F (Mar 4, 2010)

Keep in mind there are two types of top loaders- with and without the center agitator. I will never go back to the conventional agitator-type top loader. They limit the amount of clothes you can wash and they use way more water then more modern washers. If you have a septic system like I do, you want to use less water to wash. 

One advantage to the front loader is if you want to have a counter top over your washer and dryer. It also tends to be easier to transfer the clothes from the washer to the dryer from the front loader.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

Jim F said:


> Keep in mind there are two types of top loaders- with and without the center agitator. I will never go back to the conventional agitator-type top loader. They limit the amount of clothes you can wash and they use way more water then more modern washers. If you have a septic system like I do, you want to use less water to wash.
> 
> One advantage to the front loader is if you want to have a counter top over your washer and dryer. It also tends to be easier to transfer the clothes from the washer to the dryer from the front loader.


Jim, the top loader without the center agitator, how does that work?


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## Jim F (Mar 4, 2010)

They are actually called High Efficiency top load washers. It uses an impeller rather than an agitator and conserves water similarly to a front loader by automatically filling with just enough water for the load that's in it. I'm not promoting this particular washer or Kenmore but the video describe it pretty well. http://www.sears.com/kenmore-4.5-cu...a=02628102000P&kpid=02628102000&mktRedirect=y


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

Jim F said:


> They are actually called High Efficiency top load washers. It uses an impeller rather than an agitator and conserves water similarly to a front loader by automatically filling with just enough water for the load that's in it. I'm not promoting this particular washer or Kenmore but the video describe it pretty well. http://www.sears.com/kenmore-4.5-cu...a=02628102000P&kpid=02628102000&mktRedirect=y


I am glad the Speed Queen has improved this type impeller, that is what we have now and my wife hates it, it just twists the clothes very tight, no way for them to get clean the first wash. I think we are going the front loader, if we can, I appreciate the advice.


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## Jim F (Mar 4, 2010)

So you already have one of these. I didn't know what you meant by "low profile" in your original post. That impeller should not be tearing clothes. I wonder if it is filling with enough water. The front loader doesn't have an impeller so should be gentler on the clothes. Just look for consumer reviews on the front loaders. If there are a lot of the same sort of complaints like, water leaks then that product should be avoided.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

Jim F said:


> So you already have one of these. I didn't know what you meant by "low profile" in your original post. That impeller should not be tearing clothes. I wonder if it is filling with enough water. The front loader doesn't have an impeller so should be gentler on the clothes. Just look for consumer reviews on the front loaders. If there are a lot of the same sort of complaints like, water leaks then that product should be avoided.


Jim, the impeller in ours doesn't look exactly like the SQ, ours just goes around in one direction and literally twist the clothes in a tight twist that we have to untwist and wash over. As tight as the clothes are twisted there is no way water can get into the clothes after it twists. 

I also noticed on one washer on a video the tub turned one way and the impeller turned the other, our tub doesn't move while the impeller is working. I will look again at SQ and see what the difference is. If you are happy with your's it must be doing a good job, this GE isn't, for sure.

Here is a video of the washer we have except this one has a regular agitator, ours don't:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnWbRU3g758


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

Front loaders are great on cleaning and water conservation.

If you are on well water, thing long and hard about them first. We tried and tried to get ours to be "un-stinky" to no avail. 

Wound up going back to a top loader that is now a huge PITB to get to balance.


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## hageeplumbing01 (Nov 5, 2014)

One thing you should know before bringing home your new and highly-efficient front-load washer is that this is not your mother's machine.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

hageeplumbing01 said:


> One thing you should know before bringing home your new and highly-efficient front-load washer is that this is not your mother's machine.


Could you explain, I don't understand. 

Win, I wonder if there is a way to keep the stink down.


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## Rango (Dec 13, 2013)

BigJim said:


> Could you explain, I don't understand.
> 
> Win, I wonder if there is a way to keep the stink down.


I never had the stink problem but I always left the door ajar, just didn't close it all the way unless I was washing.


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## blackone (Nov 10, 2014)

This year I've had a few and loyal family used the samsung. compared to other brands he is more durable. It seems to me.


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