Front Load Washer and Dryer info

[aprhj]

OK pretty much a budget buster, but I want to make sure I get a good one so I don't have to spend more $ on repairs. With that said, if you have a front load washer and/or dryer what brand and model do you have, how do you like it, have you done any repairs and do you remember how much you paid for it.

thanks!

 

[daleswife]

I dont have a front load washer for one specific reason....If I have a small load of laundry and start the washer and go into my or my kids bedrooms and find another piece of clothing that needs washed then I can take it in and throw it in the washer, as long as its still filling up of course, If you have a front load, it locks. Say, what if you need this certain artical of clothing washed ASAP and you decide to wash a load....and you put everything in the washer and start it. Then you are walking down the Hall and you find the artical that needs washed ASAP laying on the floor cause you dropped it....with a front load you have to wait to put it in....LOL...I guess Im the debbie downer, but Im the one who drops all our clothes going down the hall!! LOL

 

[jemmouse]

OK pretty much a budget buster, but I want to make sure I get a good one so I don't have to spend more $ on repairs. With that said, if you have a front load washer and/or dryer what brand and model do you have, how do you like it, have you done any repairs and do you remember how much you paid for it.

thanks!

I have the SAMSUNG VRT model...I LOVE IT ...I did some extensive research on it because I have a 2nd floor laundry room and was worried about the noise and the shaking of the machne in the rinse cycle. It was down to Whirlpool and Samsung. Samsung won....It is so QUIET. My sister in law has the Whirlpool the top of the line, I think DUETS? ANd it sounds like a jet plane is taking off. When I did my research I came across an odd comment and looked into it further and well here it is. I live in a city outside ouf CHicago, there are definately no farms around where I am at so this is why I found this strange. They suggested you go and buy a COW MAT. Strange I know. It basically is a VERY thick piece of rubber that you put underneath the washer and dryer. OMG it is the best thing besides the washer/dryer I bought. No vibrating issues at all..I did also buy the pedestals. I believe mine cost around 3000.00-3400.00. I purchased at Best Buy. THey did compete with Sears for the price and I did get a discount. But do look into this cow mat, since then several of my girlfriends also went out and bought it and are so happy they did. SOme have theirs in the basement on the concrete floor, and this helped there also...I found ours at a Farm and Fleet store about an hour or so away. ANd the funniest thing was, when the delivery guys came they laughed because they are seeing these so often now. SOme companies are starting to sell their own mats, but they aren't as thick or big and the washer/dryer companies costs so much more. Hope this helps and good luck...You will NOT regret this purchase.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

Ok, I can't speak about repairs yet (we've only had the set for about a month) but we LOVE our Bosch Vision 500 washer and dryer. It was totally a budget buster, but one that we considered worth it when looking at the fact that we would be washing tons of loads of baby clothing and cloth diapers soon.

Bosch has a great reputation for quality and the reviews all seemed to be pretty universally good on the washer holding up - it's a relatively new model, though, so take that for what it's worth.

We paid $849 each for the washer/dryer from Sears (on sale). I cannot believe how quiet they are (and on a second story laundry room) and how fast they clean, with so little water! Bosch also makes their appliances in the USA, which did sway our decision.

 

[oldbay]

I am sure others will post too - just don't get the Maytag. Ours was horrible. Had to be repaired many times, finally broke completely.

I went back to a top-loader. Shorter cycles and I can do smaller loads. Honestly, I did not see ANY change in the electrical or water bill from the efficient front loader.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

I dont have a front load washer for one specific reason....If I have a small load of laundry and start the washer and go into my or my kids bedrooms and find another piece of clothing that needs washed then I can take it in and throw it in the washer, as long as its still filling up of course, If you have a front load, it locks. Say, what if you need this certain artical of clothing washed ASAP and you decide to wash a load....and you put everything in the washer and start it. Then you are walking down the Hall and you find the artical that needs washed ASAP laying on the floor cause you dropped it....with a front load you have to wait to put it in....LOL...I guess Im the debbie downer, but Im the one who drops all our clothes going down the hall!! LOL

Our Bosch has a "pause" button that lets you open the door and add a piece of clothing! I didn't realize how often I'd have to use the feature - apparently I lose a lot of laundry on the way to the washer, as well!

 

[bytheblood]

We have a Duet washer and LG (not sure which one) dryer. We prefer the Duet model, but the dryer was so much more that we went with the LG. We like both. We will never go back to a "traditional" washer or dryer again. They save on water, my clothes last so much longer and they do a better job washing.

 

[bytheblood]

I dont have a front load washer for one specific reason....If I have a small load of laundry and start the washer and go into my or my kids bedrooms and find another piece of clothing that needs washed then I can take it in and throw it in the washer, as long as its still filling up of course, If you have a front load, it locks. Say, what if you need this certain artical of clothing washed ASAP and you decide to wash a load....and you put everything in the washer and start it. Then you are walking down the Hall and you find the artical that needs washed ASAP laying on the floor cause you dropped it....with a front load you have to wait to put it in....LOL...I guess Im the debbie downer, but Im the one who drops all our clothes going down the hall!! LOL

Why don't you just do a full sweep of the house before starting laundry so that you have it all in one shot?

 

[Kim&Chris]

I am sure others will post too - just don't get the Maytag. Ours was horrible. Had to be repaired many times, finally broke completely.

I went back to a top-loader. Shorter cycles and I can do smaller loads. Honestly, I did not see ANY change in the electrical or water bill from the efficient front loader.

My mother has the Maytag set, and HATES them. She's had the washer repairman out to her house more times in two years, than I've had in ten years. She is eagerly waiting for the set to 'die' so she can go back to a top loader.

 

[dawson5]

Our Bosch has a "pause" button that lets you open the door and add a piece of clothing! I didn't realize how often I'd have to use the feature - apparently I lose a lot of laundry on the way to the washer, as well!

I can do this with my 7 yr old Maytag also. The water doesn't just pour out, I think it is the way the drum is tilted and that is doesn't use as much water as a traditional top-loader.

I don't know if Maytag has fixed it, I think they have, but ours had bearing problems (sounded like a jet taking off). They wanted to charge us $1000 for the parts, not including labor, to fix this. We found aftermarket parts for $80 and did it ourselves. I love my front-loader except for this. They do work quite well and once we fixed the bearing, the noise isn't that bad.

 

[jakoky]

Hi there, i have an LG tromm which i love...AND i can pause it and add laundry, which i do all the time...there is one point at which i cant but it is so far into the cycle that i wouldnt want to anyways....hated putting out the money, but i love my machines!!!

 

[bonoriffic]

Our washer died recently and I asked the repairman for suggestions of models he repairs less. He said to avoid front load, as he has service visits for them at a much higher rate than top load. It wasn't so much that the washer was actually breaking, but that the hoses would get clogged from items in people's pants, baby socks, etc.

 

[katied]

I have the LG. Don't know what model, but it's a cherry red washer and dryer.

We've had them for 9 months now. They work great!

Ours does have the pause option, which I use at times to add some missed items.

We have a 3 yr old boy who's clothes are always a disaster. The washer gets things clean, and also doesn't remove all the color. I'm happy with the way our clothes last.

 

[figment41]

I ended up not buying a front loader because of one thing the other posters have not talked about. Apparently you need to leave the door open after you take the clothes out to let it dry out or it will start to smell and get mildew. They have even made special cleaners for them now but I have read on many other sites that they still don't get all the smell out. Just something else for you to look in to if you do not have the space to leave the door open. When I asked the people who installed my new machine they said you should also leave top loaders open but mine has never smelled or gotten mildewy. Knock on wood. Good Luck

 

[MG3G]

A monster lives in my laundry room... I have a kenmore washer and LG dryer. Love the dryer. HATE the washer for several reasons. It was broken more then it worked the first year - thank goodness for warrenty! The loads take FOREVER - an average load takes me a little under 3 hours to wash and dry -- 3 HOURS! For my cloth diapers it takes between 4 - 5 HOURS per load - I have to do THREE complete wash types to get them clean - every other day. Also it doesn't use enough water for diapers so I have to carry buckets of water from my bathroom - through my kitchen, livingroom, down the stairs and through the rec room to the laundry room. Everyone laughs at me wandering around with buckets of water - to feed my machine I feel like a slave to the washing machine - I have to plan outings around being home to "flip" my loads or it takes even longer then the 3 - 5 hours needed. I wash at least 2 loads a day - so I have no social life For any clothes bigger then childrens size 3 the machine also twists all the pants into a giant "laundry ball" the legs all get totally wrinkled and tied up together - catching all the other clothes into the ball. We NEVER have clothes that are wrinkle free because I don't have the time to iron everything we wear - what with all the buckets of water I carry around, who has the time?. I think the machine hates me! When ever I eye a top loader my machine gets even by shredding our clothes - how a machine with no moving parts inside the drum can tear clothes apart I have NO idea! Spare yourself - don't fall into the "but it looks so nice" trap like I did when I brought the beast home.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

I dont have a front load washer for one specific reason....If I have a small load of laundry and start the washer and go into my or my kids bedrooms and find another piece of clothing that needs washed then I can take it in and throw it in the washer, as long as its still filling up of course, If you have a front load, it locks. Say, what if you need this certain artical of clothing washed ASAP and you decide to wash a load....and you put everything in the washer and start it. Then you are walking down the Hall and you find the artical that needs washed ASAP laying on the floor cause you dropped it....with a front load you have to wait to put it in....LOL...I guess Im the debbie downer, but Im the one who drops all our clothes going down the hall!! LOL

My LG front load unlocks/pauses when I press the button allowing me to add all of the things I find after I've started the load which always happens.

We have the LG WM2016CW 3.6 Cu. Ft. 5-Cycle Washer or LG DLE2516W 7.0 Cu. Ft. 5-Cycle gas dryer that we got about a week before Black Friday, 2009 at Home Depot for about $800 including tax! I love, love, love them.

A front load is a little more work because you can't leave the clothes sitting there and you have to dry out the tub and seal, but they clean our clothes so much better and use a lot less water and soap.

 

[Pixieflip]

We have the Duet washer and dryer, they are over 7 years old and we've never ever had any problems. Love them. No repairs, no noise issues, pause button for forgotten items to be added, water does not pour out like I thought it would, uses 1/2 the detergent of top loading but holds almost twice as much clothing. Can wash even my king sized comforter with no problems. Leaving the door open keeps it smelling fresh, too. I will never go back to top loading.

Our previous dryer only lasted 4 years, so I'm thankful for every load my big family can wash and dry!

 

[Tandyc]

Does it go under the washer and the dryer or just one. If only one which do you put it under?

What a great thing to know about. Thank you so much for the post.

Tandy

 

[Mom2micayla]

We have a LG front loader washer (LG WM2050C) and dryer (DLE2050). We did tons of research before going with a front loader. We chose the LG primarily because it was not a belt driven motor. Belt driven motors break easier and require more repairs (on average, of course). We have had ours for about 5 months and so far have been very happy. The only thing that annoys me is having to leave the soap dispenser and door open all the time on the washer so it doesn't get moldy, but I knew that going in so I can't complain too much.

FWIW, a family member of mine works for Whirlpool and said he'd never suggest anyone he knows to buy one of those or a Maytag (which they now own and build). He said they aren't what they used to be. He is the one that suggested I look into LG or Samsung. Those also score best on Consumer Reports, for the most part. But of course, others may not agree with my relative.

 

[adisneymama]

Hi there, i have an LG tromm which i love...AND i can pause it and add laundry, which i do all the time...there is one point at which i cant but it is so far into the cycle that i wouldnt want to anyways....hated putting out the money, but i love my machines!!!

I have the same set and love it. Have had it for 3 yrs now and not one repair or problem. Best purchase we ever made.