Front Load Washers / Dryers...help me decide...

[Skillet]

I have a perfectly good pair of Maytag standard belt drives that are only about 5 years old and I figured I would use them until they broke.

However, I moved to a house on septic AND a private water company that sticks it right in your ass if you go over your "allotment."

At my old house, my monthly water bill was not more than $38 per month, my most recent at my new place is $168.

Anyway, for less water usage the first step is a new washer.

I would say Maytag, as they always made the best standards, but I have heard bad things about their front loaders.

There were some Whirlpool duets at Costco but they have terrible reviews on vibration, noise and computer boards going out. Also, a guy I work with bought some and returned them due to vibration.

LG seems to make good units...

Any experts have some input?

 

[Fly Rod]

There were some Whirlpool duets at Costco but they have terrible reviews on vibration, noise and computer boards going out. Also, a guy I work with bought some and returned them due to vibration.

LG seems to make good units...

Any experts have some input?

I have the Duet HT's and love them. If you load them heavy they will vibrate fo sho. I don't care, they clean like none I have ever owned before. I will consider them again, as well as others, when it is time to replace these. My wife overloaded, to the extreme, the washer and it broke the door lock. They covered it under warrenty no problem. We are talking so loaded with blankets and bath robes that I had a hard time unloading it! She is still clueless on how to do dishes and laundry!

 

[fsusteve]

expert? dude, I'm the laundry king. We have the maytag duet's, the big ones. 4 loads a day for three years, no issues, something like 13 gallons of water a load.

 

[cruiser88]

LG..........use the correct soap on this new front loaders,get the extended warrenty and the room that the units are in make damn sure the rooms are kept cool.

Do not jam the units against the wall or in a cubby hole of some type.

Every month clean in and around the units and the vent.

 

[fsusteve]

what crazy said, I only use maybe 2 tbls of liguid detergent.

 

[nat]

We have a stackable pair of LG's. They work pretty damned good.

 

[cruiser88]

I am with the viking...I like the old s***. Whirlpool duets are hit or miss....the boards are junk, the door seals are junk....some even come with DC pulse and that is junk. Sadly as time goes on parts for alot of makes and model are becoming standerized. We have never had many LG's in the shop and when we do its user error most of the time or just simply not installed correctly.

I have a perfectly good pair of Maytag standard belt drives that are only about 5 years old and I figured I would use them until they broke.

However, I moved to a house on septic AND a private water company that sticks it right in your ass if you go over your "allotment."

At my old house, my monthly water bill was not more than $38 per month, my most recent at my new place is $168.

Anyway, for less water usage the first step is a new washer.

I would say Maytag, as they always made the best standards, but I have heard bad things about their front loaders.

There were some Whirlpool duets at Costco but they have terrible reviews on vibration, noise and computer boards going out. Also, a guy I work with bought some and returned them due to vibration.

LG seems to make good units...

Any experts have some input?

 

[Skillet]

expert? dude, I'm the laundry king. We have the maytag duet's, the big ones. 4 loads a day for three years, no issues, something like 13 gallons of water a load.

yea, you are a laundry doin' fool. fo sho.

 

[re_guderian]

Have a set of the LG's for the last 18 months. Love 'em. By the time the clothes get out of the dryer from their 15 bazillion RPM spin, there's nothing left to dry. Water usage rocks. No issues other than I level them up the washer every 6 months or so to keep the bangin' down. When level, it's extremely quiet. Also has delay start to run at night on cheaper electricity (for hot water) Get the biggest tub capacity you can though. It's nice to not have to drag a Cal-King comforter to the 'mat...

 

[Fly Rod]

lol, I got booted from chat for a washer and dryer post...

lol...lol

I am sure it will get tons of play here.

may as well put it in the "other vehicles" forum.

"Other vehicles" forum????

 

[Johnnymiz]

i have the wirlpool duets. fantastic washer and dryer. clean and dry better than our old kenmores. wasted money on the steam washer....useless. the steam function on the dryer works, however. but u gotta plumb it in. spendy

 

[DSRTRDR]

Skillet,

if your objective is water conservation above all, get a Bosch or Miele (sorry for any flash-backs ;p)

any top-loader will use more water than a front-loader, plus the laundry gets cleaner in a front-loader - the vibration problem is a question of balancing at set-up; I had more top-loading washers wall from unbalancing than front-loaders

we had a GE front loader, and the main bearing gave out after 4.5 years; the warranty on those is 5 years, so we got a brand new one - but if you want to go higher quality, stay away from GE

I am not aware of problems with a washer on a septic system

another consideration: front-loaders cannot take as much load per run, so you will run more rounds...

 

[Cuerno Largo]

I am with the viking...I like the old s***.

Well I guess you don't have to worry about the door seals, etc on that one

 

[bkfj40]

we have the duest and bought them probably 6 years or so ago. I just replaced the pump in the washer two weeks ago. Yeah, they get a little unbalanced at times, but that is when I tell the wife to ride it


bk

 

[fsusteve]

if you're on a septic tank, use liquid detergent, powder clogs up the drainfield and tank.

 

[carboncycles]

I'd have to second the LG units. I've had mine for a few years, and it's been rock solid. However, with the new HE front loaders, a few things to be aware of:

-The spin cycle is brutal. So be sure to place them on a solid foundation; putting them on the 2nd floor could be brutal because they sound like a jet engine spooling up.
-Some of the earlier units have been known to mildew because the front loaders button up pretty air tight; you might want to read up on this because it might not be such a problem anymore.

 

[e9999]

from what I recall, the Maytags are well marketed, but show a higher rate of failure in CR reviews than many other brands.

The difference in water usage is indeed astonishing with the front loaders. I was in Europe recently where you'll only/mostly find the latter. These things barely use any water at all. It's a wonder that they wash as well as they do.


(how come you manly guys know so much about washers...? )


(oh, and btw, the tubs from old washers make great campfire containers... best reason to declare them obsolete, btw... )

 

[carboncycles]

(how come you manly guys know so much about washers...? )

Hmmm, your wife seems to be a great source of information?

 

[Weedhopper]

Steve runs a laundrie mat on the side.

 

[NorCalDoug]

I have a couple GEs...front-loading washer and semi-matching dryer...
Being a cheap mofo, I scanned craigslist ads daily for a few months and ended up with a GE Duet sport front-loading washer (brand new for $420) and a GE Duet gas dryer (also brand new for $500). A pair of matching pedestals ($75 for the pair) complete the package. The sport model is a bit smaller and "slimmer" than the non-sport version...but I don't know that this information would be of much use to you...

Prior to the front loader, all I had were top loading washers and while I hadn't really noticed the water consumption, once we switched to the front-loader, our water usage plummeted.

I recall during my research that GE had some not-so-desirable ratings, but so far, in the 8 months to a year that we've had these, we've had no issues. The washer does vibrate sometimes, but it's due to an uneven load. The washer will slow down when/if the vibration is too severe and will slowly start up again.

I would suggest that you look at the euro models, as Claudia also suggests, since your main driving factor is water conservation. Virtually all front-loaders will clean better than top loader washers. The only possible downside is cost.