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That last video is pretty funny, I admit and maybe I am just being change resistant. I am just happy that there are other alternatives to an HE top load washer like this one. I really do like my front load machine as far as results go. I do miss some of the older top load machines I once used, even though they used much more water. I just can never see myself having an HE top load machine. They do seem to have MUCH more problems and issues than front loaders. I still find it difficult to imagine them doing nearly as good a job as a front loader. Even the worst washer I have ever used, did an adequate job washing most of my clothes.
 
In a hurry a few weeks ago when our Samsung top loader flooded our laundry room, we quickly picked up the smaller version of this. Because of issues with our septic tank through the years, I decided to monitor how much water the Maytag Bravos used on the normal cycle (which I understand to mean a more Eco cycle now) and at 4.3 cu. ft. capacity, and properly loading it. One time had a load about 3/4 full on Normal, and then did a full load on the Power Wash setting and our machine was using 30 gallons of water no matter what. I did not see how much water was used when I did the bedding cycle, but assume it was at least 50 gallons. I monitored from the water meter outside and did the loads when no other water was in use. I was a bit shocked by these amounts, I assumed HE meant lower water usage more along the lines of a front loader. Mine does do the same as the first few videos posted.
 
I believe Andrew

when he says these get his clothes clean. I'm sure if it didn't get them cleaned and rinsed well he would not own it.

I prefer FL washers though for myself. I'm sure my Duet does NO better of a job that this machine. FL is just my preference. But these are super cool looking machines.
 
Different technologies are scary

Seven years ago when I bought my first front loader, I was skeptical.  Having always had top loading machines, I wasn't sure my clothes would come clean with a small amount of water.

 

I was proven wrong.  My clothes are whiter, less linting, and appear to last longer than with previous machines. 

 

I purposely avoided the HE top loaders when I bought my machine, because I had heard stories of shredding towels (My nephew's wife always overloads), and poor performance.  

 

After these videos, I would consider an HE top loader in the future.  I can't honestly say I couldn't be swayed elsewhere, but it is not out of consideration; at least I wouldn't be afraid of a bad purchase if I got one.

 

 

 
 
"....we are never going to go back to the way things were..... "

We may not go back, but people are choosing to hang on. Over here reconditioned Speed Queen washers sell for more than a thousand bucks and come with a 2 year warranty. There are enough consumers, absolutely desperate for traditional top loading agitator washers, willing to part with large amounts of money to get what they want. People now hang on to their 20 year old Maytags and Speed Queens and having them repaired rather than buying new. Whilst most (young) consumers will buy HE machines, there are plenty of others who continue to want traditional washers with traditional functions and options and that has created a new niche market. Speed Queen and Whirlpool's Maytag range continue to cater to that consumer demand and so do Fisher and Paykel over here.
 
Perhaps it is just my failure to be able to accept a completely different way of washing clothes. It does seem to do at least an adequate job of washing and rinsing. I already accepted the fact that front load machines do a good job of washing and rinsing with much less water, partly due to the many years I ran a commercial laundry with front load machines. It just seems to be harder on the clothing, produces more linting and seems really difficult for the machine to do it's job. A front load machines seems to do it with ease and has less trouble with unbalanced loads. I know there are lots of horror stories on you tube about top load HE machines going off balance and "exploding", although they don't actually explode. Just seems much simpler to have a front load machine and easier on your clothes too. I guess this would not be going on if it were not for energy and resource conservation, which is a good thing. The old top load machines did an excellent job, even the worse ones, but they used a great deal of water. Makes me think that maybe it would have been better just to start having them all with suds savers again, that would save water too. And have a clean clear rinse for each load. Oh well, not up to me.
 
I completely understand your feelings Bruce. While I can't speak from experience because I've never owned or really gotten to use a front loader (except from the nasty ones the few times I've had to go to a laundromat), I can certainly see front loaders being the most gentle on fabrics of all machines, however, because I've been lucky enough to be able to "hotswap" machines and use the WTW4800 agitator washer, and the Maytag Atlantis, in succession with the BravosXL while using the same dryer and same detergent/additives, I did notice a substantially heavier amount of lint in the dryer's lint filter. This was with loads half the size of what the BravosXL handles on a typical basis simply because of capacity limitations of the two agitator machines. In theory this should mean that the HE TL actually causes half the linting the other machines do. In addition to that, I found myself having to cut loose strings from towels and other items when washed and dried from the agitator machines, where I've had to do very little of that at all with the BravosXL, and it's typically only with towels that have fringe on the edges, or towels that are nearly as old as I am. It was also actually shocking to me just how drastically different the cleaning results were between the machines. The two agitator machines failed miserably with staining of kitchen towels and dish cloths, as well as underarm stains, that the BravosXL removes on a regular basis with no manual pretreating. Twice the detergent, twice the water, half the capacity, yet couldn't get rid of grease spots and sauce stains the first time. Throw in drying time being doubled as well, and I was more than ready to go back to the HE washer.

I'd also agree with you about older top loaders, even the worst of them, doing an adequate job. A Frigi-WCI Franklin transmission washer was nothing compared to the Maytags, Lady K belt-drives, or KitchenAid DDs at the time, but they still did an adequate job despite being hated by some. There will always be better and worse when it comes to any product. In that light, I'll likely never touch an LG/Samsung built HE top-loader. There are some people who love them, but from my observations watching a full cycle video and hearing from those who own them, the load seems to simply swish back and forth, spinning one way and the other as one mass of clothes, but not really rolling over or moving around much. I'm sure the machines still do an adequate job, but there is a stark difference in the design and behavior of those machines versus ones built by Whirlpool or Fisher&Paykel. HE TL's seem to have a reputation of "not moving the clothes, not using enough water, being harsh on fabrics", and that's true for some machines, however in my experience, the Whirlpool/F&P designed TLs are the only ones that will uniformly bloom and roll the load over while still being relatively gentle on clothing, while also managing to use less water and laundry additives.
 
I cannot imagine doing laundry without an onboard heater and being able to reach temps of 150+ degrees when needed as well as 130 degrees.  So many models of front loaders have heaters and maybe only the TOL "top loader" does.  I keep my Whirlpool Energy Smart Water heater set on Energy Smart mode and 120 degrees.  I let the dishwasher and washer heater water when needed. My partner has learned improved laundry habits from me, but he still sees significantly cleaner, far more difficult soil/stains removal than his "shredmore" Admiral. 
 
Andrew

I know what you mean about the LG HE TL washers. I've watched videos on them and they do use more water and spin the water in both directions, which is kind of cool to watch. But I don't see it blooming the load of clothes as you described that you can see happening on 2x speed. That low water/concentrated detergent/blooming combination must be what gets rid of those stubborn stains, but the rinses? You would think they would use a little more water to get that detergent out, NO? My duet does not do high level rinses but uses the same amount of water as it does in the wash. I've always wished it would use a little more to rinse, but there are multiple rinses so I guess that gets it out. I always always use extra rinse which gives me three rinses with high spin between each rinse.
 
I've watched LG videos of full wash cycles (2+ hours) at 4x speed on my phone and the clothes do move around - but more in a chaotic fashion, rather than rolling over. I see it as more of an "active soak", while the Cabrio actually moves the clothes around and scrubs each item clean. Now... that Extra Rinse option should also include a spin cycle, I think. Other than that, I think these older Cabrios were pretty good washers.
 
From watching the difference between top load HE washers and front load HE washers it seems to be this: front load washers actually lift and drop the clothes through the water to clean them. They do that with no wear or abrasion to clothing and all and any lint that may be present is dropped through the holes in the tub and flushed away. A top load HE machine has to try and clean with a minimum amount of water also, it does this by moving the clothes with an agitator or impeller or something in between that actually grinds or wears against the clothing to move them, causing wear and linting. It does seem to clean the clothing as it does this. I do see the "blooming" effect, but the abrasion against the clothing is what is causing that. Which do YOU think is easier on your clothing and causes less linting?
 
I've never seen a FL washer that "lifts" clothes...they tumble on top of each other in the drum and clean by using friction as well. I saw no difference in wear and tear between the 2 types of machines. Only noticeable difference I saw was an increased amount of wear using a traditional TL washer.

Same thing for lint...actually my Kenmore 28102 did a much better job of getting rid of lint than the LG FL set I used. Even after using the dryer my stuff still had pet hair all over it.
 
Depends no the load size

it does lift/drop/splash if you do a load that, when loading the machine with dry dirty clothes, you fill it about 80% full - by the time the clothes are wet, they have a lot of room to lift drop......but on large loads where you end up with saturated clothes and the machine is half full while tumbling the clothes, they do end up not lifting and dropping as much
 
Tis true about how big a load you have and I have found no machine that gets completely rid of hair, one of the reasons I have a dog that doesn't shed. But as far as wear, an HE top load machine is MUCH harder on clothing than any front load machine.
 
Bruce, with all due respect, have you ever actually USED an HE TL? If not, you should before you state with certainty that they are harder on the clothes, and create more lint. I have owned and used just about every type of washer there is, wringer, twin tub, portable TL, traditional TL, old school FL, newer generation FL's and HE TL, both 1st and 2nd generations. They all have their strenghts and weaknesses. I appreciate that you worked in the commercial laundry business and have a great knowledge base from your experience. But you can't really discount the experiences that others have withtheir HE TL's, simply based upon watching several videos of them in action.

The choice of a washer is personal. If I had the room and the set up for a wringer, that would be my first choice. If I could find an old school FL that was in good condition that would be a close second to my Maytag HE TL. In my opinion they perform just about neck and neck. I've not had any issues with excessive wear on our clothing or lint. In that area it seems to perform equally with the LG FL that it replaces. But as far as actual cleaning, hands down the Maytag HE TL surpasses the LG FL.
I'm glad you are happy with you LG FL. Everyone should be happy with their daily driver. But please give those of us a break that like our HE TL's. We really do know the difference between our a** and and a hole in the ground about washers, why do you think we are on this site in the first place?
Eddie[this post was last edited: 2/23/2017-14:21]
 

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