Front loading washers

[malkin]

I love my Miele stacker set, it works like a dream.

We only needed a washer, but getting the pair allowed us to reclaim enough space to make room to store cleaning supplies, sewing supplies, and actual space for sewing.

[spindizzy]

We just replaced 19 year old washer and dryer with front loader Whirlpool HT. No problems so far. Super quiet washer. We bought Whirlpool because it's easier to get service should something go wrong. It is recommended to leave jar slightly ajar after using it so that water can evaporate and to prevent moldy smell. (works perfect for my family who never close anything!)

Also, it is recommended to use an "Affresh" tablet once a month. My washer has a "clean washer" cycle. Just throw in the tablet, put on the cycle. I've used one once in 4 months. How's that for following directions?

[OakLeaf]

I went looking for what in the world is "Affresh" since I'd never heard of it. Turns out it's just oxygen bleach. So, Seventh Generation dishwasher powder or Oxy-Clean bleach should do the same thing.

I was wondering whether crystalline citric acid might be an alternative for cleaning the washer (although as I said, in 11 years it's never seemed to need it, other than popping out the detergent tray for a good rinse and scrub once in a while).

[TrekJeni]

I was wondering whether crystalline citric acid might be an alternative for cleaning the washer (although as I said, in 11 years it's never seemed to need it, other than popping out the detergent tray for a good rinse and scrub once in a while).

I wouldn't use the citric acid wash as I'd be concerned about the rubber gasket and the pump hoses degrading over time.

*** I work for Procter and Gamble in the Fabric and Home Care division ***

I have done YEARS of research on front loaders with stain removal tests, whiteness maintenance, and color fading. My lab consists 16 front loading machines with a state of the art computer controlled water system that can recreate all water conditions across the world. We test EVERYTHING that is remotely front loading. Whirlpool, Maytag, Bosch, Miele, LG, Maytag, etc. The biggest gimmick is the LG Tromm with it's Steam Wash. There's no such thing. The commercial is over exaggerated. We laughed when we got it in as we all sat in front of it waiting for it to do its magic and was disappointed. Nothing like the commercial at all.

I got out of the appliance side of things last year and am now doing upstream technology research which means I'm testing new surfactants for potential product usage.

When Geoff and I bought our house in April, we bought a Whirlpool HT as we wanted the extra heater to do some tough cleaning on bedding as we have dogs and cats. There is no need to buy a high efficiency dryer unless you want them to match. The washers spin at twice the speeds that the top loaders do resulting in less drying time.

I've seen many people mention longer cycle times and keeping the door open. The reason the cycles are longer is because your relying on the kinetics of the surfactants rather than the mechanical action of an agitator to do your cleaning. It's also the reason why you need to use HE detergent. It's got a suds suppressor in it so it doesn't lock your machine up. Half dosing regular detergent doesn't cut it - I've got the data to prove it. Leaving the door open is recommended as the water tight seal doesn't allow for the washer to completely dry out between cycles. I've taken the machines apart by hand, you don't want to know what can be growing behind there, trust me!

[kacie tri-ing]

Love my front loading...it saves on space when you live in a tiny condo!

[Flybye]

I have a Whirlpool set and I love them. Love them. Love them. What used to take 3 loads to wash now takes one! I do laundry one or two days a week instead of 4-5 (we have a family of 5). My only complaint is that the washer spins the pants into a twisted mess and I have to separate them before I put them in the dryer. I sometimes have to iron my pants which stinks.

[Tuckervill]

Because of the twisty pants thing, I wash pants in as small a load as possible. It's not the washer that does it to mine, it's the dryer, when overstuffed.

That's so interesting, Jeni.

My Whirlpool Duet takes 40 minutes. I don't think that's a long time. The dryer always takes longer for the same load.

Karen

[Trek420]

I also have this drier from LL Bean, and indoor wall mounted drying rack.

Weekends I might do a full load, put light items on the rack, do another load of wash and then run the drier.

[Norse]

GLC, you have a light in your washer?

On keeping the washer clean, besides leaving the door open, we now give it an occasional dose of a product called Smelly Washer. No kidding. I turned to this product because, after about 7 years of doing nothing other than keeping the door open, we started to notice a foul odor when the machine was run. It initially took about 4 repeat smelly washer cleanings before the odor was gone and now I just do it once every month or two.

[HillSlugger]

GLC, you have a light in your washer?

On keeping the washer clean, besides leaving the door open, we now give it an occasional dose of a product called Smelly Washer. No kidding. I turned to this product because, after about 7 years of doing nothing other than keeping the door open, we started to notice a foul odor when the machine was run. It initially took about 4 repeat smelly washer cleanings before the odor was gone and now I just do it once every month or two.

My LG has a light in the washer and the dryer, but they turn themselves off after a bit of time, so no issue for me leaving the door open.

[OakLeaf]

You could always just pull the light bulb out.

I think having a light in the dryer is handy, but I don't know why I'd want one in the washer.

[GLC1968]

Yep, they both have lights. The washer light is very handy because the inside is stainless steel and can be dark. Occasionally a dark colored sock gets left behind if we don't look carefully. The dryer is white inside, so it's less of an issue.

I once left the door open as a reminder to get the clothes out and then went to bed (some reminder, huh?!). It was easily 30 minutes later and I was having a hard time sleeping because of the odd light coming from the hallway. It was the washer light on! I'm pretty sure ours don't go off after a certain time.

I guess if I felt the need to leave the door open, I'd unscrew the bulb. In over 5 years (including 4.5 of them in super humid Florida & NC) we've never had a mold issue, I'm certainly not going to start worrying about it now!

[PamNY]

I have an Asko stacking washer and dryer. I picked Asko based on size (the W/D connection is in a bathroom with a narrow door) but I like it pretty well. There have been some repair issues.

I wouldn't normally pay that much for a washer/dryer but I didn't have a choice -- it was Asko or Miele back when I bought these. The higher spin speeds are really nice, and front loaders do put less wear on your clothes.

Pam

[xeney]

We are on our second front-loader and I wish I could feel the love. We had an older Kenmore (Frigidaire made, as someone above said) and it did a great job of cleaning the clothes ... but it broke all the time.

After three big repairs in six years we just replaced it with a Whirlpool Duet, and we hate it. It really seems to beat up the clothes a lot compared to the old Kenmore, and stuff just does not get very clean. We launder our own cloth diapers and the Kenmore was great for that, but with the Whirlpool they are getting stinky in spite of using very little detergent (the key to frontloaders) and rinsing with vinegar. Plus the wash cycles take forever, the default temperature is "warm" and so we've shrunk a couple of loads of clothes, and the button interface annoys me. It definitely does not feel like it was worth the money. (We did not bother with the $1,100 matching dryer, after I confirmed that it would not fold my clothes and put them away ... which for that price had better come standard.)

I am really aggravated about the whole thing.

[Eden]

huh.... maybe I'm just lucky cause I like low tech..

my washer is old enough that it still uses knobs instead of lcd panels... so if I forget to change the temp setting that's my goof...

I don't use powder detergent anymore, and I think that helps keep the machine from gumming up. I had to rinse out the detergent cups fairly often when I still used powdered.

I usually keep the door at least mostly closed to keep the cats out of the washer and I've never had a problem with stink smells.

I think we had a problem with it only once. Something was left in a pocket (don't remember exactly - something like a handful of washers?) that got stuck in the pump, but the hubby was able to take it apart and get them out. Other than that its been pretty much trouble free.