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ryner1988

ryner1988

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Joined
Mar 3, 2015
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Location
Indianapolis
After days of consideration -- well let's just be honest, lots of over-thinking/agonizing -- this is what I settled on, because I believe it hits the most boxes for me. Nothing is going to be perfect, after all. I'll second-guess every decision I would make in this regard, so I eventually just had to arrive at a choice.

Just ordered it an hour or so ago, and it's scheduled to arrive on Wednesday.

I comfort myself with the understanding that if I truly don't like my new FL, I can confidently resell it and just go back to the basic TL that I've used for so long. But I really think I'm ready to give this a try.

I'll add to this post once the machine is here and set up.

Thanks all for your helpful responses this far.

Ryne
 
Thanks Bob! I've come so close to pulling the trigger for years now, and have always backed out at the last minute for one reason or another. Well, now the deed is done. I'm already aware I probably won't love the machine right away, because it's a big change and change is hard for me, but I believe I will in time. I already have a head start on things by reading threads on here and elsewhere.
 
GREAT!!!

This is the exact model I would get if my FL died today.... But trust me, I know that feeling of agonizingly almost traumatic decision making... Should I really get this? What if this? What if that? All the what if's going through your mind... Now, let's just hope everything goes smoothly... it gets installed correctly...no damage to the machine during transit...and most importantly... NO LEMON! Maybe we can collectively manifest a 100% positive outcome... It's kind of stressful getting a new appliance if you ask me... I mean, it's fun too... but stressful
 
Congratulations

You will never want to go back to a TL. You will find that the FL actually removes ground in dirt and stains - white socks come clean like new, heavily soiled sweats and clothes that are muddy and grass stained from doing yard work, they all emerge looking brand new clean. Knit shirts come out straight on the bottom with no stretching. Vinyl appliqués on T shirts and sweat shirts never crack.

That said there is a learning curve on how much to load. JMO once the clothes are wet they should not come over halfway up the window. Some clothes compress when wet whereas others like jeans do not at all. So with a load of jeans I only fill it halfway dry. Also it’s best to turn all clothes inside out and close zippers. And detergent dosing takes awhile to get the hang of. A brand new garment seems to have sizings and finishing chemicals that prevent hardly any suds from forming. Clothes that have been worn multiple times, that are very soiled, or that have anti-perspirant, body lotion, or fabric softener will require more detergent than otherwise. You will figure it out in time but there will be a few oversuds. Just don’t get discouraged and remember there was a learning curve for top loaders too. Definitely select as many extra rinses as it will give you. Rinsing is just as important as washing and it takes more water to rinse clothes clean than to wash.

You’re going to be so happy with your decision!
 
Helicaldrive, tell me more about detergent dosing. Right now I have pods, just the regular size Tide pods not the gargantuan power pods. Still though, will they dose too much, and should I get something else? I normally use two for large loads in my TL, thought that just cutting that down to one a load would suffice, but if I just need to axe the pods altogether, I'd like to know that.

I have been told that you can load right up to the top of the drum as long as the door will still close. Is that not necessarily true? Also, neither of us wear jeans that often. There's probably one or two pairs of jeans in the wash per week, most of our clothes are just track pants/sweats/leggings, t-shirts/sweatshirts, both mine and my wife's pajamas, socks, you get the drift. I normally just chuck the one or two pairs of jeans in with the regular wash, but maybe in an FL for balancing they'd work better in a load of towels instead? Guess I'll try it both ways and see.
 
to Ryne...

I'd use 1 pod in an average load. I find that the front load washer would clean anything. If you received the matching dryer, you'll find the normal cycle uses medium heat. My mom has had her LG front load pair since 2007, and she showed me how to use it shortly thereafter. Specifically it was sometime in 2008.
 
Ryne... same here. standard whirlpool dryer with lint screen on top. 7.0 cubic feet.. Even though your LG is going to be a big 4.5 cubic feet...I would say load the amount of clothes in the LG that you know the dryer can accomodate...that's what I do...Plus, I don't like to pack FL washers full...they need room to tumble and they get much cleaner that way...so it works out. If I had the LG I wouldn't wash any more clothes per load than I do now probably... even though it's bigger than my duet.
 
My two cents

Definitely you should never pack clothes in until the door will barely close. Maybe that’s OK with a laundromat front loader but not a home model.

Just put the clothes in loosely without tamping them down, until they almost come to the top of the drum. The right tumbling action occurs when the clothes, once they get fully wet, do not come higher than halfway up the window. Some types of clothes compress more than others once wet. In time you will get the hang of it. Just have to be patient in your learning curve.

I’d start with one pod and see how it goes. So many variables affect how much detergent you need — the detergent brand itself, the softness of your water, the size of the load, the number of times the garments have been worn, the amount of anti-perspirant, fabric softener residue and body lotion in them.

Definitely not more than a tablespoon of liquid or powder for starters. You can always add more if needed — just mix the extra detergent in a little water, put it in the drawer, and flush it down with a couple more cups of water.

Just don’t get discouraged with the learning curve. You’ll never look back.
 
Washer is here!

Install went fine, but I expect that's because I hung around and made sure the guys did everything right. Advised them to make sure they leveled the machine and removed the transit bolts. They assured me they had done both. They ran a test cycle of some sort before they left. They even put some tape below the options on the touch panel I would use most often: Temp, spin speed, soil level, rinse options, and Turbowash. That was above and beyond what I would expect from third-party Lowes installers, so I was pleasantly surprised and appreciative. There's probably a better/more permanent solution as far as making the machine more blind-accessible, but this will do for now. I did not have them connect it to WiFi, I'll deal with that later, perhaps when family comes for Christmas they can help me get that set up.

First load is in now. Mixed load of t-shirts/track pants/leggings/pajamas, etc. Since I'm not quite sure what I'm doing, I didn't fill the drum all the way, I'd say I filled it about two thirds or so but it was still substantially more than I felt comfortable putting in the VMW top loader. Only things I left out were two thick hooded sweatshirts and one pair of jeans. They likely would have fit but I didn't want to push it. I used one tide pod. Normal cycle, one extra rinse. Left all other options the same. I know a lot of people don't like the normal cycle, but one thing that's helpful for me is that Turbowash is automatically selected. I wonder what would be a good cycle for towels and bedding where Turbowash is also already pre-selected for me, so I don't have to interact with the touch screen in that instance.

One thing I'm already noticing is how freaking quiet the washer is. I'm currently sitting at my kitchen table writing this up on my laptop, and I can barely hear it running. It's honestly kind of crazy. Hope it's still quiet when it gets to spin.

I'm sure I'll have more to say as I keep going, I have a couple more loads to do later.
 
I will tell you from my experience that once I selected Turbo.Wash for a different cycle and then start it To completion the turbo wash option remained active from that point on
 
 
The only instance I've used pods was a frontloader (a Kenmore-badged LG) at a friend's place in Sept 2023 when there for his son's wedding.  I ran three loads of this-and-that.  I had noticed that the bath linens had a moderate musty odor.  I loaded in what was in the guest bathroom, accumulated in the laundry room, and a few more clean items in the nearby linen closet.  Upwards of fist-space-at-the-top size of load.  Kirkland/Costco pods of some variety.  Tossed in two, directly into the drum, not the dispenser drawer.  Paused when fill was complete, water not slippery.  Added another.  Note that the fill level was quite low, enough to saturate the items dripping-wet and a small puddle in the drum when paused.  The other loads were somewhat smaller so two pods on them.

The bath linens came out with noticeably less odor.
 
Bob, so if I select Turbowash on a cycle on which it isn't automatically selected, like towels, it'll remain selected from that point forward? Do other cycle parameters, like spin speed/temp, stay at the desired selection, or do they return to the defaults and need to be selected again?

You say there are no spin sprays on towels/bedding. In your experience, would it be better to use other cycles for these items instead?
 
Just did a load of towels, using the dedicated cycle. Eight bath towels, the thinner, standard size ones from Target not the big thick type, several washcloths/dish towels, plus I threw in the sweatshirts and pair of jeans that I left out of the other load. Only thing is, it doesn't look like towels provides an extra hot option, so I just left it on warm. That load is in the dryer now. First load of mixed clothes dried in just over 30 minutes, that load used to take close to 60. It would seem my 7 cu. ft. Whirlpool is keeping pace nicely.

Bob, what's a good cycle for sheets? I have three sets of full-size sheets/pillowcases that I plan to do later tonight or tomorrow.
 
My "go to cycle" is not Normal, it's Perm Press with high speed spin selected. Or you could use Whites cycle and change wash temp to wwarm. I always add an extra rinse since Turbowash does two spray rinses and one deep rinse in the middle.
 
I totally missed this. Dang.. .that was fast!!! Glad it went well. FL washers are quiet...the only real sounds I hear from mine are when it's filling and when it's spinning... that's it.. and most of the time the spins are pretty smooth...but the occasional more rough spin here and there. You may notice less lint on the dryer screen too. Give it time.. you will adjust to it...Let's just hope it operates smoothly for you for years to come.
 
Bob, I'm using permanent press now with a load of sheets. Enabled Turbowash, added one extra rinse, and changed the spin to high. At least, that's what I think I did. I kind of have to rely on knowing the defaults of the cycles, for instance that permanent press starts at a medium spin, and push buttons accordingly. Since the machine's beeps all sound the same know matter what button is pressed, I just have to trust that one push of the spin button moved it up to high. One thing that's helpful when it comes to me using this machine non-visually is that if I lose my place making selections, I can just turn it off and back on and start from scratch.

Mark, yeah I was surprised how well it went. Guys got here a bit before 11 this morning and were gone by noon. I had some other things to take care of after that, but I was doing laundry by 2:00-ish.

BTW, towels were dry within about 45 minutes, in my TL they took about 70.

The only thing that's hard to get the hang of is detergent. I'm still using pods, but it's hard to know how much is too much and how little is too little, especially with the hard water conditions here.
 
I go back and forth between pods and liquid.  My stuff is never really dirty so for a mid range load I use one pod and go from there.  With liquid Persil I use 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons. I love the steam option, it got stains out that had been around for years.

 

 

Ryne, have fun with your new toy, sometimes we need not to be the adult...
 
Matt, thanks for validating my desire to just say hell with it and try something new. Due to a combination of circumstances, this is going to end up being mostly if not totally free to me, so I couldn't think of any reason in the world not to jump it.

That being said, the VMW top loader is still here, hanging out in the corner of my living room. I unhooked it last night and dragged it out here myself, so I wouldn't have to pay Lowes a $50 haul-away fee. Plus, I might still attempt to find a cheap board on eBay, throw it in there, and resell that machine for a couple hundred bucks. I practiced the removal/reinstallation process on the faulty board a few days ago, so I believe I know how to do it. If I can't get it done for whatever reason or I don't find a buyer for the washer, I'll load it onto a dolly and drag it outside. Guarantee it'll be gone within a day. So, no harm, no foul and I may even end up coming out ahead.
 

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