Washers - Impeller vs Agitator

[MillauFr]

We've had an electrolux front loader for almost 7 years and we don't have mold on the seal but we leave the door open after each and every load. That would be the con for them that leaving the door open is essentially a must

Ditto. Same. Our Electrolux Front Loader has no mold problems. Probably helps we live in Seattle where the indoor humidity is very low. If we lived in a high humidity area like Florida it may be different.

 

[disneychrista]

I’m still figuring out what I want. I’ve gone to look at at different models and now I’m not sure about detergent dispenser vs no dispenser. I guess this is really only an issue for the impellers. Agitators have the softener dispenser. Any input.

 

[DisneyTeacher]

After going through several Maytags I make the switch to Speed Queen and love it.

 

[NotUrsula]

We have a new LG with an agitator, purchased last fall to replace our 27 year-old Whirlpool.

In this particular case, the new agitator bears little resemblance to the old agitator. The one in the old Whirlpool was fully as tall as the drum and had fins that ran all the way up, with a curve at the fin bottom that used to do a fine job of grabbing bra straps or drawstrings. The agitator on the new LG is only half as tall as the drum, and the fins only come halfway up the agitator shaft, they are waterfall-shaped and flare out flat at the bottom, so items cannot get caught beneath the bottom edge of the fins. We've had it for 9 months; it hasn't damaged an item of clothing yet.

Clothes do get nicely cleaned, but as with all more modern electronic models, the cycle is MUCH longer than the last-century machine; pretty sure it's because the agitator on this one moves much more slowly. (You know that washing-machine sound ... grush-grush, grush-grush, grush-grush, at a speed about like the ticking of a clock? On the new one it's more like oosh ...... oosh ...... oosh ...... oosh ......; maybe 8 swishes a minute, as opposed to the 40 or so the old machine did in that time. The old machine did a full-size load in 20 minutes; this one takes about an hour.

 

[Jeannie]

After going through several Maytags I make the switch to Speed Queen and love it.

Over the past 20 years or so, we've had a front loader, an impeller, and another front loader. I've hated them all!!! Which Speed Queen model do you have? I'm looking to purchase one in the next couple of weeks.

 

[Moliphino]

I have a Maytag top loader with impeller, and so far so good. We've only had it for a bit over a year now.
My mom has a front loader, and while it is pretty old it's had some issues over the years that have required work. It also gets stinky when you forget to leave the door open.

 

[Darcy03231]

I bought an impeller and it only lasted two years before it needed an expensive repair that wasn't under warranty. I also didn't think our clothes came out as clean. Went back to the agitator and it's still going strong.

 

[Disneefun]

I just (as in on Monday) had to replace our 25 yr. old Kenmore washer. I've shopped a bit off and on, knowing the day was coming, so I knew exactly what I wanted: Agitator, knobs (not a digital panel) and "stupid." I don't need anything smart doing my laundry and with more stuff to break and go wrong. I got the GE I've looked at before. Fortunately, it was in stock and so far I'm happy with it. It's not very different from my old one and it's about as old school as you can get.

I had thought I might get Speed Queen when the day came, but those are OOS until September, at least. We'll see how the GE goes and maybe in a couple of years I might go for the Speed Queen when things settle down in the world again.

 

[disneychrista]

I knew exactly what I wanted: Agitator, knobs (not a digital panel) and "stupid." I don't need anything smart doing my laundry and with more stuff to break and go wrong.

This is pretty much what I want too. My current washer has had to be babied for at least 6 months if not a year. Tried to get one then but they weren’t doing in house delivery. I need to do a little more research on which model I might want. But I do know top loader, knobs and dumb.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I'll keep my agitator and knobs thank you very much. No digital for me. 90% of service calls are for the digital controls going out. And impeller machines don't perform up to what is promised so much you'd think they were an Elon Musk invention.

 

[Tryxie]

We had a Maytag Bravos XL with impeller for not quite two years. Worst purchase we have ever made. Would always leave soap residue on clothes even on deep water setting and only using a teaspoon of detergent . After 5 different service calls they kept telling me it was working properly and I kept asking them to admit it was simply a bad designed machine. Maytag came to the final conclusion that we didn't know how to wash clothes (after 45 years of doing so). On another note I guess I got the last laugh cause I saw them advertising a impeller machine that came with an agitator to use when you wanted. Guess thats kind of admitting impellers are not a good design

We have the same washer and agree, absolutely worst purchase ever. Soap residue every time with barely any soap used.

 

[Pooh2]

After reading many reviews, we ended up plunking down the money for the mid-level speed queens.
No regrets!

 

[_19disnA]

Have a front loading LG washer and think it is great. Had it for a number of years, works fine and never had any need for service calls. Also find front loaders easier to load/unload.

 

[OKbyme]

When our old agitator Kenmore died, DH got a good deal on an impeller from a friend of his. Can't remember the name, but I hated that from the very start. I would take clothes out and not only were they not clean, they would have soap residue and even dry spots! I started putting less and less clothes in hoping for a better result and nothing worked. Family of 5, three teens. My basement was filled with clothes waiting to be washed. I complained every time I had to wash another load, So with the number of loads, that was a lot! (no wonder the guy gave him a good deal, it was worthless)

I researched and found the best rated was a Speed Queen agitator and as mentioned above, a stupid one. Cost around a $1000 a few years ago. When we were looking and the guy gave us the price, DH wasn't supper happy, but I was adamant.

It is the absolute best washing machine I have ever had, well worth every penny. I think the year we bought it, they changed something in the design, and not for the better. So really lucked out there. Put the old junk of an impeller in his mom's rental unit for the tenant. They were happy not to have to go to the laundry mat, but I often wondered if they still felt that way after actually using it.

 

[rotlex]

Our 31 year old Maytag uses an agitator. My mom has a new impeller style from Whirlpool and she hates it. Agitator for us. Now, if any company can just guarantee me I'll get 30+ years out of my next washer, I'll buy it no matter what is has, lol. I'm thinking Speed Queen. The only MFG I see that still looks old school with the system, controls etc.

 

[amcc]

After going through several Maytags I make the switch to Speed Queen and love it.

We bought a Maytag with agitator, 5.2 cu.ft. because we are a family of 6 with lots of laundry. My husband hated the price but I wanted an agitator with a deep fill option as I had an impeller (Samsung, I think) that left clothes with dry spots, and didn't use enough water even in deep fill. I HATE THE MAYTAG. IT IS AWFUL. You can't wash a load of towels or sheets or blankets without it becoming unbalanced and having to open it up and restart the cycle FROM THE BEGINNING. It takes forever and the deep fill option still doesn't use enough water. The agitator doesn't swish the clothes around as a previous person mentioned - it kind of gives it little nudges. Only the clothes right next to the shaft move around and they tend to get twisted into clothes ropes - the clothes on the edges don't get swished around so they don't get clean. I have a repairman coming in for service but I don't hold out much hope as I should have read the 1-star reviews before buying and they all mention the same problem. I spoke to an appliance sales person and he told me that it was probably unbalanced (its not) and that I was not washing clothes correctly (see above - family of 6, thousands of loads of laundry).

I had wanted a Speed Queen but then decided to go with the bigger capacity. Big mistake and am now only waiting for a year before I ditch this crappy machine.

 

[DisneyTeacher]

Over the past 20 years or so, we've had a front loader, an impeller, and another front loader. I've hated them all!!! Which Speed Queen model do you have? I'm looking to purchase one in the next couple of weeks.

I believe I have this one.
https://speedqueen.com/products/top-load-washers/tr5003wn/
The small appliance store I bought it from had three models to choose from. I think I picked the most basic one of the three they had in stock. The same day we had plumbers jackhammering up our basement floor to fix a floor drain, had just paid out of pocket for our son’s wisdom teeth removal and covid had just shut everything down. I was trying to save a little money.

A year later I’m very happy with my Speed Queen. I wish I had bought it sooner.

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

I read a lot of reviews before I bought our LG top loading impeller, freaked out at the negative ones, bought the LG anyway and love it. I haven't noticed that our clothes are any less clean than they used to be with our old agitator model. The only thing I'm not crazy about is how deep the basin is, although I like the fact that I can wash a large load. I've solve the problem of trying to reach the bottom to remove the last of the things I can't reach by keeping a set of oxo (long) tongs nearby for just that purpose. I'm very happy with my new washer (and matching dryer).