Why are Top Loaders Cheaper than Front Loaders?

[launderess]

My Miele Is An Older W1070

And while "electronic" it only tries a few times to balance a load then it's off.

Washing large amounts of napkins or other items of all the same size is generally not recommended for front loaders. Things tend to ball up and or otherwise do not make for proper washing.

All of our table linen is just that pure linen, some of it of the older heavy variety. Once that lot gets wet it does become quite heavy and often as stated above the washer ends up unbalanced. It will spin but shakes and vibrates. One supposes new motherboard controlled washers have ways to avoid this, but I wouldn't know about that.

The Whirlpool TL is actually less sensitive to unbalanced issues especially with loads of all the same size items. Then again there is less tangling going on and the basket merely has to push items to the side as it spins.

For various reasons one prefers to launder linen outside of a front loader, so don't mind using the FL or TT. Have even been known to wash my huge vintage French linen/hemp sheets in a wash tub.

 

[passatdoc]

Where I live, rebates from the water district and the gas company can amount to $150 or more, thus blurring the price point difference between FL and TL. However, to get these rebates, a washer must now be considered "Tier III" in water efficiency. An EnergyStar designation in and of itself does not qualify for a rebate.

My FL, Frig 2140, is still in production and now can be had for $400 or less...but it no longer qualifies for a rebate [though it did when purchased in early 2006]. A very basic machine, with a few features missing that I wish I had (ATC and variable delay wash between the chief two), but it's rugged, has gone nearly six years with zero issues* or repairs, and washes everything nice and clean except for king-sized comforters, which require a trip to the laundromat. Has all the cyles I need: heavy, normal, perm press, delicate, handwash, and sport (for synthetic athletic clothes). A new larger machine (4.4+ cu ft) probably could handle a king comforter.

The newer FLs, the ones that qualify for the $150 in rebates, all seem to be priced higher, so I wonder if---at least in our area---the retailers build the expected rebates into the sales price and thus sell the rebate models for more. Paying the base price, you'd probably never recoup the price difference between newer and older models in terms of utility savings, but with the rebate thrown in, maybe you would save (at least a little...).

I think the other issue, at least in USA, is that the water use standards have tightened under government mandate. Several years ago, the wash quality of mass-produced TLs in USA (I don't mean HE TL but traditional agitator TLs) declined to the point were Consumer Reports could not recommend ANY of them because none of them washed satisfactorily: they simply used too little water to wash and rinse the clothes. They rated TLs that year (c. 2008) but gave none of them a Recommended or Best Buy designation. I think poor CR ratings (used by many consumers, even if their system has limitations for more knowledgeable consumers such as AW.org readers) plus the known issues of higher water and energy (to heat the water) are enough to depress the prices.

Having been a house guest in Europe numerous times, to me it seemed that clothes just felt cleaner when washed in a FL in Europe vs. a TL at home. When my FL was first installed, I ran a load of already clean clothes (hanging in the closet) without any detergent. I stopped the machine mid-cycle and saw SUDS in the water---leftover residue from having been washed in my TL, which did not have an Extra Rinse option---no way it could compete with three rinses after the wash in my FL. I am not sure if all consumers know about this issue, but some do, plus there are articles describing how FLs are gentler on clothes and that they therefore last longer (another hidden savings).

Even though we here know about some of the low built quality issues (aluminum spiders, plastic doors, etc.) on modern FLs, the general public looks at cost of operation, quality of washing, gentleness on clothes.....most have no idea about durability, and some now see washers as something you periodically replace every five years (nonsense to me, but....).

*a few months ago the magnet fell out of the dispenser, causing the machine to stall, but I found it on the floor, reinserted it, and it works fine now. Most likely it dislodged because I dropped the dispenser on the floor while airing it to dry, i.e. my fault and not the machine's. [this post was last edited: 11/21/2011-10:37]

 

[Jsneaker]

Post# 558270, Reply# 41 11/21/2011 at 10:21 by PassatDoc

Hi Doc! While I am quite happy with the total cleaning & extraction performance of my 2010 Samsung WA448AAW, I wish the machine had full-width "normal-size" tumble vanes, to create far better drop. While my drum has the "diamond pattern", and "full"-height-across vanes, they are too short in height and width, clothes slide past the front of the vanes because of the tilted drum. Some of the cheaper Samsung's don't have the diamond drum and have dual-height(if any!)vanes. By the way, my brother's 1999 Passat V6, now gone, was a true "money pit"! While he took excellent care of it and didn't beat on it, I sure hope our Samsung will not end-up costing a mint to repair! We, too, remove & empty the dispenser drawer and leave the door open after every wash, therefore the machine still smells new! The machine is in the basement out of the way.

 

[passatdoc]

My 1998 Passat 1.8T costs about $600 a year to maintain. Gets 35 mpg on the highway which is hard to beat, except with a diesel or hybrid. When it starts to become a money pit, I'll get a new one.

I've never seen a FL in a European home with the door closed when not in use, just about everyone I know keeps the door ajar. I think that closing the door is a major cause of mold and odor here. One of the major manufacturers (may be Frigidaire) now makes a clip that allows you to keep the door ajar but it's supposedly childproof so kids can't open the door and climb inside.

 

[launderess]

All Washing Machines

Top and front loading should have their lids left open after laundry day is done for proper airing. If you walk past any well run laundromat after it closes you will see doors on washers left up/open overnight.

 

[eronie]

top load

i can put 12 pair of farm dirty jeans in my bol ge ff and they come out clean !!! in a euro fl that would be 4 loads!!

 

[ronhic]

in a euro fl that would be 4 loads!!

...only if you've a particularly big butt.

 

But seriously, a pair of jeans weighs somewhere between 450gm and 900gm, depending on which sex they are for and the denier of the fabric....let's say about 650gms or about 1.5lb for an average mens size 36....

 

In that case, my Euro front load machine with its 6.5kg capacity would only hold 10 'average' pairs - hardly small capacity.

 

....but a new machine of the same make would take 12....

[this post was last edited: 11/22/2011-00:18]