top vs. front loaders

[Havilah]

I need a new washer. My dad has a front loader and it drives him nuts... he says he doesn't think it gets the clothes as clean as his old top-loader and he'll never get another FL. OTOH, I hear some of you rave about your FL's! Please weigh in with your opinions... I really hope not to regret whatever decision we make. :nails

The water argument is pretty huge with me. Our area has been on the national news because our water crisis is so dire. Around Thanksgiving there was concern that we wouldn't have drinking water by January. Thankfully everyone tightened up consumption and we were blessed with rain, so our situation isn't quite so bleak... but we're not out of the woods.

Thanks! :heart

[tree_hugger]

We like our front loader. I think the clothes are probably cleaner than in the top loader - I feel they get agitated and rinses better. And it uses so much less water and detergent. :heart

[rstump]

We love ours. Clothes are cleaner. I do half the amount of loads and use SOOO much less water it isn't even funny

[canadiyank]

I grew up with a FL and have one now. Love them, clothes are great (less wear and tear on them, too), less water, and less soap. I have a Kenmore KE3t.

[cindergretta]

I've had my FL for 18 mos and wouldn't trade it for the world!! I have the Kenmore Elite 3t. :yes

[Quiteria]

I have a hybrid...it's a top loading high efficiency. Our FL Maytag Neptune had mildew and motor issues, and old agitator TLs ate my dress clothes for work. This one seems to have the best features of both...i think it's a Kenmore but I forget the model. I love that I can wash even huge blankets in it, and it has a handwash setting, and a heavy duty setting. Dh's clothes aren't always clean (construction work), but my diapers do pretty well, so I don't think it's the washer's fault. :think Seems like I had to wash dh's twice at the laundrymat, too.

Now I read this on the back of the HE soap label, so a little biased, but if you use a smaller amount of non-HE soap, supposedly that might not be enough soap to suspend all the dirt of a full load, and thus it will redeposit on the clothes instead of rinsing clean in such minimal water. If you use the full amount of HE soap, that will be just right to clean thoroughly without oversudsing. (mind you, this was off the HE label) Anyhow, if that's true, that could be why your dad's clothes don't get clean. Using non-HE soap also voids the warrenty, and may gum up the washer with residue. Supposedly that was one of the issues with our Maytag, but it had fatal design flaws as well. Hence our new hybrid model from Kenmore instead. The soap IS more expensive, esp if you need Free and Clear, but the generic HE powder at Sears is a pretty good deal and comes in F&C, much cheaper than liquid Tide. Just not as cheap as the really rock-bottom grocery store brands I was using in the regular machine.

Oh, also you are not supposed to pack the washer, just add clothes loosely. Some people try to cram more since there's no agitator. All machines clean poorly when overloaded. Have you ever seen your dad load his?

[Mother Duck]

FL here and :heart it!

[bananacake]

I have a front loader and love it. I even wash my cloth diapers in it without problems.

[cheri]

Everyone I know who has one loves theirs.

However, we've had one for a little over a year and I don't like it. It does not always clean the clothes (there's still deodorant on dh's shirts after washing) I've minimized the amount of detergent that I use and it still doesn't rinse out all of the soap. I was doing 10+ rinses every time I did a load of diapers. I got so sick of that that I've been using disposables for the past month.

It gets a filmy buildup in the rubber seal that I have to scrub down. I have to use bleach to really clean the machine and I hate using bleach.

We've tried different brands of detergent, powder, liquid, more, less, different water temperatures, doing half loads, and nothing seems to help. If I had it to do over again, I'd just buy a regular machine.

[Marielle]

the main difference I see between those who are satisfied and disatisfied with their FLs is the onboard heater. That definitely makes a difference in the ability of the washer both to clean the clothes and clean itself (the regular cycles you run to clean the inner drum of the machine that isn't visible.

On the gardenweb forums users who rave about their FLs also mention regularly cleaning the outer lip of the flexible boot and of course, leaving the door open to prevent mildew buildup. Some models also do a better job of filling up and getting enough water to most of the inner tub's surfaces while others tend to splash water at the top but never really rinse off the detergent completely which makes it a breeding ground for bacteria.

I'd been researching them a while back and the ones we narrowed down to were the Bosch NEXXT or the Kenmore HEt series.

oh and if you like your TL then you'll want to hold onto it for a while since as of this year the government is requiring that all machines be water efficient and built around less water usage (thus the hybrid top loader someone mentioned). The problem is that the manufacturers still haven't perfected the top loading water efficient design except for perhas Fisher and Pykel.

[Quiteria]

Everyone I know who has one loves theirs.

However, we've had one for a little over a year and I don't like it. It does not always clean the clothes (there's still deodorant on dh's shirts after washing) I've minimized the amount of detergent that I use and it still doesn't rinse out all of the soap. I was doing 10+ rinses every time I did a load of diapers. I got so sick of that that I've been using disposables for the past month.

It gets a filmy buildup in the rubber seal that I have to scrub down. I have to use bleach to really clean the machine and I hate using bleach.

We've tried different brands of detergent, powder, liquid, more, less, different water temperatures, doing half loads, and nothing seems to help. If I had it to do over again, I'd just buy a regular machine.


Yikes! Even the HE detergents???

[blossomnatalia]

Subbing as I have the same dilemma...

my MW is wanting to trade her 3 year old kenmore FL for my old TP.... :scratch

She does not like it for reasons stated above:

- she does not think it gets them as clean
-mildew smell on the clothes...

she said she got it serviced to check what was wrong with it and the man just suggested a product that will kill the bacteria if you run it through a normal cycle.
I don't know if that means that she does not leave the door open in between use or if it is just what it does....


I don't know what to do.... there is nothing wrong with my TP but I always heard good stuff about FL and I eventually want to stack my washer and dryer.... :think



So... :popcorn

[Katigre]

We love our FL, even for diapers. Our water isn'y hard or soft though so naybe that makes a difference?

The water saved is amazing! Our bills are pretty low.

I think you need to be sure to get a highly rated machine - not all FL are equally good. Consumer RZeports ratings for washers are good.

[cheri]

We've only used HE detergents in ours as well as Charlie's.

I leave my door open between washes and it still gets yucky. We have a Kenmore. Sears has been absolutely no help and blames us for the problems, saying we must be using too much detergent, or that we are using the wrong kind, or that we aren't cleaning it enough.

[Katigre]

Cheri - I have an idea...

Have you unscrewed the bottom panel and checked the drain for blockage? When there are things blocking the drain it totally makes our clothes smell weird b/c the water isn't draining out properly (but still enough goes out not to trigger an error message).

It's really easy to do and worth a shot - all you'll need is the special screwdriver tip and then it's just a matter of twisting the plastic drain cover off and having a towel ready to soak up excess water.

[cheri]

well that's an idea. it certainly doesn't hurt to try. thanks for the tip. I'll have my dh do it when he gets home from his trip so that my 2 year old doesn't try to "help" me :)

[canadiyank]

Oh, yah, we had to do that! There was a baby washcloth stuck in there!

[kwisie]

The big thing I've learned about front loaders is that you have to carefully follow the directions, or you can end up with nasty mildew problems. I had to do a little research project about this, and it's a really common problem.

[Katigre]

Things that have gotten stuck in our drain catcher (because i overstuffed the load :shifty). I am a certified expert at drain cleaning now b/c i am bad about overstuffing and not putting small items in lingerie bags...

1. Cloth breast pads (i lost a good half dozen b/c i stubbornly refused to put them in lingerie bags, i am still sad that many got gunky and gross from sitting in the drain - these would stop up the drain entirely and lead to an error message, happened about 3 times i think).

2. Kitchen sponges - the small thin scrubby kind - these 'breathe' so that water can still drain out, but stuff doesn't get as clean.

3. Baby socks - i hate when these get lost and sucked down.

[Drew]

I LOVE my front loader for all of the reasons listed. Mine also has a steam cycle which has really cut down on my dry cleaning bills. The only "problem" I have had is getting mildew around the door gasket. A little vinegar every few months takes care of that in no time.


<drain catcher issues>


Yeah, I had an adventure with the drain catcher myself. I threw a throw rung with a rubber bottom in the washer and added a steam cycle to the wash. The rubber bottom fell to pieces and clogged the entire drain pipe. Oh what a mess it was to clean all of that. :blush That was a lesson I only had to learn once.