Is there any kind of consensus on what the most reliable FL washer is today?

[nmassman44]

Well I bought an LG 3570 front load washer and dryer and they both perform nicely. You do not need to spend $2000 on a washer and dryer set to get a reliable washer and dryer. LG's are consistently #1 in reliability for their front load washer and dryers. These can be stacked and they also do quite well with pet hair and since I have 4 cats, I know!
On the washer I use the TurboWash feature that recirculates the water onto the load by using two jet nozzles in the front, it also uses an overhead jet to spray rinse the load during the final rinse. That jet spray kicks on for 2 minutes in the final spin, it also sprays during the first spin and if you add rinses, you can add up to 3 deep rinses, it will spray rinse during each spin. Stain removal has been superb. I use Persil in the washer and the results have been amazing. The washer also extracts water well. The high speed final spin speed is a cool 1200 rpm. The Ex High spin is 1300 rpm. I find more wrinkling occurring at that speed than 1200 and no difference in extraction. The washer isn't shy about using water either. The only thing I would suggest is that if you have high water pressure like we have here, is to get water hammer arresters and put them between the washer and hoses. This washer likes to use rapid opening and closing of the water valves during the wash cycle.
The dryer is equally impressive. Its very quick in drying and quite accurate in sensing. It uses tow systems...one is electronic to feel the moisture in the fabrics and the other is a humidity sensor. They work very well together and I never have to use more than a Normal dryness setting. The Sensor cycles have preset temps that you cannot change. Cotton/Normal uses a Medium Temp and it works quite well even for jeans. Towels uses Mid High Temp and Perm Press uses a Low Temp. The dryer will also show a preset time like 41 mins for Cotton, 34 mins for Perm Press and 55 mins for Towels. The dryer will add time or subtract time based on load size, and how fast the load is drying. I find most loads finish way before the washer ends.
The washer also weighs the load and bases the cycle time on that weight. I have seen some loads take as little as 35 mins on Cotton Normal and close to 1hr 20 for a large load.
The other nice thing is that they are both quiet. The dryer is perhaps the quietest I have ever used. The washer is equally quiet and the drain pump is almost silent. The build on these are quite nice as well.

 

[frigilux]

OTOH if you want something with twenty thousand cycles...

 

That reminds me: A dozen specialty cycles lurk in a 2nd tier menu on my Frigidaire front-loader.  Have never used them, but I believe one is for pet bedding.  Now that I have cats, I should give it a whirl.  It's probably just a regular cycle with an extra rinse, knowing Frigidaire, LOL.

 

To answer the question posed in your thread title:  No, there isn't a consensus on the best washer.  Most will agree that Speed Queen front-loaders will give decades of service, mainly because they are designed to be repaired, unlike many other brands, whose machines are designed to be replaced when something goes awry.  The lack of an internal water heater, a truly long cycle for heavily stained loads, and relatively small capacity by today's standards keep me from purchasing a SQ. I love my Frigidaire, which hasn't skipped a beat in 5.5 years of service, but as with most brands, some will rave, while others will share horrible experiences.

 

At any rate, let us know what you wind up purchasing.  We're a curious lot.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Actually, the new SQ FL with the touch-pad controls has great flexibility and options.

 

[launderess]

"Actually, the new SQ FL with the touch-pad controls has great flexibility and options."

Yeahbut, has SQ dealt with the vibration issues? *LOL*

 

[aamassther]

Frigilux, I've actually found the "pet beds" cycle to be quite useful. It works much like "heavy" with the steam and heater modifiers selected. It times out around an hour and a half. It seems like it uses a bit more water too. I wash our soft sided dog beds on this cycle frequently, seems to do better than just using "heavy".

 

[mr_b]

Not Your Mom's FL Speed Queen

The new 2015 Speed Queen FL offers enough significant improvements over the previous Speed Queen FL that it can be considered a totally different machine. These upgrades include larger load capacity, more wash cycles, selectable wash times, more rinse cycles, higher spin speed, spin speed selection, dynamic load balancing, pre-wash and soak cycles and five year warranty.

The load size increased to 3.42 cubic feet which is about 3 bushel baskets of laundry. The amount of wash control is an order of magnitude over the previous model. Through the use of selecting various wash cycles and soil levels you can increase wash time agitation to 30 minutes. In addition you can select to add a 7 minute pre-wash cycle or a 30 minute soak cycle or both. Finally you can select to add up to three additional rinse cycles.

Water temperature selection is straight forward with a choice of cold, cool, warm and hot with cold only rinse, meaning no internal water heating capability.

The spin speed has been increased to 1200 RPM or 440Gs but selecting perm press will spin at a lower speed. In addition you can manually select lower spin speeds or wash with no spin. This new model also has dynamic balancing giving a vibration free spin and very quiet operation, and on the rare occasion that the load cannot be balanced, it spins at lower speed.

 

[washerdude]

Isin't dynamic balancing just a balancing ring? I'm almost sure every washer right now has one.

 

[frigilux]

SQ has definitely stepped up their game in the front-load division. I'd love to see their impressive new machine scale up the ratings at CR. My Frigidaire has a 3.9 cu. ft. drum and I often wish it was 4.5 as in the new Maytag and Whirlpool models. They've added a lot of cycle flexibility, too. HELLO ALLIANCE: Give us an internal heater with the ability to heat to 150 degrees, please!

 

[brucelucenta]

I recently bought a close friend of mine a new front load w&d. She was moving into an apartment and could have up to a full size stack set. I bought a set similar to the Maytag washer pictured. The washer was a steam treat one and the dryer was one step down and not a steam treat one. Because they were not exact matches I paid $1199 for the set. She is delighted with them both.

 

[mr_b]

It's not Just a Balancing Ring!

Dynamic balancing consists of movable weights that are automatically repositioned during the spin to balance the load. Some loads can be so out of balance that even dynamic balancing cannot overcome the offset. I have experienced this on rare occasions when clothes knot up so much that they become one massive clothes blob stuck to the side to the drum. Watching dynamic balancing in action is very interesting. During the beginning of the spin cycle the machine tries to best balance the load. Then it begins to spin faster and at first you see the drum wobbling out of balance, and then like a switch turns on the drum spins perfectly balanced.

 

[washerdude]

@mr_b

Actually now that you mention it, Our new whirlpool duet acts EXACTLY like that. The best example of this was when we just washed a single coat. We set it to medium spin speed. I was really concerned about it, however, when the spin started the tub what move like crazy and about 3 seconds later the tub would "center" but still pretty unbalanced. As it reached its medium speed, the tub was 100% balanced which really surprised me. There was very minimal vibration yet the computer thought it could still make it perfect...which it did to the point where there were ZERO vibrations coming from it. How did the early front loaders manage to balance WITHOUT a balancing ring?

 

[brucelucenta]

I also advise that front load washers are definitely here to stay. Top loaders are a thing of the past now and I am sure they will be totally a thing of the past in the near future. I have nothing against the Speed Queen top loader, but when compared to some of the top loaders in the past, they pale in comparison. Front load washers do as well or better in most cases using less water and are extremely gentle on your clothing. They also have virtually no lint problems either. They also extract much more water from your clothing, so less drying time and energy. They are just better machines for the job they do.

 

[laundromat]

L G Tromm

Best washing

Best rinsing

Best spinning

Highest rank for most durable,most dependable 

Reasonably priced.

Button catcher neither SQ nor any Whirlpool or Electrolux made front loaders have accessibility to. It saves the pump from failing.  Just clean it out once a month.

I now own seven of them including the WM8800 a thirty inch wide 5.0 cu ft model. They all work fine. I just got two more one is red the other is silver and has a square window. I'll pick them up next Thursday.usually, the pump is the problem or the door lock is bad making them not spin. Both come from abuse and neglect.

 

 

[mark_wpduet]

Hey washerdude

I remember you mentioned the Eco Sanitize cycle on another post and I thought I remembered you saying how much water it uses. Who would have thought a cycle with ECO in it would use that much water! I love how you said it sloshes them around like you would see in a FL laundromat washer. I never see that kind of action with ANY cycle on my 2005 Duet washer except for the clean washer cycle.

I think I would go for Maytag FL washer or WP FL washer.

 

[washerdude]

@mark_wpduet

Yeah it surprised me as well LOL. Our king size comforter is *roughly* 1 1/8 inches thick. It stuffes the whole drum and you really think it wont get wet but I've experimented with it the first time we got it, the first time we washed it was on the heavy duty cycle, I'll admit i had my doubts, though on this cycle it kinda looked like they was no water, I opened the door and stuck my hand all the way to the back of the drum, the comforter was all wet evenly. On the Eco santize with Oxi however, it will have the same effect but about approx. 10-15 minutes into the wash when it addes more water and the comforter will only fill half the drum. Also the turns are faster and shorter making for a longer soak as well. We normally use this cycle for bedding, towels, comforters and whites. I also found during this "Laundromat effect" the door will refuse to unlock even though the water doesn't reach up to the point of spilling out. It doesnt even reach up to the door yet it still doesn't unlock. Im convinced now that I will never go back to a TL washer.

 

[Caruso]

There is a massive price difference between the LG 3570 and any of the SQ front loaders, which is compounded even more if you buy matching dryers from each manufacturer. So I'm trying to get a sense of whether the reasons for the price difference mean anything for my family. From all that I can tell, the price difference comes down to the fact that the SQ FL washers are built like tanks with higher end parts, and have a longer and better warranty, and that's about it. Is there any case to be made that the SQ will wash clothes better than the LG? Seems the opposite is more likely to be true given that the LG has an internal heater.

Put another way, if we are willing to accept the somewhat greater risk in reliability in buying the LG with an extended warranty versus an SQ FL, is our decision a no-brainer?

 

[frigilux]

I've steered a few people to similar LG models and they are very happy with them. LG's reliability has improved greatly in the past few years, so unless you're washing bowling balls there shouldn't be a problem. The 3570 is highly-rated by Consumer Reports with a rating of Excellent for cleaning, and LG front-loaders are reported as needing the fewest repairs (Speed Queen is not on the list for front-loaders, but ties with LG for reliability in top-loaders).

Speed Queen has ardent fans at this site because of the truly commercial-quality build. They clean no better than the model you're considering.

I give more thought to 'Made In America' than I used to, which is why I now suggest (and would purchase for myself) Maytag. They're made here and parent corporation Whirlpool is an American company.

Glad our suggestions were of assistance and happy laundering to you!

 

[mr_b]

Caruso - I think you summed it up perfectly. I think you should go for the LG.

 

[nmassman44]

The thing with the LG's is that for the price and what you get for that price is good value. The LG has a water heater, the SQ does not. One might think they don't need a heater but it comes in handy in maintaining wash temps and on certain cycles like Bright Whites, it does a profile wash where when one chooses a Hot wash temp, the water starts out warm and the heater raises the temp so stains that release at a certain temp, don't get cooked into the fabrics. One can also add Steam if one chooses and that boosts the wash temp. I have used the Steam option once and it does quite well but I find that just the Bright Whites cycle with the TurboWash option does quite well without the steam.
The LG drum is bigger too at 4.3 cu ft and uses a Direct Drive motor, SQ uses the old belt and pulley method. The LG motor allows for the washer to have what they call 6 Motion instead of a constant tumble like the SQ washer does. The LG also does a final spin spray rinse in Cotton Normal and that flushes away every trace of detergent yet leaves the softener in the fabrics, it also rinses the door glass down too.
Balancing on the LG they use whats called True Balance AntiVibration system. This washer can figure out how a load is in the drum and do certain drum rotations to distribute the load evenly around the drum. Its interesting to watch.This washer was rated very well and for the price and its often on sale at Sears and other retailers for a good price.
The LG dryer is very efficient at its task of drying laundry and its fast. We had a GE Profile dryer that was electric and my electric bill for my laundry area ran about $50 a month. With the LG dryer the cost has been knocked down to $28 a month now. It has more finesse than the GE did and the loads emerge from the dryer wrinkle free. But one bit though, the dryer does match the washer load for load since I do not overload my washer, but when washing a capacity load in the washer I will split the load so it dries properly. The manual suggests that idea. At 7.4 cu ft it should do well with most everything one has in the house. Comforters are dried on Large/Bulky and that cycle does amaze.
The drying system on the LG reminds me of a Maytag Stream of Heat dryer where the heat intake is for the drum is in the upper right corner of the drum and the airflow is pulled to the front at 215 cfm. The vanes are tapered and loads like sheets rarely ball up. The clothes tumble into the rapid airflow , billowing open and riding the stream of air to the front. The lint filter is well made and sturdy. Its not a fine mesh so one can use dryer sheets if one uses them without worry of the wax plugging up the pores of the filter.

 

[golittlesport]

my two-cents worth

Although I may be slapped by the SQ enthusiasts, I chose and recommend an LG front load washer. The SQ is certainly built like a commercial grade tank, but quite honestly it is very basic and did not offer the features I wanted.

I went with the LG 3570 and feel the features it has combined with the price made for a "best buy" for me. I've been extremely pleased with its performance and if it lasts 10 years I'll be happy and feel I got my money's worth.

I figured why pay twice as much for a machine that may last twice as long but is not what I want?