Congratulations!
You will not be disappointed. I have both the SQ FL and TL. I bought the FL as a midlife crisis curiosity toy, figuring I could resell it on eBay if I didn't like it, but much to my surprise I use the front loader most of the time now. It does as good a job as the TL, and in most cases it gets clothes cleaner, with the same or less wear compared to the TL. The detergent and water savings are unbelievable. It uses about 3 gallons of water per fill -- that's it. At least with a water softener -- one tablespoon of detergent is the most you need, and sometimes that is too much. Definitely use less than 1 T with Tide and Persil, which are both highly concentrated. With those detergents, enough to coat half the bottom of the detergent dispenser section is enough, and with other brands, pour until it just coats the whole bottom.
There is definitely a learning curve on loading and detergent dosing. If you over-suds a load, i.e., there is little to no audible noise of clothes slapping on the drum, then expect that they will not be clean and you will have to re-wash once you get all the suds rinsed out. Sometimes heavy towels and blankets pose a balancing problem, which is a pain, but based on you tube videos out there, other brands are the same or worse in that department. Just be patient and you'll get the hang of it.
It rinses well. It ramps a spin very slowly to avoid kicking up suds. It has another trick that might be unique to SQ FLs: after a spin, the pump stays on, the water comes on before the tub stops spinning, and it rinses the suds off the outer side of the wash basket and flushes the suds out of the outer tub before the pump stops and the tub fills. It makes a big difference in rinsing effectiveness.
Overall I am enthralled with mine and you will be too! The outstanding cleaning results, economy, gentleness on clothes, and quiet operation are amazing!
