Front Load Washing Machines - Your Experience

Hi L.,
I love my frontloader. A very IMPORTANT note: front loading machines with computers do not work with water softners. I am not sure if you have a softner, but if you do you have to find one that is compatable.
My MIL has had a terrible time with her whirlpools from Lowes because the computers to not know when the machine is full of water or not! It shuts down all the time. All 3 techs we had out said that they find this a common problem on all machines that are hooked up with a softner.

My machine does not have a computer and it works fine with a softner. So digital is not always better.

I am curious if any other mom's have experienced a problem with water softners and their front loaders.

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I haven't heard too much on the Kenmore. I bought the Whirlpool Duet, which is very similar. It's large capacity and I can even wash my king size comforter in it. It's very efficient. Our power bill dropped considerably, and the water usage cut in half what my old 30 year old washer used. Which is important when you're on a well. I had some problems with the dryer a while back. The mother board died. It was a quick $80 repair from the local appliance store and it's been fine ever since, but it's my understanding that this happens a lot on Whirlpool Duet dryers, and Whirlpool refuses to do any kind of recall on it. Overall I'm very happy with my choice though.

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I have a kenmore he3 I think it is (or maybe the he4) and it's on the second floor. It doesn't shake the house at all really. although it does shake the laundry detergent and bleach and stuff off the top sometimes. But I think the bigger reason for that is the fact I don't think it's actually level. And I haven't taken the time to check it or level it. It was originally set up and leveled for a garage set-up and we've moved to a different house since then.

I LOVE my Kenmore and know it's a REALLY well made brand that will be with me for a long long time. It's more efficient and does at least double the laundry in one load.

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We have an LG in a second floor laudry room that is just fine...you have to make sure the machine is leveled properly and that you use very little laundry detergent...even the high efficiency stuff...because quite frankly with these machines...a little goes a long way. But it doesn't "shake my house down" at all and has saved alot on our water bill. Also when you buy...you can get credit back from utility companies for "energy star" appliances. Whoever told you about the Kenmore just wanted you to buy their product and pay more money.

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I've had a Kenmore HE3t for years (4 maybe?). I feel like my frontloader cleans much better than any top loader I've ever had. Energy efficient - only adds the amount of water needed for each specific load. You have to not mind all the bending down to switch clothes - which can be a problem if you have a top loader dryer. I do live in a one floor house - and I do set the spin down from the highest spin level to counter some shaking. If you can keep your machine level it helps - we bought our machine at a Sears outlet (cosmetic damage) and it seems to need the level adjusted frequently to combat shaking which could be because we bought it at the outlet. But we shut the door to the laundry area and don't notice a huge problem with sound or "house shaking". Good option if you can't afford (or don't want to pay) the price for a higher end front loader (I've read the german Miele is great).

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I have the Kenmoore Elite HE3 on the second floor of my house. It is very noisy. People always think a helicopter is flying over head when it's running. And it does shake the floor a bit. My biggest problem with the front loader has been the mold! I've been told that this is very common and wish I had known that before I bought it. Will NEVER buy another front loader again! It's ridiculously high maintenence to keep mold-free and I'm always worried about it because I have 2 small kids that I don't want sick from mold. Maybe you'll have better luck, but that's my experience.

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Dear L.,
I have personally never owned a front loading washer, but I know plenty of people who do. They have been extremely happy with them. My kids and I went to stay with my uncle in Southern California for a couple of weeks and I did laundry almost every day. Ours, his...I would have taken in wash just to get to use that thing. My top loading washer gets out of balance quite often, which is a problem none of my friends with front loaders have ever experienced. You probably just need to make sure it's level. I'm sorry, but I don't know for sure about the names of the brands.

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I don't know about the 2nd floor issue because we live in a small single story house with laundry hookups in the kitchen. When our last washer was doing laundry you couldn't watch TV in front room or carry on conversation at dinner time if it was running. We bought our Kenmove HE4t a year ago and I LOVE IT. Only issue I've had with ours is because of the small quarters I am not able to leave the door open like they suggest so sometimes it gets musty smelling. When it does though I just do the recommended cleaning with hot water & bleach and it takes care of it.

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LOVE my Kenmore HE5t!!! Much quieter and less jiggly than my old washer. And I believe before we bought it we researched it though Consumer Reports and it was supposed to be pretty good. I've been happy, and clothes seem to be cleaner.

p.s. - I've seen other front loaders with the mildrew problem discussed by another mom -- but I've had NO mildew problems with my Kenmore. I'm also very attentive to it, treat it very lovingly and leave the door open between washes, and only use the HE detergent.

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I don't have a front load washing machine, but a friend of mine did and got rid of it. She said it was awful. It didn't clean the clothes well and she was all together NOT happy with it, she went back to a top load. She advised me NEVER to get a front loading machine.

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We got an LG front loader for our 2nd floor laundry room with TILE flooring. We got it at Bezt Buy - they delivered it and hooked it up and then adjuzted it to be level on the floor.
You can hear a low hum overhead when it iz on zpin cycle - however - if I load it funky - like 1 heavy towel and alot of little lighter itemz it will be much louder. I've learned to do a denim or towel load alone to keep it even.
When you get it delivered, tell them you want to have it levelled and then check it once in a while.
I will never buy another top loader! I love how much I can cram in my front loader and no more tiny holez in our clothez.
Check Conzumer Reportz before you go zhopping - I reccommend Bezt Buy - they are really helpful and have a great range of product.
If you're petite - don't get the pedeztal drawer - it will make adding the detergent hard for you to reach. I'm tall zo I love the added height - I don't have to bend down.
My darling boy broke a key off my keyboard - I really do know how to zpell. ;)

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We have the Whirlpool Duet and it's been fantastic. It's very quiet. Every once in a while I can hear it on the spin cycle, but that's mostly when I've overloaded it or I've got heavy towels going. Otherwise, it's very quiet. Both my sister and SIL have Kenmore and both have had problems. One kept having to have the dryer door replaced and the other had problems with detergent leaking down the front of the machine and door problems. I also know somebody who had a Maytag... she had so many problems that she had to rent a washer and dryer while the company figured out what to do. Oye!

Anyway... love my Whirlpool! And like many - I use it almost daily.

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My Kenmore frontloader is a couple of years old. I love it. It doesn't shake my house, I hardly hear it. I get my laundry done in no time because it takes larger loads. The only negative I have is that the clothes fall on the floor when transferring them from washer to dryer. I just put a basket there to catch them. My 18 year old daughter and my 13 year old son know how to use them and I don't do their laundry anymore. I bought the one with the sanitizing cycle so I can wash my towels I use for work.

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Hi L.,
when we lived in San Francisco we had a Kenmore frontloader on the third floor of a very wiggly Victorian and it was fine as long as we kept the spin cycle speed in the lowest setting. You could still feel it a bit from the second or the first floor, but it wasn't a big deal. On the other side, we could feel their machines from upstairs. But, a frontloader is the best possible choice. I grew up in Europe with frontloader and I always thought American machine were a waste of water and time.
Our neighbors from the second floor had a German Miele. It was so perfect in any possible sense that I wished we had that money to buy it. If you do (have the money to buy a Miele) , go for it.

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We bought a Frigidaire Affinity front loader from Western Appliance about 8 months ago. My husband went online and did a lot of research regarding the mildew issue and checked the consumer ratings. (check www.retrevo.com and you can do your own comparisons to see what features you need/want.) I don't leave the door open all the time in between to let it dry out and haven't really had a problem with mildew or smells. I love it. We bought the pedistal drawers and they hold all the large size detergent, bleach, etc. When I did the first load, my husband and I just stood there and watched. It is so quiet.

We're not pleased at aaall with our front-load washer - there's a huge mildew problem - the gasket never fully dries, so mildew collects, and the thing stinks to hiiigh heaven. If you ever accidentally leave your clothes in it overnight...ugh! We have a Maytag however, not the Kenmore...but from what I've heard from friends, the front-loaders seem to have the same design flaw. We used to have a LG single unit front-loading washer/dryer and it was fabulous. I'd check the mildew/gasket issue on whatever brand you go with. best - L..

Ours is on the 1st floor where my mom's room is and she complains that she can feel the machine's running. I don't doubt her.

The washer tosses the soap off regularly, so I've moved it to the dryer. We even bought one of those drawer risers for each machine, but it seems counter productive to put the soap down there. I store extra stuff there. Well, actually I don't know what that extra stuff is now that I think about it. I bet those drawers are empty. What a waste.

Stephanie