Front loaders or HE top loaders - Which would you choose?

[sudsmaster]

I think the HE toploaders have got a lot better over the past 15 years or so. But I also follow Consumer Reports and according to them, even the best HE top loader doesn't clean as well as the front loaders.

However, the main laundry closet in this home is situated so that the washer must go on the right. No problem with the Neptune front loader, the door is easily reversed. But, AFAIK, the only other front loader washer made these days is the Electrolux, and I'm not even sure the latest ones allow reversing the washer door. So.... if i found myself in a spot with an expired Neptune and not other option, I might spring for a TOL HE top loader.

But only after I've tried at least one other FL alternative...

BTW, I first used an HE style top loader washer in Japan around 1996. I was working for an American company that had products made by its Japanese partner. The Japanese company thoughtfully provided a small laundry area for the American engineers. The washer had no agitator, just an impeller at the bottom of the tub. My colleagues were fascinated by it, crowding around to watch it in action. I was not so impressed, and four years later got the Neptune set.

 

[twintubdexter]

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">Sometimes I use these to get small items like socks out of my front load dryer. My spine degeneration continues to make normal and once easy tasks very difficult. Peeling wet clothes off of a front load washer's drum after a high speed spin would be a very painful experience. As you age you'll understand.</span>

 

[mayguy]

Yeah, that's the downfall of Frontloader if it's not up.. A co worker has a HE Top loader and she's short, and she can't reach the bottom of the top loader, She said the first time she reached in she went in too hard and hurt her breast., ;-(

 

[foraloysius]

I have a little stool in front of my frontloader. No problem of reaching into the drum.

 

[sudsmaster]

I bought a bunch of those claw grabbers in the past couple of years (Costco was selling a good version, 2 for $10.). I use them at home and at work to pick stuff up off the floor, so my knees don't get too stressed. I've not thought of using them in a front loader, but I do use them at work to retrieve small parts that might get loose in an enclosed CNC mill.

I suppose I could try using them to get those small items that try to hide in the back of the washer (or dryer) drum. Not there yet, though ;-).

 

[appnut]

I too have used a step-stool to sit on in front of my washer for several years.  

 

[twintubdexter]

Falling apart in my tarnished golden years...

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">The stool in front of a front-load washer or the dryer is a good idea and works for most people. Unfortunately I'm sort of a special case. In addition to my back problems, doctors want to replace my left shoulder (I'm left-handed) so even using that grabber thing is difficult. Getting up and down from a stool or chair is no picnic. The cleaning ladies will do laundry but are only here every 3 weeks and they're too expensive for poverty-level me to afford as it is.</span>

 

<span style="font-size: 18.6667px;">There is a bright spot on the horizon. I'm scheduled for spine surgery at the end of February. The shoulder will remain a problem until I decide if a replacement is in order. The new Speed Queen top loader will still be in the garage waiting to be moved to my laundry room after surgery. I guess I'm stuck with it for awhile. I do sort of insist on a washer I can use with it open full-time. That might get messy with a front loader.
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