Washing Machine!? Front or Top Loading?

[meltdown75]

top loading..... frickin only time i go in the damn basement of this place

 

[angminas]

You can store stuff on top of a front loader, too, as long as you put down a nonskid mat. I've had mine since 99 and will never go back to a top loader if I can possibly avoid it. It's so much better for your clothes. I've never had smell issues despite doing absolutely zero maintenance on it in 11 years.

 

[Vette73]

Have to go with Front loader as well. Prices have come down a bit so its not as big a gap as it use to be.

Got a Front Load LG washer about 2-3 years ago and have not had any issues. Much easier on the clothes and water usage dropped as well. That and clothes seem to dry faster.

 

[Possessed Freak]

Top Loader. Less worry about catastrophic failure.

 

[bignateyk]

I've had both. Front loader is far superior IMO. Only thing is the mildew smell, but all you have to do is either wipe the seal quick or leave the door open. I just leave the door open all the time since it is in the basement in a storage room.

 

[Gibson486]

do not care.

I have used both. While my mom's front loader sucks balls, my cousin's front loader rules.

The one thing I do notice, however, is that front loaders take longer per load. Also, sometimes I am not really convinced that it puts enough water in, but that maybe because I am so used to top loaders.

 

[sdifox]

Home grade front loaders are no good. The commercial ones have to be anchored down to foundation. Those are nice. Hell, even a used commercial top loader is a good thing.

<== running retired Maytag Commercial top loader.

 

[Kelvrick]

Top Loader. Less worry about catastrophic failure.

Yea, mine freaked me out a little the first time it went full speed on the spin.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

My sister got a front loader and prefers it because the spin at the end of the rinse gets more water out of the clothes, shortening the drying time.

 

[PsiStar]

I have LG Frontloaders. Have had frontloaders for ten years and won't go back.

Use much less water, clothes come out cleaner and drier which makes the time that the clothes need to be in the dryer shorter and a lot of clothes I just put on the drying rack to dry. No agitator means the clothes are washed more gently too.

In regards to mold smell, just leave the front door open a little bit.

Same here for all of this with brand new Samsungs from Sears ... haven't stepped foot in those stores in years, but after visiting everyone in 1 day that is where we ended up. The similarity between Samsungs, LGs, and some other brand is readily apparent when they are all side by side. You can then decide which minutiae is most important to you.

Check out Consumer Reports online.

 

[classy]

I bought a side load. Moldly smell and I don't think my clothes are any cleaner. It does use a little less water, but its not better. And you have bend over. Get a top load, don't believe the hype.

 

[CRXican]

We've had good luck with our Samsung front loaders

 

[CallMeJoe]

I bought a side load...

Front-loaders are easier :biggrin:

 

[BoomerD]

Timely question as our old Maytag washer bit the dust last Friday. We also ended up buying a Whirpool Cabrio top-loader. Sears had a 30% off sale on Whirpool/Maytag last weekend, and we saved another $200 though utility and state 'cash for clunkers appliances' rebates.

We wanted to stay with a top-loader because it worked better in our narrow laundry room. This Cabrio has a 5.0 cubic foot tub (compared to the 3.2 we had); I think it's as large as most front-loaders.

The real issue (whether front-loader or top-loader) is how high efficiency do you want to go. These new washers use half the water (can not set the water level yourself) and require special HE (low suds) detergents to avoid leaving residue in clothes. They also spin much faster to remove more water from clothes before going into the dryer. My wife is not so sure about all this...

Just delivered today. I hope she comes to like it :$

I certainly hope the Cabrio washers are better than Whirlpool's previous Calypso washers...those were junk right from the start. (and whirlpool lost a couple of class-action lawsuits over them)

IMO, both styles of washing machines have their good and bad points. The front loaders use less water and spin the clothes dryer than the top loaders, but there are tons of threads on the appliance forums about bearing and seal failures in just about all brands.

I prefer the top loaders, even though in most cases, you can't wash as large of loads...and they use a bit more water. I like being able to let a load soak overnight in the soapy water solution. For some loads, (especially when I used to work construction) it gets clothes FAR cleaner than just running water over the clothes.

I do all the laundry in our household...yes, I'm the laundry bitch...and I let lots of loads soak overnight for extra cleaning power. This is perhaps the biggest drawback to the pricey front loaders IMO.

 

[moshquerade]

it's not the loading, it's the unloading that matters

 

[alkemyst]

Top Loading
Cheaper, more tried and true
Less efficient, less capacity

Side Loading
Better efficiency, less water, less rough on clothing, more capacity
Mold smell? More expensive.

Not really...top load HE machines are out and many times much more capacity for the same buck. Spin speeds are slightly slower (800rpm vs 1000-1200rpm). They don't use agitators just like the front loaders.


Both can suffer mold smell issues, but a cup of bleach or Affresh tablets once a month solves that.

We just picked up a pair of Whirlpool 5600 series. 4.3 cu ft washer and 7.4 dryer, delivered, installed and my old stuff carted away was $1100.

 

[moshquerade]

Not really...top load HE machines are out and many times much more capacity for the same buck. Spin speeds are slightly slower (800rpm vs 1000-1200rpm). They don't use agitators just like the front loaders.


Both can suffer mold smell issues, but a cup of bleach or Affresh tablets once a month solves that.

We just picked up a pair of Whirlpool 5600 series. 4.3 cu ft washer and 7.4 dryer, delivered, installed and my old stuff carted away was $1100.

Leave the door open a bit and the detergent/fabric softener drawer ajar after washing. that lets it dry out, and keeps mold from growing.
Also, I just do a load of whites with clorox bleach once a week or so and that keeps mold at bay.

 

[slag]

we have a whirlpool duet sport setup, washer and drier on pedestals. Got both as open box at different stores, but they are a matching pair. Would get a front load again, just not whirlpool. The samsung and LG are that much nicer and dont have the problems the whirlpool duet series traditionally has with error msgs popping up eroneously and unpredictably. We just got an F24 which means communication error between MCU and CCU. Tried all the normal fixes, unplugged it, wiggled the connector inside the washer, etc, and finally, some weird combo of something I did fixed it and its been working for two weeks now. weirdest thing, and I have no idea what i did to fix it.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

they make top loaders without the agitator FYI.

 

[Engineer]

For anyone stating that a front loader vibrates too much, that's the reason that I said "Samsung Front Loader". VRT (Vibration Reduction Technology) works (and I've tried others - 2nd floor of home). Could only be happier if I had waited and bought when cheaper (<---- Cheap bastard).

 

[Zedtom]

I have a Frigidaire (Electrolux) front loader that was mildewy until I realized that I have to wipe the seal and leave the door open when done. I know that it's a design flaw because I've seen Bosch and Maytag units that drain out around the seal and don't smell. I still like it because of water use and less detergent needed.

My dryer is twenty years old and I've done some small repairs by myself. I bought it used for $25 from a hospital that closed down. It's a commercial unit and will probably last another ten years.

 

[Kelemvor]

IF you have a front loader, be sure to leave the door open after you're done using it or it can get moldy. There's tons of complaints on that online and a number of people i know have had this issue.

 

[somethingsketchy]

Side Loading
Better efficiency, less water, less rough on clothing, more capacity
Mold smell? More expensive.

I've used both in college, never noticed a mold smell with front or top loading washers, and those were used more than a hooker in Vegas.

 

[alkemyst]

HE Front loaders are a bit different than your typical laundromat.

Also mold happens due to the 6 or so days between loads...if they were constantly ran you wouldn't have the issue.

 

[iGas]

My take on front loader vs. top loader.

Front loader pro:
use less water & detergent than top loader
cleaner & brighter clothing than top loader
clothing seems to last longer than top loader
have more rinse cycles options than top loader (to get rid of detergent, and work well for people that are sensitive to detergent)

Front loader con:
longer wash cycle than top loader

<--- an owner of front loader for 8 years.