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

[laundromat]

IMHO

I now own six LG front loaders. All but one had minor issues once I got them home. I get all of them from a local used appliance dealer,Smith's.  They hate all front loaders and are staying on that Kebmore/Whirlpool/Maytag syndrome. My worst one being a WA3941CW. It has the steam feature, 1400 TPM final spin ,a recirculation spray and had to be completely overhauled. Everything replaced. The drum, the motors,the mother board,the bearings,the pump, and the drum light. I paid $350 for the labor and parts were free. The others needed door lock assembly, New pump, new boot or new front from rust due to customers pouring bleach like there's no tomorrow overselling the tray causing it to run down the front causing immediate corrosion and rust. Now they all work fine and look brand new. I have two others to pick up and check.  One is red,the other blue and has a square window. My friend, Bob, is a registered LG technician and gets me parts cheap enough to make it worth repairing. I have only one unit that broke down but, it was my own fault for attempting to wash four dinner rugs at a time. The machine went severely off balance breaking the pressure switch off the drum. I had to get a new part and replace the broken one ($34) and it now is back in service. Speed Queens are great. I won't say anything bad about them however,their capacity is too small for me, I would NEVER pay that price for ANY appliance. Even if it had diamonds lining the rear of the inner tub. I have been totally spoiled having the LG WM8000. A huge 5.0 capacity washer and the DE8000 electric dryer with a 9cu ft capacity. THEY'RE HUGE!!!! 30" wide. And they are my absolute favorite set. I found them on CL about a year ago for $999. I told the previous owner I had only $700 and got them. The previous owner delve them here from Captain Cook. About fifty nine miles one way. Great pair of beautiful laundry equipment.  Speaking of which, I just received a never used solid stainless steel Westinghouse Laundromat ink press that has the three ladies loading and unloading their laundry at the local Westinghouse Laundromat. And a turquoise porcelain on steel washing machine (front loading) with a cartoon baby in the front with a clear plastic disc that turns and has bubbles printed on it to make the character look like their getting a spin on laundry. 

 

 

[tolivac]

I can sort of remember vacuum cleaners came by to help with pillow stuffing freshening-beleive both Kirby and Hoover did this.You would remove the old stuffing-clean it or whatever than use the Kirby or Hoover to blow the stuffing into the new pillow cover.Now you no longer see this sort of thing.

 

[tolivac]

Just remembered vacuum cleaner makers-esp Rainbow offer the Pillow and cushon freshening bag with the Rainbow cleaner-you put the pillow or cushon in the bag-close the bag around the vacuums hose end and suck the air and supposidly odors from the cushon-then with the vac still going put the hose on the exhaust end and blow air back into the bag and cushon.Beleive Filter Queen and TriStar offered the bags,too.For those you would empty them and put in new filters and bags for the freshening process.

 

[electron1100]

Direct Drive V Belt

I can see absolutely no advantage to direct drive, The way LG and other companies go on about it you would think they had invented the wheel.
The technology used on the motor I can date back to the early 1970s.

10 year warranty on the motor, so there should be as there is bugger all to it, if the seal fails and the bearings go this is likely to take out the stator coils on the motor which of course will not then be replaced under warranty.

All the LGs that came into work had shot bearings, lots of gizmos and styling touches but when you look inside them, just the usual mediocre build quality like every other similar priced machine

Washing quilts
As I have an old fashioned small capacity high water level machine I have no need of jets and umpteen wash action etc.

So when it comes to washing quilts I have two summer quilts that I clip together in the winter, I can wash one of these at a time in my machine on a 60o cottons wash, it takes 1 hour 15 minutes and because of the high water levels it is washed and rinsed perfectly.

I had to stop using feather pillows, so these synthetic filled ones are a doddle to wash as aswell, I put two in around the walls of the tub and use a 40o delicates wash which is a very high (half way up the door) water level

Pets Wash
We have a large selection of towels and sweat shirts that the cats (3) sleep on, they are washed on a 60o cottons and I have never had a problem of fur build up in the machine, there is some times a little hair left on them so I can put them in the dryer on no heat and any hair gets blown onto the filter

So much emphasis is placed on features now days yet very little is spoken about how well the machine is made or its life expectancy.

From what I can gather it SQ score highly on build quality and longevity so they would be who I would go for, little point in buying a glitter box if that's all it turns out to be in the long run

That's my thoughts

Gary

Ps I remember in an old Hoover vacuum cleaner book it showed a pillow being puffed up with the air from the cleaner, it involved undoing a few stitches so you could get the nozzle end inside the pillow and switching on, oh and of course using the Blow facility ..............

 

[mrb627]

10 Year Warrantee

On a machine that will EOL parts at the 7 year mark.
Just doesn't add up....

Malcolm

 

[passatdoc]

oh, forgot to add----all pillow and comforters at home are synthetic fill due to allergies.

@golittlesport: there was a horrific tragedy in Ladera Ranch (OC) several years ago. Three year old girl climbed into the FL door and explored the tub. Her 18 month old brother closed the door and managed to start the machine, most likely emulating what he'd seen his mother do every day. The girl died of blunt force. The machine was either LG or Samsung, and had a child lockout button sequence. However, the media never stated whether the lock had been overridden, or simply never activated. To complicate matters, the family were Chinese immigrants, mother reportedly not conversant in English, and there were questions of whether they had read (or could even understand) the English manual; father's English was better but who knows if he read the manual. I never heard of any major lawsuit against the manufacturer; if the lock out had not been used, there would be little case.

The last versions of the Frig 2140 featured a pull-out bracket, which fit in a slot in the door, allowing the user to keep door ajar but (supposedly) child-safe. Toward the end of the 2140 run, identical machines were branded GE (sold at Home Depot and elsewhere), and I first saw this bracket in a local showroom. My machine was manufactured 2006 and did not have the safety bracket. I think however that some kid watching Mommy do it would figure it out, sooner or later.

 

[electron1100]

10 Year Warranty

Hello Malcolm
What does "EOL" mean?

If it what I think then yes it is crazy, but I have seen stickers on LGs with 10 year motor warranty on them

hmmm

Gary

 

[a440]

I notice the LG WM3570 is not on the LG Website any longer and is "not available" at most stores in the Atlanta area.  Did the WM4070 replace it?

 

[mrb627]

EOL

EOL = End Of Life.

That means LG stops parts support for models at or around the 7 year mark.
No surprise, they seem to roll out new models almost quarterly.

Malcolm

 

[electron1100]

End Of Life

Ah thanks for that, yes your comment makes absolute sense, unlike some of their practises.

Cheers
Gary

 

[stricklybojack]

Exactly Mark..

.
I don't have a technician friend or connections in the industry etc..and so I knew with the SQ basic parts will be around for a long time. Whereas with the other more plasticky makes I was far less certain.
Constantly EOLing machines and limiting parts interchangeability is a factor to consider when one wants to run a machine over a longer period of time.

 

[launderess]

Rationale behind my maddness is this

H-Axis washing machines work best and are happiest when filled (but not overly so) to capacity. So many things such as balancing loads and so forth go on much better under "normal" cycles when done this way.

Purchasing washer with 18lbs capacity then for the odd times you wash something bulky does not make sense a Moi.

If the machine is able to balance the load properly then suppose that is all very well. However it cannot is risks subjecting the washer to forces best avoided. My Miele repairman tells of washers he has seen that literally smashed themselves to bits doing something bulky. That is with Miele washers who use pretty industrial quality shock absorbers.

 

[mark_wpduet]

I HATE going to the laundromat

with a red hot purple pink passion!

Frankly, Everything I own can fit in my Duet. For example, I purposely do NOT buy comforters, but instead bedspreads for beds. Comforters are so thick and have so much air in them but a bedspread does not and it can be washed much more easily - even a king bedspread. I did have a comforter once that I got rid of (I honestly can't remember why), but it packed my DUET so full it had zero room to tumble and I know it did not get clean. It was just too big. But pretty much everything I own that needs laundering can go into my Duet. The pillows for the sofa are a little iffy, since they can be ruined from washing them.....But someone had mentioned putting them in the bathtub and washing them with detergent and rinsing them, then throwing them into the washer to spin, and that works GREAT.....

I agree with FL washers being happiest not overloaded, but not under loaded....about 1/2 full when items are wet......which is usually (not always) the case with mine.

 

[launderess]

IIRC

Commercial laundry industry standard for a properly loaded front loading washer is that the load tumble from "11 to 4" on the clock or something like that. You want to give room for things to "slap" or drop against the tub as it turns for best possible cleaning.

Problem one has with laundromat washers and bulky items is they often do not spin until after the main wash. Thus during pre-wash and main cycle down filled items mostly float about due to the trapped air. It is fun to watch that first spin as large amounts of water and air are expelled.

Am not a huge fan of laundromats either, but having seen the forces from a king sized duvet act upon even a bolted down machine, just don't want to risk either my Miele or AEG.

 

[askolover]

feather pillows

I agree with Launderess...I don't need a behemoth of a washer. I'd rather wash laundry more often than have to wait a whole week for enough clothes to almost balance correctly (flashback Samsungtag Neptune).

I am allergic to feathers...but I can NOT sleep on those poly-filled ones. So 25 years ago I started washing the feather pillows twice a year in hot water and bleach. When I got my Asko, I figured out a way to get rid of the air. I place 2 in the washer, fill it with hot water, let it slosh around for a while air and all. I can see the feathers are wet inside, then I turn it to a rapid spin for a few minutes. Then I start a cycle with the detergent and bleach and it will then absorb into the pillows and wash great. I love my smaller capacity machine. There are two of us with 3 cats who shed and we have no hair issues at all. When I finish my 3- 12hour shifts (4 if I get called in) I have scrubs to wash which consist of scrub top, bottoms, jacket, and T shirt plus whatever Tony has worn. We usually fill our washer full and have never had anything not come out clean! It can add water as needed to about half way up the door glass so everything gets wet!

I don't like Laundromats either, but I do make a trip at least once a year to wash all the king-sized quilts and comforters as well as our 5x7 area rug from the living room..it just simply won't fit into the Asko no matter how I try!

 

[passatdoc]

Agree, Laundress. Not sure my comforters were thoroughly saturated with water before wash cycle began, using the triple load machines at the laundromat.

At home, however, using Soak (old Frig 2140) or Prewash (current Electrolux 60), the comforters are saturated before the wash cycle begins. The 2140 treated Soak as a separate cycle, so you had to reload soap and select a wash cycle after Soak concluded, but otherwise did a great job on stains and, in the case of comforters and pillows, saturation of comforters.