Anyone had them for a few years?
Experiences? Good Bad?
Expensive to fix?
problems??
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I have one. A tumble-action washer. Love it. Uses less water, less soap, real gentle on the clothes. The only problem occurred w/ a minorleak @ door. I was able to tweak ( twist) the door ever so slightly to solve. My guess is that one of the kids used the open door as a grab rail.
Mom had one for several years. Wishes she still had it. Sister has had one for a year or two. Loves it.
Sister's is one of those that sits on the platform (with drawer). Mom's was a Kenmore.
Just make sure you use front loader detergent :)
jt8
Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out. -- John R. Wooden
Have a Maytag Neptune. $900+ new. Has had its share of problems!
Maytag says my check is in the mail.
Maytag admits lots of problems with its last front loader design. Apparently motors failed prematurely and there was a seal issue that caused mold inside the cabinet.They are launching a new line this spring built by Samsung, which has built reliable machines in Asia for a while. I have an uncle who is a large Maytag commercial dealer and says these new ones are pretty slick.I just ordered a set.Everyone I've talked to loves front loaders for all the reasons mentioned, plus capacity means fewer loads, and easier washing of bedspreads and such.
Some folks love them, some hate them. They're more economical with water and detergent, and spin the clothes much dryer, but they also cost a lot more.
There have been a few problems with door seals leaking, more with odor, due to water sitting in the folds of the door seal, I believe.
It's good to build a platform to elevate them 10" or so, so you can reach in easier.
Last I heard (maybe 4 years back) the Bosch was getting highest marks, and folks had soured a bit on Maytag.
Incidentally, my parents had a front-loading Bendix about 50 years ago. It had to be bolted down to concrete, but apparently worked quite well.For those not familiar with the story, GE put Bendix out of the washing machine business by creating FUD regarding leakage. I think our old Bendix did leak a little, but back then the washer was always in the unfinished basement or out on the porch, so a little leakage was no big deal.
We've had a GE for about 4 years now and I think it's great. It uses a lot less water and it is much quieter. I don't buy into the fact that you have to use special detergent-I just use less of the regular and we haven't had any problems yet.
Consumer Reports had fairly good things to say about them, but they also ommented that there have been several reports of clothes getting musty-mildewy smells. The one person I've asked said she's had hers a couple of years and hasn't had any problems. Looks like some folks have problems, but many don't.
The wife says: We were forced by limited space to look for stacking washer and dryer, but wanted full-size capacity. Only Kenmore offered what we needed. I had hoped for a Maytag, but haven't regretted our Kenmore purchase at all. Needs very little water (our well has limited capacity), little energy, and MUCH less detergent even than recommended. (With softened water we couldn't even consider regular detergent, and here the HE stuff costs the same.) How the machine gets clothes so clean is a mystery to me. No room for a platform, but I'm short, so no matter. When we get our permanent house built (if ever), we're keeping this machine. No more upending myself to get to the bottom of one of those super-capacity top-loaders that doesn't wash any larger load than the front-loader I've now got.
I've had a whirlpool duet for 3 yrs. No probs. Was expensive, uses minimal hot water and detergent. Does incredible size loads. Washes great.
I'll have it done right on schedule...................Mine.
We've had the Bosch - Nexxt washer & dryer pair since Jan '05. Washer works fine (everything works fine when new) and spins fassst so that clothes are really wrung much dryer than a top-loader. The spinning speed sometimes sounds like a turbine it's going so fast. We now have them in the basement. We had our builder's carpenter build a base for the pair (I didn't / don't have time to do all woodworking tasks to comply w/ wife's substantial completion dates).
BTW, we have a Bosch dishwasher - I find that it leaves the dishes wet. Maybe there's a drying cycle, but we haven't found it. Most of my portable tools are Bosch too.
BTW, we have a Bosch dishwasher - I find that it leaves the dishes wet. Maybe there's a drying cycle, but we haven't found it. Most of my portable tools are Bosch too.
Neighbor's Bosch dishwasher caught on fire couple months ago. Always nice when you look out the front door and see a line of fire trucks. Firemen didn't take a chance, they'd ripped it out and had it sitting in the driveway. Good thing the wife was home, otherwise they might have lost the whole house. As it was, they just had smoke damage in the house and burn damage around the washer.
jt8
Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out. -- John R. Wooden
Edited 4/14/2005 10:25 am ET by JohnT8
We've had the Bosch Nexxt front loader and dryer for four years now with no problems. The washer is very water efficient which was important to us being on well/septic. Does a great job cleaning up the clothes and you can really stuff it full. For a large family you might consider the Kenmore/Whirlpool models. However for my wife and I it's been great. It uses VERY little soap, about a tablespoon each load.
My wife's only complaint about the dryer is that it doesn't get very hot and can leave some wrinkles unless on perm. press mode. I suspect that it runs cooler to save on the electric. I believe it was one of the most efficient when we bought ours.
A good forum you might check out is: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/laundry/
Bosch dishwashers conserve energy by using a shorter drying cycle, but also make sure you do not turn on the energy mizer (or whatever it is called on the Bosch). Our dishes are generally dry, but anything plastic is usually still wet.Bosch has two lines of front loaders, Axxis and Nexxt. I forget which is which, but one line is the 24" deep under counter line, common I gather in Europe where laundry is in the kitchen. The other line is the larger American size. We have the 24" version and my wife loves it.Don't know if this is true or not, but I was told once that front loaders get clothes cleaner because the washing actions lift the clothes out of the water and then drop them back down, thus doing a better job of getting the dirt out of the cloth, rather than washing it in place.
Dave, we are considering buying the Bosch washer dryer too but I read that the cycle time for the washer is 110 mins (consumer reports) compared to 60 or 70 of other brands. Have you found that it takes really long?
Friends just bought a Bosch. They love it except for three things:
The cost to buy is only slightly less than the cost of keeping our forces in Iraq.
It shakes like crazy when unbalanced (I thought it would be better than a top loader in that regard).
Yes, a load takes just under 2 hours sometimes. It comes out super-dry (actually, super un-wet), but even so, the friend says, "The dryer is always waiting for the washing" and "it takes a whole day to do the laundry."
We bought a Kenmore front loader about a year ago and yes it does take a bit longer than the old top loader, but now it's about the same time it takes to dry...about 45 min so it works out well. The clothes come out of the washer almost damp and so it takes much less time to dry.
Toolsguy:
Our Bosch model does extend over an hour; a few notable items:
wife complains that water spills out in mid-cycle (when you wish to add 1 more glass)
the "quick cycle" runs much shorter and cleans decently;
our model does'nt have a drying feature - we did want energy eff'y., so I suppose the drying feature would consume quite a few kW; maybe ask your salesman;
my wife really wanted the Asko dish-washer, but our kitchen budget was expanding...;
we both appreciate the quiet operation of the Bosch.
we selected SS finish on applicable appliances - be awre that magnets don't attach to SS.
Good luck, hope this helps
I've had 3 over the past 8 years and 3 houses. No problems with any of them.
The first, an Azko, had inadequate capacity, but it's cleaning ability was clearly superior.
The last, Kenmore elite He series, is the easist to use, the most programming choices, and has incredible capacity. On the drawer stand for best use.
I have the Kenmore HE3t. Only had it about eight months. No problems so far, but there shouldn't be. Uses a lot less water, clothes come out really clean and just barely damp out of the machine. Dryer doesn't have a lot of work to do because the spin cycle on the washer gets most of the water out.
I'd do it again in a heartbeat if for some reason I moved and couldn't take 'em with me.
I have a number of friends from Western Europe. They all laughed when the North American market first caught on to front-loaders a few years ago, because all European households have had them - and everyone knows to expect leaking door seals eventually regardless of the manufacturer. They wondered why we would ever give up leak-free top-loaders.
But, they also, generally, seemed positively giddy to adopt a number of North American habits of wretched excess, like watering a big lawn, cheap gas, big refrigerators, dishwashers with mini garborators and other sins banned back home. {G}
We're about to get a front loader after friends have had good experiences. We are most looking forward to the fact that clothes go into the dryer less wet. So, drying times will be reduced and you can finish multiple loads in a row without a backlog of multiple wet loads waiting for the dryer.
Edited 4/13/2005 9:19 pm ET by hacknhope
I drove my old top loader to the local drunk junk appliance dude. I couldn't believe the knowledge this guy possesses on appliances- he knows every machine that fails early and every model he barely ever sees. I didn't want to tell him what I had already bought for fear my floor model deal at $800.00 would be no deal! To the contrary his eyes glazed over at the words Whirlpool Duet- he tells me that Bosch, who he really respects actually builds most of it and it will last forever.
I've had it about 6 mos. now and love the thing- I can stuff it full of heavy work pants and t-shirts, and it never goes violently out of balance like the old top load.
About the Europeans- they have no water over there- so their front loaders only use a small amount of water, they run forever to do a single load, that may be why the door gaskets go so quick.
Next time I need an appliance though, I'll be going to the junk man for his opinion first. By their nature they want to save everything too- so if it can be fixed they will and know how easy and cheap!
Did a bunch of reading a couple years back when my then Kenmore started to go.
Consumer Reports, online reviews, etc.
Bought an LG front loader. Best Buy, on sale, $700-750 if I recall. Free delivery. Had heard of LG, but not much.
Pleasantly suprised.
I'm on my own well and septic, we're happy with the water savings.
It's upstairs on the second floor, it's quieter in all cycles, especially the spin, than the top loaders we had. Even with the laundry door open you really can't hear it running. Doesn't walk across the floor. Solid.
I've had it for about 18 months. No problems, nice construction, no door leaks like others have written about, zero problems.
Capacity is better than the top loader. I should write the "effective capacity." Not sure how this one compared by the numbers to our old top loader, but this LG can handle comforters and other things that the top loader couldn't. The old top loader was the largest one Sears offered when we bought it, and it was only 4 or 5 years old when the direct drive/clutch assembly crumped on it. Cost to repair came close to the cost of a new machine, with no promises of longevity from Sears.
Still have the old Sears electric dryer, used to take about 45-50 minutes to dry a load that came out of the old top loader, it only has to run 25 minutes to dry the clothes that were washed in the LG machine.
The clothes are cleaner too. Much cleaner. Especially noticeable with my occasionally grotesquely soiled work clothes.
Liked it so much I bought one for my mother.
Edit to change misstatement, "front" to "top"
Edited 4/14/2005 3:24 pm ET by Mongo
It's upstairs on the second floor, it's quieter in all cycles, especially the spin, than the front loaders we had. Even with the laundry door open you really can't hear it running. Doesn't walk across the floor. Solid.
Mongo, I've been trying to talk my sister into putting hers on the second floor. That's the floor where all the dirty laundry is located, and she has room up there, so why not?
Does yours shake the house when it kicks into spin?jt8
Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out. -- John R. Wooden
Nope, no shaking, no excessive noise to speak of. I was concerned because I built my house with TJIs and the laundry room is adjacent to my son's bedroom and over the first floor foyer.
The old top loader would cause a bit of resonation in the TJIs. The front loading LG? Very quiet. and we do laundry at night when the kids are in bed.
For the spin cycle, it spins a bit, maybe 4 or 5 rotations, and if not balanced, it stops and reverses spin direction to break up any clumps of clothes. Then it tries to spin again. It'll repeat this until it sets up for a nice balanced spin.
We've had a frigidaire front loader for eight years now with the only problem being a broken door latch that cost under $5.00 to repair. Wife absolutely loves it.Tom
Douglasville, GA
Moved into a house with kenmore stackable. Really like it- quiet, need little detergent yet gets stuff clean, holds more than it looks like it will, NO UNBALANCED LOADS!
I was reading the posts about how dry is spins clothes... mine doesn't seem to... just checked, it is on "normal" spin speed, now I will try "fast."
Put it on a platform, esp. if you are tall. That also allows you to put laundry basket right under it and still open the door.
I have noticed water in the gasket folds, but I add vinegar to some loads, or sometimes bleach, and figure that would help with odor.
We have one of the ubiquitous multi-branded front-loaders (Kenmore, Sears, GE, Whirlpool, Fridgidaire - all basically the same machine, ours is the Fridgidaire because it had a good warranty), couple of years now, zero problems.
Use less water, uses less electricity, clothes need less drying (we can hang-dry many things straight from the machine)
Make sure you get the one with the auto-temperature control (it also ensures that "cold" is only "cool" so your cold-water cycle will work in the winter).
Phill Giles
The Unionville Woodwright
Unionville, Ontario
We love our front loaders, as said before, less water, less detergent.
Stackable, and no agitator.
Only problem we've had was with the seal at the door forming a trough and collected some of the bleach water on occasion, which then effected the next load.
Otherwise, we love them.
We purchased Kenmore’s washer and dryer about 3 years ago. All in all we like them better then the top loaders. I agree with all the comments above but would also like to add that they are very quite. We have our laundry room on our main living floor next to our family room and you would never know they are running.
The only problem I have had was on the dryer. The dryer vent was got a little kinked behind the dryer and the dryer got too hot and burned out the high limit thermostat. The dryer has a microcomputer so you are able to troubleshoot it by hitting a combination of buttons. It will flash a code number and if you have the troubleshooting code pamphlet its pretty easy to fix. I was able to order a replacement online from Sears for $14 plus S&H and had dryer like new in 2 days. I also shortened the vent so it wouldn’t get kinked when the dryer was pushed back.
My wife used to complain about a musty odor from the washer but she started to leave the door open a crack after each use to let it dry out. As far as I know that did the trick because she hasn’t complained about the odor in about a year.
Ryan
I bought the Kenmore Elite series front loaders a year & a half ago. Love' em, for all the same reasons listed above. I too noticed the washer emits a musty smell, and had the same solution as your wife - leave the door open. Can't wait till I wash the cat.
dw says the whirlpool doesn't clean as well as her old machine. dw's very picky about clothes being clean.
SHG
For every complex problem, there is a solution that is clear, simple, and wrong.
-H.L. Mencken
We just purchased a new washer and after much deliberation, we went with a top loader by Fischer & Paykel. The front loaders that tested well and consumed less water and energy were all in the $1200 range. The Fischer & Paykel was half that and uses one third the water and a fraction on the electricity as most top loaders, placing it squarely in competition with the more expensive top loaders.
From what we researched, front loaders require a special detergent that costs about a third more, although you do use less per load. With the Fischer & Paykel you don't have to change detergents, a big plus for my wife.
Also, this unit removes so much excess moisture that drying time is cut nearly in half, another cost savings.
Edited 4/14/2005 4:30 pm ET by pino
We bought one, a Maytag over/under unit where the dryer is on top of the washer.. Luckily we have a service that fixes appliances for a nominal fee per month. It's been serviced 4 times since we bought it and Sears who sold it came out and reinstalled it twice..
We like the feature of less soap and less wear and tear on the clothes but clearly Maytag expected their customers to debugg this thing. I previously owned a Maytag set that lasted for over 3 decades without a failure untill suddenly it just wore out.. three repairs on the unit in two years and we were ready for a new unit..
We've had a set of Asko front loaders for about three years now. We have an aging septic field, so I wanted to limit how much goes in it (town don't want to hear about seperate grey water systems).
I'm very pleased with them. We had one issue with the dryer in the first six months that was promptly repaired and covered by warranty.
Clothes do get clean, but loads are smaller so you have to think differently about sorting and when to do laundry.
The Askos fit under a standard counter and makes for a neat laundry room with folding area above the units. The washer heats its own water and only requires a cold hookup. Ours are on the second floor and noise/vibration are not an issue.
I'd buy them again.
You might want to do some research on Staber machines. All the advantages of front loaders--without the door on the front! ;-)
Ours was about $900. Seems great.
Thon
wife just told me ... day or so ago ...
that the Frigidaire Gallery washer was broke ...
then ... I saw her finishing the laundry ...
so I'm not sure what lies in the future for me?
But ... we bought the washer/dryer scratch and dent going on 6 years ago?
Maybe $900 for the both of them? Alot of money at the time ...
Got the "expensive" front loaders ... because she was insistent on a high capacity ...
but ... it still had to fit thru our very small opening in the original block foundation walls into the laundry. What ever the measurement ... the only high capacity w/d that would fit ...
was a front loader.
I don't think it's broke ... I bet it just needs balanced.
And I bet ... I gotta learn how to do that?
Jeff
This place might help, http://www.repairclinic.com/
Cool.
Thanks.
Jeff