Do you have a front load washer & dryer?

[KrazE]

It's time to start shopping for a new washer & dryer, and we're going to go with front loading; of course reviews are mixed across the board.

When I moved to my SO's house, I gave away my top loading washer/regular dryer to a needy family as his set was newer. Of course his set was purchased based on the fact that it was just him in his own home which meant pretty minimal laundry use, so they are a lower end brand.

The set went from the use of 1 person, to laundry for 6, and now 4 since the two oldest moved out; so the set he bought has certainly done well more than it's money worth of laundry in the last few years, and it's starting to show due to the washer not consistently getting to the high gear spin. For the price he paid for it, it's just not worth getting the clutch replaced.

The things I am looking for are:

• Front loading for a small laundryroom (no stacked sets)
• Decent sized capacity - it needs to be able to handle large bed comforters
• Energy star - although I make a point to use them off-peak, there are times where they might run a load during a mid-peak, so I want good quality savings
• Can take either liquid detergent, or powder
• Sets that may come with the pedestals would be even better!

If you have a set, what model do you have, and what are the pros & cons?






Thanks!

[gracesmommy]

i bought front loaders 7 years ago and have loved them ever since. mine are LG.
http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden...0/product.html
thats a pic of them.. my only complaint is that i wish i'd bought the bottom drawer things for them. but other than that, they take a crapload of laundry, theyre easy to wipe out (at one point we had 2 mastiffs and 4 cats so the pet hair was crazy), they have a few different settings to delay the washer up to 9 hrs, lots of settings for temp/time in the dryer. cant complain, money well spent.

[BCSparkyGirl]

I have the Samsung ones, and I love em. I easily wash my king sized down comforter in it, with room to spare! The only thing I will tell you about them, is make sure you leave the washer open until it dries out. The seal on he door will retain the moisture inside and before long they WILL smell musty. This can be solved with a rinse cycle with bleach added, but if you can remember to just let it air dry, then you can avoid this step.

[Shwa Girl]

Looks like the top load washers are catching up to the front load washers. At least, Maytag's is:
http://products.howstuffworks.com/to...er-reviews.htm

[Darth Penguin]

I had frontloaders when I lived in UK and when we bought our house , I got frontloaders again. I hate top loaders due to the lack of load space and the agitator which seemed to rip holes in my clothes.*

I have GE washer and drier. It's big enough to get a king-sized comforter inside and gentle enough for hand-washables. I leave it slighty open to air it after each wash.


* of course it could be because they were for multi-person usage in an apt block...

[anisa]

when i was looking at washers and dryers, i stumbled upon the consumer digest forum. the website is subscribtion only, but the forum is viewable to all

there was a looong thread about washers, and ppl ranting and raving about their washers. a lot of input from service ppl, appliance sellers etc as well.

the one thing i came away with was that the samsungs were loved and recomended, and i don't think i saw one neg comment about them at all.

i bought my samsung set this boxing day from future shop, a steal at nearly 50% off. it is the biggest model. i love it!

i think just for the sake of reading the different opinions of dif. makes and models, it is worth reading through the consumer forum. i took a couple of evenings to get through it, but i'm glad i did.

http://forums.consumerreports.org/n/...washers&tid=45

.

[safielstar]

We have Whirlpool front-loaders and love them, we even got the pedestals/bottom drawer with them. My parents had LG front-loaders and their only complaint was that they would get a mouldy smell in the washer if the door wasn't left open after a cycle, thankfully we didn't have that issue with ours (apparently some front loader washers get this regardless of brand).

[KrazE]

Awesome feedback, and it looks like I have a bit of reading homework to do

[KrazE]

Got my new washer & dryer today at Lowes - extremely pleased with the service I received.

I had stopped there this morning to look at what they had available as they sold Samsung and Whirlpool Duet models (lots of reading until 1am!).

I wrote down the model numbers of the set that interested me the most & came home to hunt for them at other stores for pricing etc.

I found the same set at Leons on sale until the end of Feb for $99 less each. Printed out the ads & made my way back over to Lowes to pricematch. Since it's a sale price and not a regular price, it's just a straight PM and not the added 10%, but I'm still ok with that as I do not like the service at Leons.

I ended up getting a Whirlpool Duet 4.0 Cu. Ft IEC washer, it also has an Eco boost feature, and a Clean Washer with Affresh setting.
The dryer is it's match of course, it is a 6.7 Cu. Ft capacity - it does have a steam setting for wrinkles or freshening clothes, but that would rarely be used, and every set that I looked at had steam options anyway; I went with a Lunar Silver colour.

We also added the extended warranty on them due to what was offered with it, and they will be delivered on Thursday.

Of course that means now I need to do a major sorting of my laundry room, which I needed to do anyway, and I was purposely stocking up on HE soap for my stockpile in my dreams for a new set lol

Any unopened non HE liquid or powder that's left by Thursday will get donated since I will no longer have a use for it.

We offered the old set up for free due to the clutch needing to be changed, and those are getting picked up on the weekend - so a bit of a pain to have the old set in the way in downstairs on the other side of the laundry room for a couple days, but that's fine.


I did not get pedestals for them since the laundry room is not in a main living area, and I'm short enough that bending to use them isn't an issue lol.


I've waited YEARS to get a front loading set, so I'm very happy!

[tvwatcher]

We have the LG front loaders - bought them at a sears boxing day sale in 2010 - I love them, and would never go back to a top loader!

[GeorgiaK]

I have the Samsung ones, and I love em. I easily wash my king sized down comforter in it, with room to spare! The only thing I will tell you about them, is make sure you leave the washer open until it dries out. The seal on he door will retain the moisture inside and before long they WILL smell musty. This can be solved with a rinse cycle with bleach added, but if you can remember to just let it air dry, then you can avoid this step.

Ditto, I have these as well on the pedestals and we love them!

[sheera20]

i have it but not the front one lolz

[KrazE]

Pictures (from the web of course lol)

[MrsSunshine]

oh my... nice.. you should name them!! Claire and Stella or something.. they iz purty.

[BCSparkyGirl]

Nice, my mom has those and loves them. At the end of the wash cycle, it blasts the clothes with steam, so they are already warm when you toss em in the dryer!