i've never had one, but i've been told that they use less water and are in general better. can someone tell me why if that's true?
i'd like to know the pros and cons if anyone has any experience with them both.
True
Not true IMO except for areas where water is *very* limited.
Pro:
1) Uses a lot less water and somewhat less energy. 2) They are expensive so they can be used as status symbols by the conspicuous consumption crowd.Cons:
1) You pay *a lot* for the water/energy you save. I doubt if the savings will come anywhere near covering the additional purchase costs. 2) The seal on the door is the weak point.I think the biggest difference is they do a better job agitating the clothes. In a top loader, the agitator tries to swish the clothes around in the tub. In the front loader, the clothes are constantly falling on top of each other. IMO, that does a better job of circulating them all around constantly and randomly. In my Kenmore toploader, on the normal speed setting, I can see clothes that stay in the same position for a long time, like on the outside of the tub, not moving much at all.
How much of a difference this makes in how clean things come out or whether it's worth the big price difference is another story. As to using less water, while it's true that the cost of water isn't that much in most places, the cost of hot water is definitely a factor. Again, how much you wash will determine how much that amounts to.
#1. Cost much more than top loader but will only last as long as a top loader. (Quality is no better than the average top loader)
#2 Water is cheap in most cities so it will not noticeably save you money.
#3 They say they are better for your clothes? I see no difference with the Maytag and Frigidaire's I have owned.
I will never buy another front loader. My wife might---he he he!
cm
About 2/3 less.
Like, Europe :-) They also wear clothes less, with less soap and energy.
Babe magnets...
You might enjoy doubting with actual numbers.
I like the Philips horizontal axis top loader, which uses a lot less energy because it takes longer to wash, with lots of soaking and only occasional motoring. Will it work on 240 V 60 vs 50 Hz? Can we buy it in the US?
Nick
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I think they are not inherently unreliable, as they have been widely used in Europe for many years, although the European machines are usually smaller. Any unreliability problems would be more likely to be the result of cost-cutting manufacturing techniques. And there are some who would believe that manufacturers design in a level of unreliability so they can sell more replacements.
The lack of an agitator is, in my opinion, the greatest advantage, as that would tend to make your fabrics last longer.
I think most also require special detergents, which may or may not be an advantage.
Pers> i've never had one, but i've been told that they use less water and are in
Pros: Use less water and use less detergent and less electricity. They can spin up to a faster and eliminate more water from the clothes so they dry fasyer in the dryer, which is another savings. Can do really large loads, which for me is great because we have kids and there's always things that need to be washed. Quieter than a top loader. Can be stacked. Fun to watch.
Cons: None so far except initial expense. The gasket on the front door could be a leak source, but we haven't had any problems. You may need a pedestal (sold seperately) to raise them to a more comfortable level for loading/unloading.
I think that is a good evaluation. I will add a couple of things.
They tend more expensive and have not been found to be more reliable or longer lasting than top loaders. Some are better, but some are not.
They also tend to treat clothing easier, so your clothing will last and little longer and will look a little better longer.
My next one will be a front loader. Right now I have a 15+ year old Maytag top loader, made back when Maytag was better than most.
water. So that would mean less gas to heat water so that would be a savings. I don't think the factor of water and gas savings would be as much as the salesman say.We also bought the matching dryer. One thing mentioned was the gasket on the door we were told the water dose not get that high.( I'm sure water will never touch that door) My wife said it took awhile to get use to the front load, but comments on how much they hold and how well they work. We have about a month on them now so far so good but I'm pretty convinced most products are disposable theses days.
If you ever want to wash a comforter, front loader is the way to go. I n a top loader the comforter will just float.
We have an LG front-load washer/dryer, and it's hard to imagine going back to a setup that requires taking wet clothes oput and putting them in the dryer. I can load it up on my way to work in the morning and have clean, *dry* clothes when I get home. Or load it up at night and have clean, dry clothes in the morning.
The energy savings are quite impressive, too, since it has a condenser drying cycle -- low enough energy use that it plugs into a standard 120v outlet. And it's nice not to worry about dryer exhaust, too.
We love our Kenmore front-loader (made by Frigidaire, which is now owned by Electrolux).
We've had one repair: the controller module had to be replaced, but it was covered by our service plan/extended warranty. Otherwise the part would have been $200+ (plus labor).
The service guy said the most common problem with them (at least with this model) is bearing failure (mucho espensivo to fix -- more than the cost of a new machine -- because it takes two people at least a couple of hours, plus a whole new drum/bearing/shaft assembly). But the most common cause of this failure, he said, is using ordinary detergent instead of the low-sudsing detergent made specially for front-loaders; we stock up at Sears when they have it for half price.
Perce
On 08/11/05 11:40 pm FH tossed the following ingredients into the ever-growing pot of cybersoup:
My wife was unsure, but once we got used to it she now says we will never go back to a top load washer.
Pros:
A lot less water. My Kenmore uses 14 gal/load compared to 40/load on a top loader. At 10 loads per week (easy with 3 kids) thats thousands of gallons a year.
I also use less enrgy to heat the water.
I do fewer loads per week. In my old top loader if you overstuffed it the cloths on top would not even get wet during the wash cycle. This will wash what I can put into it.
It takes better care of clothes by not having an agitator. This will my your clothes last longer, saving even more money. Being gentler it also lets me wash things I never could before, delicates, Handwashables. I washed an outfit that had a maribou trim (feathers for you guys without little girls).
With a faster spin speed the clothes come out with less moisture. meaning less time spent in the Dryer.
Cons: Wrinkles. If you use the faster spin speeds (1000 rpm on mine) your mice shirts will have more wrinkles and need to be pressed. Use Normal spin for dress shirts and Fast for towels and sheets.
You need the HE soap. I just buy the Sears brand with Oxiclean in it when it goes on sale.
Takes a little getting used to. Seems too quiet when washing and sounds like it is going to take off when the Spin starts. Things don't drop back in when you drop them.
Because the clothes are damp instead of wet when the wash is done they need to be moved to the dryer instead of being left in the wash a couple of days.
Curly Sue wrote:
>"Cons: Wrinkles. If you use the faster spin speeds (1000 rpm on mine) your mice shirts will have more wrinkles and need to be pressed. "
Do you put pants on the cat too?
I have a Frigidaire front loader. (the classic design with a small "port hole" in the front center, unlike the Neptune) You can pull the timer knob to pause it, and the door unlocks so you can add that dirty sock you found after starting the load. The water comes up just below the door. If you used too much soap a little suds may spill out, but that's it.
Best regards, Bob
However, you can only do one load at a time (which works well for you). But I do all my laundry (whites, colors, etc) when the hamper is full, so the ability to overlap washing/drying saves time.
Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!
Does that mean that you can open the door while it's going and add stuff? I wondered about that with the front-loaders.
Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!
The other good thing about the design: It's spin cycle runs at a very high RPM so when the load is done, the clothes basically come out damp (as opposed to wet) which means less drying time.
I have the Whirlpool Duets and i thought my wife was crazy at first (for buying them) but we love 'em.....
I saw a kid nearly get killed in one of those things on TV, the door wouldnt open once the cycle started and he was trapped. Make damn sure you can open the door any time and also, I wouldnt even think of owning one of those if i had young kids. Eric
The front loaders (in laundromats anyway) have more rinse cycles than top loaders, so I think maybe they get the dirty soap out better.
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