Why bother??

[laundromat]

I would love to talk to whoever it is that either Sears or Whirlpool has designing their front loading washers and matching dryers.Why the hell are they bothering placing any windows on the Sears HEt and Cabrio washers and dryers using tinted plastic to keep anybody from seeing inside?????Why is there no easy access to the "button catcher"? Why aren't the tumble arms perferated?I say let's boycott untill they stop this madness!

 

[peteski50]

Why bother

I agree with you Chuck. Also a big issue is the amount of time it takes for these newer machines to run. Plus the lack of water which they may not be able to do anything about because of government regulations. Also to much time spent balancing before spinning. Anyone else to comment please!
Peter

 

[tuthill]

time spent balancing before spinning

I agree with this point in particular... it's such A WASTE OF TIME. geez.. need to take spinning lessons from a unimatic

 

[alr2903]

its a shame

I don't know about the new F/L, why is the ole westy design, that worked well, so totally abandoned, Would they use to much water, by the new energy guidelines? too much METAL?, too heavy to ship? I just can't get it through my head, why wci/electrolux, gave up on them. Wonder if LUX still owns the patent? A simple electro-mechanical timer, no mother boards or whatever, all this electronic foolishness to wash a simple load of clothes in a mature technology. LOL, more and more im thinking i just don't get it.

 

[laundromat]

I agree W/AlR.The slant front design w/weigh-to-save open down door and up front controls,yesterdays style,designed with today's technology would rock my world!!I have written numerous letters to E'Lux regarding that w/no response.Nobody there gives a rat's ass about any previous encounters,desins or features.

 

[alr2903]

Landro.... ditto that.

the biggest feature Laundromat is the big feature I dont wash a concrete mixer full of stuff together. LOL, i am 47 and set in my ways.

 

[a440]

Do Like me....

I took the "smoke" plastic off of my HE3T when I changed the boot a couple of years ago.
Looks getto, but who cares!
Brent

 

[peteski50]

Should be designs!

I wish we could go back to the mechinical timers. The origional frigmores were good. All I want in options are prewash and extra rinse options. I would like to be able to set the time needed to wash.
On all these new machines they have so many cycles but you have less control over these bombs.
We need to do the designing.
Peter

 

[peteski50]

Also!

Being their are so many water regulations - it should be mandatory that all machines have a constitant water spray like the old kenmores.
Peter

 

[brisnat81]

My Miele, can be switched betwen US, AU and EU programming. The US and AU cycles are almost identical in relation to time (40 Minutes) and water usage (47L) They wash and rinse fine in either mode and I have no complaints. Is the washing and rinsing such a problem, or does it just appear to be due to cultural differences and different detergent formulations?

I now have the machine in EU mode as it washing for around 20 minutes longer on average, giving around a 30 minute wash time. The Rinses in EU mode are very much adaptive and if the machine senses a highly absorbentload, the water will come 1" up the glass without any options. I dont find any real difference in the rinsing ability compared to US, AU and EU modes. The Miele has high speed spins between each water change.

The rule of thumb in AU to acheive the efficiency ratings, is that you need to use less than 10L per KG of dry laundry. As long as you meet that requirement, you qualify for the energy rebates. What is the water consumption formula for the US?

 

[laundromat]

Brisnat,

I think the problems with current front loaders here are:

1.Wash time-some people like it simple,not complex.My L.G can take up to 90 minutes from start to finish for just 1 load whereas my old Westinghouse Laundromat and /or Frigidaire Galery had 30 minute cycles.

2.spin ballance delay.This is a sensitive subject(pardon the pun)I remember how my Westinghouse Laundromat would go right in to the spin w/out any type of ballance whatsoever.The water would drain out,the tub would tumble for a minute and the spin solenoid would tighten the spin belt engaging it to increase the tub speed and shake like I used to during an epileptic seazure!!!Back then,the controls and other components were made here with pride,engineering and care.Now,the parts used are made overseas and are so damned delicate that if the manufacturers didn't have the ballance systems on these models,their life expectancies would go even lower.

3.Water usage.these new models are real stingy.I would prefer mine to fill up to the first 2 inches of the base of the window.That is stii a lot less than what agitator type models use.

 

[electron800]

Since there seem to be so many complaints in the US about th

can somebody tell me the water usage and capacity of some of these machines which apparently use too little?

My Whirlpool is awful at rinsing but the previous Hoover was excellent and they both used the same amount for the same capacity. I've never used a machine which gave poor wash results (apart from a Coin-op Neptune).

Wash water levels should not be visible, but as a rule rinse water levels should be.

I'm curious as to wether the problem is that people are simply not used to low water usage front loaders in the US, or if they really do use less water than ours.

 

[re563]

Everyone has said exactly what I have been thinking since I got my HE3 5 yrs ago, but now the New HE5T's and alike have even darker windows than mine.

As far as water level goes, all of these machines exceed government regulations in there water use. They do need to back off some. In the 80's when I had a Westinghouse frontloader, I just loved that machine. I never had a balance issue, and if I set the washer for the longest wash time (16 mins) the whole cycle with 3 rinses took 35-40 mins. I loved it. Did a decent size load, and everything was clean.

 

[decodriveboy]

The more sense it makes = the less likely it is to be made.

The more stuff that can go wrong or break means more profit for the big corporations when you have to keep buying new machines, repairs, or parts regularly. This is why they do not give the public what it wants; corporations care about profit and nothing more; too much is never enough for them.

And as for the energy regulations and the environment, what a crock....especially with all the material and energy spent building crappy machines which pile up in landfills and pollute the environment.

Not to mention the electricity wasted waiting for a three-hour cycle to finish which in earlier years took only half an hour.

 

[maytagmightyjj]

Amen

to decodriveboy's comments. Corporate america is out for profit only.

I had a Whirlpool Duet-- and it was ok, but I moved and had to get rid of it due to space limitations. The thing shook like it was going to blast off when it spinned. I now have a traditional top loader and I love it, but I'm sure the Government will do us all a favor and outlaw them in a few years due to water usage

 

[jbuscemi]

I agree that U.S. front loadres do not use enough water ESPECIALLY in the rinse cycles. I have an old Westinghouse Front loader ...from 1989. It has the weigh to save door , Manual adjustable water lever and it works JUST FINE giving a really well rinsed ,clean wash. If I could get another just like it I would. It is so simple none of those confusing electroinc controlls and it doesn't take all day to do a good sized load of wash.

 

[jons1077]

He4t,

I have to say I used an HE4t set that cost about $2,500 new when I bought them about 4 years ago. Now that I've moved to my house in Portland I am using nothing but vintage top-loading machines. I can honestly say that my clothes feel cleaner and are finished in about half the time. I can put just about as much clothing in my Maytag, GE, or Westinghouse as I could in the HE. What I'm particularly happy with is the fact that my old machines rinse the clothing so much better. In the HE4t I would use the whites cycle with bleach and, even with the extra "skin care" rinse they whites always came out still smelling like bleach. I run them in my GE filter-flo with an extra rinse and you never knew they had ever been in bleach. They rinse out so clean now. I'm not saying my old machines aren't water hogs but I'd rather use that little bit more water to have actual clean clothes than save a few gallons and itch like crazy.

Jon

 

[countryguy]

I have the HE4t also and I love it. I use bleach in the whitest whites cycle and never have noticed a bleach smell afterwards. I use the extra skin care rinse also. I guess we all have different sensory perceptions. I can wash double the load that I could wash in my old Kenmore top loader. Granted it does take longer but that doesn't bother me. I just go off and do something else and don't have to worry about the laundry for 1.5 hours or so.

Gary

 

[autowasherfreak]

time spent balancing before spinning

I was washing the two slip covers for our couch and love seat. Went down to check on them, machine was on the final spin, and according to the timer had 15 minutes left so I pulled up a chair and waited for the final spin to start. Almost all the 15 minutes was nothing but tumbling to balance the load, then it did finally spin out. I've noticed this happens a lot with blankets.

James