Frigidaire TL
My old Frigidaire top-loader sounded rather irritating. The wide-finned agitator made a "whomp...whomp...whomp!" noise during normal operation. I thought this was very unusual, because I was used to hearing a constant din out of these TLs, like on the Maytag Atlantis at my old house.
The most irritating noise out of the Frigidaire stemmed from the automatic water level sensing feature. How does it work? Once you press start, the washer fills up a quarter of the way, and the agitator performs several large swishes to determine the resistance of the load. The washer then adds more water until the clothes are fully submerged. With smaller loads, the noise wasn't too bad. But with a full-to-the-top load, the machine made a grinding noise, and the tub would bash right into the sides of the washer. That was obnoxious, especially with towels, and it concerned me that the washer would break in half. Looking back, I believe this is what most likely contributed to the drain pump ultimately falling off and leaking.
Now, with my current GE UltraFresh FL, hearing the clothes splash back and forth is significantly more pleasant than listening to a whomp-whomp sound for a long time. However, as a tradeoff, the spin cycle is obnoxious. Due to the higher spin speeds, the washer vibrates, which in turn shakes the whole upstairs. This results in some light items, such as soap bars, getting knocked off the shower rack in the master bathroom (across the hallway from the laundry room).
Is there any way to minimize the vibration from the GE? All I know is that the washer is absolutely level on the floor.
