New Washer/Dryer Advice

I haven't bought a new one lately. But, the set I still have running strong are Maytags. Bought them back in 1992 or 93 & the only maintenance they have needed so far is a belt for the dryer & a knob for the washer. I would highly recommend you look into getting Maytag, they are well worth the extra you pay for them.

Best of luck,
C.

Have a front loader washer for over 4 yrs (Maytag) DIL purchased a whirlpool 3.5 years ago both are working great- mine runs about 12-15 loads a week and my DIL does even more. Do not have to leave door open, have no smell, unlike my top loader that had a terrible odor and had to be left open and rinsed out with bleach and hot water every 2 weeks. Most front loaders with tell you to run a 1/3 cup bleach on the hottest setting every couple of months, I do mine 3x's a year. We have matching dryers to our brands, both have sensor dry and manual settings.
After doing some research before purchasing the one thing that most repair people had to say about front loaders having a smell is caused by using too much detergent, I use less than recommended of the HE detergent and clothes come out clean including the stains from 2 football playing boys.

I love my front loading Kenmore washer and dryer from Sears and they are soooo much gentler on the clothing. One bit of advice if you get front loading, always leave the washer door open and know they will get mildew smell sometimes and you will need to treat them occasionally. Not a big deal but something to know. I did find out from my repairman that I should use powdered HE soap ~ I use tide powder HE ~ because powder does not contain the fats that liquids do and will not cling to the inside of the washer. I noticied this significantly reduces the amount of mildew smell and amount of cleaning tablets that I use. Also look on line for the cleaning tablets, you will save tons. :O)

Never seemed to have any problems with Kenmore washers or dryers. My most recent dryer purchase, however, was a GE. I am not happy at the moment, because the moisture sensor apparently just died. So now I have to use the timed feature, which can waste a lot of energy if I guess wrong.

Moisture sensors are something worth the extra expense, in my opinion, and are worth shopping for. Not all machines have them... and be careful that you get a "moisture" sensor and not a "heat" sensor or something else. A moisture sensor turns off the heating element when it senses that the clothes are no longer damp.

I have a front loader washer, and it works well, don't have a mildew smell (gotta let the door stay open when not in use though) and it has been fine. But if I had to do it again I would probably get a HE top loader with NO agitator. That is my big issue--the agitators tear up and take up space so that you can't wash quilts and such. With no agitator, I wash the quilts and comforters all the time. Saves me TONS of money and hassle to do it at home and not send them out or take them to a laundromat to use an "industrial" machine.

Updated

Have had a front loading Kenmore set for about 2years. They are okay, but I don't LOVE them. You can't actually stuff them full like the salespeople say, the clothes won't get clean. Suddenly all our clothes were stinky and I couldn't figure it out. The washer itself smelled fine, as I always leave the door open (huge pain in the butt-I'm terrified one of the kids is going to rip it off when flying by on a scooter...). Finally realized I could only fill washer 2/3 full at most and I fill the bleach dispenser with white vinegar every load (except the loads where I use bleach). It works, and I love being able to wash huge comforters, but...I don't know if I'd get a front loader if I had the choice to make again. Our clothes do smell fine, once again, now that I know not to fill full and use vinegar with every load (don't worry, your clothes won't smell like vinegar!)

The front loaders are such a disappointment imho. My new frontloading washer constantly smells like mildew. It drives me crazy.

And they're weirdly big. They don't fit in the space that we used our old set in, so we had to take out our closet doors.

Blech . . . so missing my top loading washer (Whirlpool). Our new set is LG.

My advice is to make sure you get a machine with a separate spin cycle. The new washer I bought about 1 1/2 years ago does not always spin correctly and after a few attempts at leveling the load, it just shuts off. In order to get the water out, you have to run a complete cycle. The shortest cycle is 20 minutes. It gets kinda frustrating. I have found that by making sure I have smaller loads it doesn't happen as much, but my old Kenmore washer never had that problem.

Here goes, hopefully I won't be too long winded.

I had an Asko. Loved it, loved it, loved, loved it. It is It is Scandinavian in design, they are an island nation so they have water conservation down to a science.

My washer had it's own hot water heater inside it, it plugged into a 220 outlet instead of a regular 110. I could select hot water up to 90 degrees Celsius. Please be reminded that in Celsius 100 degrees is boiling, so I could wash my clothes in water so hot it was nearly boiling.

I used about a tablespoon of laundry detergent. No special kind was needed. It also stated in the users guide that if I did feel the need to use bleach that 1 tablespoon was more than enough and to never use more than that. The clothes come out sparkling white and the colors were beautiful too. It had a stainless steel drum and the whole insides were warrantied for 20 0r 25 years.

The washer size is a bit smaller than most machines but it used much less water. For prewash, presoak, washes, and several rinses it used less than 20 gallons of water. It was amazing plus the final spin was 1200 rpm. The clothes came out almost dry.

The dryer plugged into the back of the washer. This left the 2 plugs open for other things to be plugged in instead.

You may be wondering why this information is in the past tense. We were in the process of moving and we put lot of stuff in a rented storage. It got broken in to and everything of value was taken. The washer was expensive but when we were buying it the plan was that we would not need another washer for at least 20 years. That made it very affordable.

http://www.askousa.com/

Today I have a used washer that is a top loader that is very very huge. I like it okay, it's not the asko but it is very user friendly. I do have one of the newer Samsung dryers though, electric, and I love it. The first day or two I had it I put a load of jeans in it and turned it on. Expecting it to still be damp 2-3 hours later, it was an old Maytag gas dryer from my moms house that we got in the spring of 1972. I know exactly the time frame because a semi hit our house on my dads birthday, this dryer was bought to replace the one that was ruined in that accident.

It lasted over 30 years. It just took a long time to dry in the end. So when the dryer buzzed that the load was finished the washer was still washing the load I put in after taking the jeans out. The jeans were dry. I just sat down and teared up. I was so grateful that I picked this dryer to replace that old one that was so worn out.

I have been very happy with the Samsung dryer, I use the perma press cycle or the low settings most. Today's clothes are different fabrics than they used to be and they really don't need so much heat.

I also bought washer and dryer used, and then used them some more and then some more and some more, until they totally died. Now I have a Kenmore HE front loader & matching dryer. Have had them quite a while now, but they still seem new to me -- no problems whatsoever, love the front loader. As long as I make sure they stay level, they are very stable and quiet. (My basement slopes and washer/dryer sit on a pallet platform; I need to make occasional adjustment, but that is just a weird thing here.)

have had a front loader about 2 years. can't answer about the dryer. it wasn't worn out yet, so we didn't replace it. no longer a matched set but at least they're both white!

front loaders are simply different. if you buy one and think you can continue to do laundry in the same way, you're going to be VERY disappointed. but, if you approach it that you have a learning curve, you'll be fine. our water bill dropped by 40% - yes, you read that right. I do 8 loads a week and I had a fabulous top loader that was huge (actually held a set of queen and a set of twin sheets together). so, the big advantage of being able to do fewer loads because front loaders are bigger - I didn't see that. but, the water use went from 60 gallons or so per load to about 20 - I've always done a double rinse because we have skin sensitivities - now I don't feel so guilty. :)

I'm also using way less detergent. I always bought (yes past tense) on sale and had just bought 4 bottles when we got the front loader. those four bottles would've lasted about 6 months with the top loader. I'm into bottle 3 now, 2 years later. I only use about a tablespoon of detergent.

the big difference for me is that I have to pretreat stains. I never had to do that before. And if something is stinky (think performance wear and men - ugh or campfires), I make sure to spray with vinegar prior to throwing it in. when so little water is used, there just isn't enough water to dissolve the odor away.

and you have to be sure to leave the door open. In Colorado, the inside is dry within 24 hours but our humidity levels are almost nonexistent. When my mom was in texas, she wiped the seal after the last load and then left the door open and she never had an issue with mold/musty smell. Now that she's back in Colorado, she doesn't even wipe the seal anymore.

So, once I got over my learning curve, I've been very happy with the front loader. Feel like I'm doing my part with water and energy conservation. and I haven't had to buy laundry detergent in over 2 years!

Oh, and my front loader was less than $600, so it was essentially the same price as any top loader. its a GE.

I'll second the comment below about having lots of control options. without having the old dial, you have a lot less control on how to run the load - that's a little frustrating. but mine has a separate spin only and a rinse/spin cycle and I can change temperature/spin with any cycle option.

and between using the clothesline in the summer and only taking 20 minutes for clothes to dry in the dryer now, I may never get to replace the dryer!

Just be sure to do your research and avoid the models that seem to have had lots of issues - mold or otherwise.

oh, and when I was buying, I didn't hear one good thing about the top loading HE models. The salesman at best buy and the salesman at Home Depot wouldn't even talk to me about them - both said I'd be returning it within the month so why bother. maybe they've improved in 2 years but I'd ask what they've changed/improved.

good luck.