EVERYBODY should read this!

[ronhic]

mmmmmm......

Flo,

Part of me says I should and part says I shouldn't....

...but was the Constructa a top-load, horizontal axis machine similar to those still made by Miele, Blomberg etc?

 

[vacfanatic]

LG Tromm - Approved

I own the LG WM2233HW Washer and the DLE3733W dryer, and love them both! Speaking of that, I just bought another LG washer and it was delivered yesterday. Wanted more of a basic model for "play", and to help keep up with laundry at times. Got the older model WM2010CW for $498, and works very nice. My partner had a hard time getting acustomed to having more than enough vacuum cleaners for everyone on my block, but the washer thing he really tried to fight me on. I won!

Anything electronic can fail, period. I'm sure eventually I'll have to replace something on these, but what appliance don't you have to do this to eventually? You can get most any of the parts you need for these on Sears Parts Direct, and the prices aren't too bad either. Yes control boards and such are spendy, but that is true with any brand.

Everyone knows that nothing is made like it used to be 20 years ago. I would buy LG again for sure, but eventually I'll have a set of Mieles. A bit pricey for me at the moment though, so I picked the LGs. If you go into Sears, Lowes, Home Depot, etc, try pulling out the detergent drawer on every model you can find, then try the LG. To me, every other brand had a real cheapo feeling detergent drawer that didn't open smoothly. Maybe it's just that they are opened 500 times a day by wandering hands. Anyone else ever notice this? I think the worst detergent drawer I "tested" was on a Frigidaire. Yucky.

Andrew

 

[toggleswitch2]

~Most laundromats have either totally switched over to front loading washers, or they make up a majority of washing machines. There has to be a reason for this.

Yes:

Much less water usage and the lack of a transmission, lack of a water pump, all-stainless tub and drum, can't "overload" them, and timed dispensers.

On a Wascomat one gets a pre-wash, a main wash two or three rinses and a spin/extract. Psychologically that helps the customers beleive they are getting more than a wash /rinse spin of a top-loader. Just don't tell them that the Wascomats use only a bucket or two (two to four gallons) [8L to 16L +/-]of water per fill.

There are 3.78L per gallon- I use 4.0 for ease of estimation.

 

[toggleswitch2]

I really want a Euro boil-washer, and from what I hear (thanks Chestermike UK and all others) ASKO is the ticket.

IMHO a heater makes all the difference in performance. Perhaps one day most U.S. laundry rooms will come with a 220v washer outlet for some good heaters in front-loaders! Let's just hope we can get washers with heaters for (our) 60hz rather than ("foreign")50hz.

If only it was known how small the world would become, the entire world could have been engineered for 220v, 60hz (Each beleoved to be the best) and had the same wiring, outlet/power-point configurations and wire-color standards.

 

[toggleswitch2]

Believed not beloved, although not such a bad typo..

 

[toploader1984]

for all of u people from the uk, who keep bashing top loaders forget, this website was started from vintage AMERICAN top loaders! for all of you who own an AMERICAN LG or any other brand front loader besides maytag have had it more than 5 years without ANY proiblems? probably NOT!

 

[toploader1984]

btw hoover1100, (also rolling my eyes) i have an aunt that AND a friend who bought the duet, my aunt had issues with the computer, my friend kevin got rid of his b cuz of the balancing issue, plus everytime he did a load therte would be a puddle of water on the floor, ALSO! with my LG there would be a small puddle and little dribble of water on the floor after i did a load in th LG, thank go it was in the basement.

 

[toggleswitch2]

Toploader1984

Why ao angry / argumentative? Believe anything you want, just realize others do to!

 

[hoover1100]

well Toploader1984

This website is dedicated to people who like washing and washing machines, dishwashers, tumble dryers, and any appliances really of any kind in any country of the world.

You say the machines leak from the door, well that is a fault and not a normal trait of front loaders.

I also believe there are members of this site who have had frigidaire front loaders and Whirlpool front loaders, built to the US specification, who have had them longer than 5 years.

The title of your thread states that "EVERYBODY" should read this, not just the Americans on here. If one of us Europeans started a thread moaning and complaining about top loaders, without any real experience of them and just ranting about one or two we've seen/used are you trying to tell me you wouldn't comment?

Now please stop trying to create and AW.org apartheid, where only americans can comment on american threads and only europeans can comment on european threads, and let everyone have their say and input on everything.

Matt

 

[hoover1100]

to be honest no one so far in this thread has "bashed&q

merely stated which type of machine they prefer and why. It is you who is "bashing" front loaders.

You also fail to realise that we did have toploaders made and sold here in the UK until just over 10 years ago, they weren't very popular because most people have their washer built under a work surface here.

Also, you can buy Whirlpool/Admiral top loaders here imported from the US. Again these are not very popular due to their size and the fact they cant be built under the work surface. I'm sure the G wash, G energy and D spin grades they get, compared to the A wash A energy and C spin of the worst front loaders on the market, puts people off too.

Matt

 

[toploader1984]

Toploader1984 Why ao angry / argumentative? Believe anything

obviously i can't believe what i want! i know there are ALOT of people on here who cannot stand front loaders, and would never buy one, there are alot of people on here who only are interested in top loaders, yet it seems like everytime i post a thread, it gets bombarded with tons of people from the uk bashing top loaders, making rude and pointless comments about us using too much water and not caring about the environment. and i really DON'T appreciate people who make comments towards me like " i am rolling my eyes again " that is just rude! you guys arent even giving other people a chance to comment, ur bombarding the thread with nasty comments towards me JUST b cuz i prefer top loaders.

 

[toploader1984]

the main reason why i dislike front loaders is b cuz there is no washing drama, it is like watching a dryer dry clothes, it is sort of boring, they are all the same. with top loaders, every make and model has a different agitator, different speed and wash strokes, some have a spin drain.

 

[hoover1100]

If I'm being very honest Toploader1984

I think the main reason your posts provoke somewhat aggressive reactions is because they come across as being rather antagonistic and aggressive in themselves. If you actually explained what you mean instead of just saying "frontloaders are awful" and leaving it at that you would get more balanced and fair responses.

It's fair enough if you find the action of a front loader boring, but you can't expect everyone to agree. I personally find the opposite to be true but again it all boils down to personal preference.

You can't just say "I hate front loaders" and be shocked and offended when you get responses basically saying "Well I hate Top Loaders" Every action results in an equal and opposite reaction.

Matt

 

[aquacycle]

^Matt, thats very well said. In response to the comment about frontloaders not lasting as long, well my grandparent's Hotpoint 18361 and matching dryer are about 27 years old now and have survived my 5 aunts and uncles washing plus my Dads and my grandma and grandads. My aunt and my 2 younger cousins now live with my grandma and that washer and dryer is in use almost every other day and they STILL run like new. The washer had it's first repair last year and the dryer has never had a repair. I think Matt hit the nail on the head - front loaders take up less space and houses over here are much smaller. I personally don't like that I can't see whats going on inside a toploader and the agitator thing doesn't really convince me. The idea of my clothes being tumbled around in water seems cleaner than having them floating around in a tank of water. The upside for me is that they hold HUGE amounts of washing. We had a Whirlpool American style toploader in my last job that held LOADS but I never thought it washed particularly well. It was replaced shortly before I left with a Miele professional which was much better imo.

 

[mixfinder]

With a View

I was ready to buy the Maytag Neptune and when I found out there was no window I opted for a giant tub NorgeTag which is still running quite nicely. I am a laundry voyeur. I love to watch the clothes roll over in a top loader. A huge to distraction to top load efficacy is overloading which also causes excessive linting. In my experience of house guests and tenants most users familiar with front loading machines over load a top loading washer. I personally believe short stroking modern machine slowed rollover, radically increased noise, bangada, bangada, bangada and don't clean as well as older full stroke washers. The Eggplants (my name for environmental activists) have taken a strangle hold of conservation issues in America and so often the cart gets before the horse in legislative reform regarding energy and water consumption. I love my old 30 year old Maytag and the whitest and cleanest of washes are produced from its lowly and simple design. Digital clocks, 3 minute hamburgers, 30 minute pizza delivery have contributed to America's time consciousness. Most things need to be large, fast and cheap. I am not referring to my love life. In teaching adult students one must first establish a benefit of what's to be gained before the adult learner truly listens. There in lies a great rub. Some may want entertainment, others drama, someone else savings in time or energy. My feeling is a rush to market with machines that are pushed to the limits of performance, have not all been engineered or assembled with the best choice of materials have caused American appliances to suffer in reliability and reliable service. I feel badly anytime the discussion becomes divisive or them against us. I am enjoying the discourse and hearing from home grown experts around the world sharing their experience . A parsimoness use of hot water plagues many American homes, cheap detergents don't help and improper sorting and loading challenge any American washer front or top loading. Laundress, true to her lovely form, has best illustrated my position on front loading machines and yet she owns brands and styles of machines that represent some of what others have criticized. I applaud you laundress for your decorum and wordsmithing, as well as many others from around the world. I apologize for brashness and again request the conversations continue as I find it so very educational. Me, I admit, I'm a soaker. Oxyclean and good detergent have saved many articles otherwise subjected to harsher methods and often the trash bin.

 

[jeffg]

> The idea of my clothes being tumbled around in water seems cleaner than having them floating around in a tank of water. <

For most American front loaders the opposite is true: I cringe when I see a big load of filthy clothes being tumbled around in just a few gallons of water, and people thinking there's actually some way a load of clothes can be cleaned, let alone sanitized in that much water.

And then people wonder why their FL's develop mold problems. Personally the whole FL technology, at least as it curently exists here in the U.S., disgusts me.

 

[hoover1100]

U.S. front loaders use enough water, the same amount of wate

So that is not the problem with them. The problem is the wash cycles being about an hour or so too short, so obviously results will suffer. It's like expecting a machine with Bosch Maxx water consumption to wash the clothes with 80s Hotpoint wash cycles. If cycles are of a reasonable length and temperatures high enough, even the biggest (not overloaded) and filthiest load will come out perfectly clean and sanitized with a decent detergent.

There is one reason and only one reason for a front loader to develop mould problems, that is keeping the door shut between cycles. I run a towels wash at 60c once a week, and one at 95c about twice a year, always remove the clothes straight away when the machine is finished and leave the door open between cycles. I have never had mould or smells in a machine.

Matt

 

[mrwash]

Chris,

you are right. I just wanted to say: Prefer what you want, it will be okay. I love to watch the clothes being washed. Thats why I prefer frontloaders. But if someone prefers toploaders thats so okay. Sometimes, I really feel nostalgic and think about if the Constructa ist still working somewhere. Probably not but I have s special relationship with this machine because I lied on top of this machine while my mother changed my diapers. I was really sad when we gave this machine away even if I had no possibility to see the clothes

 

[aquacycle]

^Matt, I agree about the mould. Washing at 30 does that to any machine, especially over a period of time. I've never had a problem with mould and every so often, i'll run the machine at 95 on an empty drum with a tiny splash of bleach in it to keep it clean. And FYI, mixfinder - I find washing clothes in stupid amounts of water which are clearly draining the natural resources AND washing for a stupidly small length of time in mediocre detergent disgusting. You might as well just wash your clothes in a bath with some soap and a wooden spoon. What you said clearly means that you think the clothes I'm wearing are disgusting - I'm quite proud of my clean home and personal hygiene, so thanks VERY much for that.

 

[aquacycle]

SORRY MIXFINDER...that was for JeffG not you