Safest brand stackable Washer/dryer to buy

[berner]

Hello,

Looking for stackable washer and drier 27" wide maximum.

Not sure I trust consumer reports which lists LG as best brand to buy.

Thanks for your time.

 

[appnut]

Speed Queen would be your best bet. It does lack an onboard heater.

 

[whirlykenmore78]

Correct Bob:

Easily the best stacked unit ever made. This will likely be the last washer/dryer you ever need. Don't waste your time with LG or other Asian brands as you would likely need to purchase 4 of them to equal the useful life of 1 SQ stack.
WK78

 

[yogitunes]

seems were asked this question over and over and over.....

every time a new thread, every time the same answer: Speed Queen...

sometimes feels like I am in Deja Vu....

if there was a way to refer this to one thread....as in check out Thread #78912...your answer is there...one thread answers every ones question....

but just the same, todays question, which machine fits the bill....Speed Queen!

 

[nmassman44]

Here is the thing about SQ...if you have deep pockets then SQ is for you, if not and you want a machine that has an onboard heater then I would look at Electrolux or LG. If you are height challenged and buy a SQ set and stack them, you might be in for a surprise. I am 5ft 9in tall and I used an SQ set that was stacked once. Once was enough as I had issues with getting clothes that were at the back of the dryer drum. SQ dryers heat much higher and DO NOT have the finesse as an Electrolux or LG dryer performance wise. The SQ washer lacks an onboard water heater and for the nose bleed price of a cool $1800 an SQ washer is a turn off to me. And dont tell me that SQ front loaders do such a wonderful job washing, they dont. Also capacity wise for the SQ front loader is very lacking for what one pays for. If you have alot of laundry and that laundry is rather soiled then I would go with either an Electrolux or LG. I had the Electrolux 527's where we lived in Mass and I loved how they performed. I moved here to FL and got a gawd awful Whirlpool top loader that turned into instant regret. I couldn't take the subpar performance of the washer and decided last month to replace the washer and dryer with an LG set...WM 4000 and the DLEX 4000....I got the washer as it was in stock, still waiting on the dryer. I love the washer and it is much quieter than the 3570 LG washer that I had. Just my opinion, your milage will vary.

 

[appnut]

Mike, I'm sorry you ended up having to replace the washer and dryer that came with y'all's new home. But, you as an experienced laundry and washer guy, you know and can discern what's a far better laundry experience and performance. Yes, Speed Queen makes the best front loader as per quality. But, as we both point out, it doesn't have a heater. I cannot imagine me having a front loader without a heater, as I've said numerous times. I try to wrap my head around the thought of attempting to do heavily soiled/stained laundry without a washer with the heating process and I cannot. My duet has me so intensely spoiled because I can select options that will start a wash load with tepid warm water and get it all the way up to 155 degrees and obliterating just about every type of stain without giving it much further thought than selecting the appropriate options and no further involvement on my part. And thank you for placing another vote in the LG endorsement column.

 

[egress]

We've loved our front load LG. we've had it for roughly a year now and no issues with mold, smells, mildew, or cleaning performance. it just cleans *everything*. I've even thrown a rug in it to see if it could handle bulkier items and it worked great.

 

[nmassman44]

Oh we bought the Whirlpools at Lowe’s when we got here in FL and that was really the only models at the time. The washer was the WTW4516FW that was a Lowe’s exclusive model. That washer did try but everything that had a stain, no matter what the stain was had to be pretreated. Shout Heavy Duty Gel and MaxForce had to be used or the stain would not shift, even with Tide or Persil. It got old real fast . Plus hearing my water heater constantly running since this washer was not shy about water consumption. Not to mention the capacity limits that it had,well , I had enough. I do like the Whirlpool AccuDry system on the dryer and it performs well.

As far as what I said about the SQ machines, the current separate models are not stackable. They have unitized washer and dryer with a center band control center. LG’s have a similar model with their WashTower and with the LG’s one can use the ThinQ app that connects to the machines. I never thought I would care for that feature but it has come in very handy. Just remember this one thing though…no matter what you decide on what brand or model, just be aware of the chronic shortages out there. Like I said before, I bought the new LGs and the washer was in stock, but the dryer was not in stock. I also bought an LG stove back in April that I am still waiting for. The dealer said that the stove should be in in August. I got my LG dishwasher a month ago that I love. The Bosch was ok but I cook a lot and bake so I wanted a dishwasher with capacity and performance to spare.

 

[nmassman44]

Oh before I forget, the LG washer that I bought was not built in Korea or China, but made here in the USA. I was very happy to see that.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

some kenmores

are made by lg and have the same programming.

 

[pinkpower4]

Speed Queen vs LG vs ???

My experience

I am not a fan of stackables that are a unit. If ones goes out and is non-repairable, then you must replace both the washer and dryer at the same time. The Speed Queen may be a better unit, but the bearings will eventually go out on that washer. More of you on this forum probably have the equipment, knowledge, and already own the tools to fix this. You may also be able to get parts at a discount. This is not the case for the average consumer. Also, if your circumstances change, you cannot unstack the units later.

The good thing about a unit is they don't have to be unstacked to work on? It would have cost me extra for someone to repair my LG because it had to be unstacked for some repairs.

With that said, the LG washer went out on my stacked unit. I could have bought a new LG fl and still be using them stacked. I am still using the dryer, but I chose to get a topload washer instead.

One thing I do miss is the LG onboard heater. I could wash a load of clothes on Sani cycle (the heated cycle). Garments that smelled like mildew, used for workouts/yardworks, or even pet accidents always came out clean and fresh smelling. Using the same products now even with one of the best performing and cleaning toploads (Maytag mvwp575gw) you can buy today, I can tell you the heated cycle made a difference. I am not sure but new front loads may limit temp of hot water. I see no reason for this given how little they use, but definitely look for ones that don't. Speed Queen does use tap hot.

The LG front load did a good job of getting all of our laundry clean. The only exception was comforters, which could not really turn over.

The stackable would cost me close to $4K with taxes. This is a great deal more than what I can buy an LG stackable unit for. I chose higher end models. The Speed Queen may last longer, but in the end I have not paid more. Sometimes people don't have that much cash up front. It's not as environmentally friendly, but as a consumer there is only so much extra I can pay.

My LG FL lasted for ten years until the bearings went out. It would have required disassembling almost the entire machine. Other than that, I had two issues. One was a rotor that came loose. It was easily replaced by removing the back panel and less than $100. The other was the drain pump (something was left in pockets) that was replaced by me for less than $50. Eugene (Lorain Furniture) has some videos on LG front loads that show it is user friendly to replace common parts. Also, I could adjust the water level on mine by turning a screw. I made sure I could still open the door at any point in the cycle.

Finally, my LG FL had no issue with balancing any load I threw out including rugs, pet beds, etc.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

One thing I like about lg dryers

is that the heat temperature and output is reasonable. At first, I was suspicious about the normal cycle using medium heat as I was used to older dryers using higher temps. I did notice the airflow rate was much higher on the lg so it makes all the difference.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

I've had jeans shrink

due to the use of the heavy-duty cycle. This was despite using cold or warm water. Now, I dry most loads on normal for the estimated 41 minutes. I've noticed the normal cycle is hot enough to dry most items efficiently, but without the shrinkage.