Is there a modern washer worth buying?

[mattl]

Being 9 years into using a front loader I can say suing the bulky cycle may not be the best option.  Yes, it adds more water, but if you look at the wash action unless the tub is filled to the max with clothes it's poor at best.  the clothes swish around in a large puddle of eater.  Over the years I've played with water levels and watched wash action, and less is more.  Lifting and dropping the clothes is a much better wash action than swishing.  To accomplish that you need a moderate amount of water. 

 

I've used all 3 styles of machines, I will never let a wash plate machine into my home, they are a joke IMO, agitators are OK, but use way too much water to accomplish what FL's can easily do with considerably less.  If I were  buying today it'd be an LG with turbo wash, no question.

 

[meldew]

Thank you SO MUCH. I think I’ll go down the FL path again. Expensive lessons! Super helpful hearing what cycles you prefer etc.

Looks like the top loading Maytag Commercial is not immediately available in my area (quickly, anyway) so that may simplify things as well.

I will try to update when I do sell the SQ and purchase replacements.

 

[meldew]

Also wanted to add that I’ll look at the Electrolux and Miele brands. And I didn’t realize the Maytag centennial mentioned above is a top loader. I’ll look at it too.

 

[foraloysius]

I agree with Matt. A front loader doesn't need a lot of water for a good cleaning, less is indeed more. The wash action of a front loader imitates the old fashioned of beating clothes on a rock. Remember that that rock was above the water level, not in the water. Beating clothes on a rock below the water level wouldn't be of much help.

 

[DADoES]

 
I washed several sets of sheer curtain panels in the (2006) Duet at one of RJ's rental properties for clean-up between tenants.  Used the Delicate cycle on the first go.  Too much water to the point they items floated and never rolled over.  There was undissolved detergent powder in them when done.  Ran a 2nd time on Normal, MUCH better.

 

[rolls_rapide]

@ Meldew:

Just curious... which are detergent are using, and which format (liquid, pods, or powder)?

And do you use fabric conditioner?

Us lot over here (UK and Europe), have had a fair experience with various types of machine over the decades, and the frontloader works best.

I also declare and I've said this umpteen times before, that powders clean most effectively.

Liquids are far less effective, and in some cases are only suitable for lightly soiled loads. Liquids can allow laundry - and the machine - to develop a decidedly musty smell.

Fabric conditioner adds to this musty problem. As does 'cold water quick-washes).

 

[meldew]

Well maybe the detergent isn’t helping. It’s hard to find powder here. I’ve been using liquid tide or liquid Purex. Sometimes fabric softener or scent booster. I’m sure I use too much. Are there any tricks to get sweat odor out? With the front loader it usually defaulted to cold/cold but I’d bump to warm or hot when I could. I guess I felt like things needed a good soak but there wasn’t a way to do that in the LG. So what’s the best detergent? I can get tide powder here and maybe a few others.

 

[wft2800]

I've only recently begun using powder for really mucky stuff after years of only using liquid detergents, and while the powders with oxygen bleach are useful for dealing with heavily-stained whites, they're not so good for colours (dyes run more easily) and the clothes don't smell as nice afterwards...

So, brands to consider: Electrolux, Fisher & Paykel, Whirlpool/Maytag (they're the same company now), LG, Miele, Bosch/AEG if you can find them... maybe Samsung? From what I've heard, GE quality these days is awful. Kenmore is a mixed bag as they're no longer Whirlpool-made, some are LG, some are Electrolux IIRC?

 

[rolls_rapide]

Procter & Gamble usually makes decent-performing powder detergents: Tide, Ariel.

I am of the opposite opinion regarding smell; I think powders make the laundry smell fresher.

Also, some dyes in some cotton fabrics just seem to have an odd smell. I once had a pale mottled green t-shirt classed as 'mildew' colour; possibly 'Fruit of the Loom' brand. It always, always had a strange smell - even from new - and it was washed hundreds of times. It was the combination of dyes used.

However, P&G has some weirdness going on with regarding its fragrances. I think they're far too heavy-handed with their 'Febreze' technologies.

To get around the strong perfume scent though, you could always dose on the frugal side... Launderess made mention of this quite recently, and it seems to work for her.

So test and try, and see what works for you.

 

[foraloysius]

With the front loader it usually defaulted to cold/cold

I think this might be the problem. Washing in cold water with liquid detergents may leave body fats behind in clothes. Anything that you wear on your body should at least be washed in warm water if not in hot in order to dissolve the dirt and get things really clean. Ignore labels that say you have to wash in cold water. Your body is warm, so the clothes can handle warm water too.

 

[meldew]

So someone is coming to hopefully buy the SQ combo today... if they do will shop in earnest. Watched some YouTube videos on front loaders in action (Lorraine?). Made the SQ front loader look great. I like the simple approach. Also there’s a whirlpool or Maytag “commercial “ front loader that looks very basic.

Somehow the simpler ones appeal to me more than the bells and whistles of the LG or Electrolux.

So I’ll wash on warm with powder.... I forgot about Persil. That smelled so clean. But it’s liquid or pods.

Fingers crossed that the current ones sell!

 

[DADoES]

 
<blockquote>Meldew:  So I’ll wash on warm with powder....</blockquote> Keep in mind that new machines nowadays (with a few exceptions) restrict the water temperatures for energy-saving purposes by mixing in cold.  Warm on those machines may be between 75°F and 80°F ... hardly "warm" as such.

The designated Normal cycle is typically the most-restricted on temperature since it's the cycle used to gauge the EnergyStar rating.  Hot on Normal may be between 90°F to 105°F, which is closer to what Warm should be.

More aggressive cycles such as Heavy Duty, Allergy, and Sanitary operate at higher temperatures.

You have to experiment with the cycles and settings on whatever new machine you choose to get a handle on the temperatures is provides.

 

[lakewebsterkid]

Musty

Meldew, keep the door or lid open between cycles. This will reduce any stagnant air and moisture. To remove the nasty BO smell, try using ammonia in every wash as long as you ARE NOT using bleach. 1/2 a cup for front load and 1 cup for a top load should be fine. This will remove any BO and excess residues in clothes. Keep using the Tide liquid, but makes sure you are using the HE Turbo version in front loading machines!

 

[lakewebsterkid]

Temperatures

Dadoes is 100% correct. Follow that advice as well.

 

[meldew]

OK I will... I had left the door cracked on the LG almost always. I almost never did the cleaning cycle though. I've not heard about ammonia - it might be just what I need to cut through the B.O. Well the SQ is sold so I am needing to buy very soon. The new owners were very knowledgeable about SQ and I think they'll be happy with it!

 

[appnut]

Melissa, I've been reading through your posts again.  You felt like things always needed a good soak.  I would imagine your LG model has at least a prewash option.  Did you ever use that in conjunction with whatever wash cycle you were going to select?  Front loaders excel when they have a onboard heater (supplements hot water supply and raises wash temperatures and in LG's case, if it has steam, it has an onboard heater).  I won't have a front loader unless it has a heater. 

 

I throw kitchen hand towels, cleaning cloths, and thick cotton cloth napkins that have all sorts of food soils, residue on them and they sit for up to a month before I have enough to wash a load of them.  I use tide with bleach alternative and biz powder with sanitize cycle and steam option.  Everything always comes out thoroughly clean and fresh. 

 

[meldew]

yes the LG did have the allergen cycle so it had a heater... I didn't use that cycle ever though as it took so long. I am looking at LG again with the turbo wash option for speed. I could try using Biz as well.

I think I'll get either the Maytag or LG front loader. I like the Maytag commercial top loader but nobody here has it so I'd have to ship from one of the national sellers, and I'm also afraid it will be too small capacity. I like the speed queen front loader but again small capacity.

The Electrolux worries me as I think they're made by Frigidaire? Frigidaire has been nightmarish for me in the past.

 

[appnut]

Mylessa, there are times using a front loader it's best to take advantage of the longer cycles to tackle some of the really obnoxious soils and crud your laundry generates.  Before I got my front loader, I had top loaders and there were times I'd have to soak things.  And you mentioned above you felt like things needed a good soak.  With my previous experience of of soaking for 1/2 an hour to an hour and then draining, filling with hot water, washing on longest wash time (14 minutes) and an extra rinse because of all the detergent and such, my loads would end up taking 1.5 to 2 hours.  And as you have discovered, it ended up being very hard on fabrics.   Well in  the end, it seems I'm using about the same amount of time doing things with the long soak and long top load wash cycle (55-60 minutes for 3 full fills and max wash time and extra rinse) vs. extra hot water on my front loader.  I have a Whirlpool Duet and my whites cycle max soil and extra rinse, take about one hour and 45 minutes, not too much longer than the old top loader with soak and full maxed wash cycle.  With the type of soil it sounds like you deal with, it may be best to slow things down at times.  Try using delay wash to start a longer cycle during the night.  I'll be honest, I make no bones about how much I despise top loaders.  I never felt my clothes were as clean (and also beat up and don't last as long) as I have with my front loader. And I've been doing laundry in earnest since 1964.  Just like old-fashioned slow-cooked meal, sometimes you cannot rush outstanding laundry results.  Too bad you cannot have two sets of washer with a dryer stacked on top in your laundry closet. 

 

[meldew]

I know you're right! I was just talking to my husband about how a much larger front loader washing more clothes at once would almost equal 2-3 small top loader batches time-wise.

I am going to measure the laundry closet. Maybe I would be able to stack. If I could also use splitters/couplers on the drain and hot/cold spigots....

 

[rp2813]

Much as I doubted it would, my Frigidaire Affinity front loader served me without any serious mechanical issues (I had to replace the pump once, which was DIY) for almost ten years.  Mine was made by Electrolux, and it was very good at cleaning on the "Normal" cycle even with dumbed down hot water.  If you take care of them and use them properly, FL machines will provide more longevity than what you read in the negative reviews.

 

I agree with Bob that for getting clothes clean, FL machines are so far superior to TL that they're in a league of their own.  I do have a vintage Maytag TL machine, but it's only used for really funky disgusting jobs (I'm a caregiver for someone with incontinence issues) that I'd rather not taint my daily driver FL machine (older Maytag Neptune -- no heater) with.