Recommend Your Washer

[Anonymous]

Our clothes washer just died. Help! I've never bought one before and don't know where to begin. What should I be looking for in terms of options? Front loading or top loading? Brands? Help, please.

[Anonymous]

I just replaced mine and cannot believe what a difference that a good washer makes to my attitude about doing laundry. I chose not to get a front loader because I heard that people sometimes have trouble with mildew. Also, I couldn't see the point in spending $200 additional dollars for the pedistal - this probably was the real breaking point for me in that I hate to spend more money than I have to.

I went with a top loader that has no aggitater. It is either a whirlpool or a Maytag. I can do my entire family of five's laundry in two loads, it holds so much. It automatically sets the water, but other than that, you can decide just about everything else you want. The cost was around $900. I had hoped to spend less, but this was actually middle of the road - cheapest run around $500 and most expensive around $1,700. I got mine at Lowe's which gives you your delivery costs back in a rebate giftcard. Takes about two weeks to process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just replaced mine and cannot believe what a difference that a good washer makes to my attitude about doing laundry. I chose not to get a front loader because I heard that people sometimes have trouble with mildew. Also, I couldn't see the point in spending $200 additional dollars for the pedistal - this probably was the real breaking point for me in that I hate to spend more money than I have to.

I went with a top loader that has no aggitater. It is either a whirlpool or a Maytag. I can do my entire family of five's laundry in two loads, it holds so much. It automatically sets the water, but other than that, you can decide just about everything else you want. The cost was around $900. I had hoped to spend less, but this was actually middle of the road - cheapest run around $500 and most expensive around $1,700. I got mine at Lowe's which gives you your delivery costs back in a rebate giftcard. Takes about two weeks to process.

2 weeks to process the giftcard or to get the washer delivered?

[Anonymous]

to process the giftcard. Washer was delivered the same week.

[Anonymous]

Do not get a whirlpool duet.

[Anonymous]

I love my GE Harmony. It is an high-efficiency (HE) top-load washer.

We went with top-loader due to space constraints (couldn't fit a front loader down our basement steps) and safety. Front-loaders seem like toddler death-traps to me. You have to keep the door open to prevent that moldy smell. It just seems too easy for a child to crawl in, have the door lock, and it fill with water.

I actually bought a Fisher and Paykal one first and hated it. It had no fabric softener dispenser (the salesman even thought it did) and was very rough on clothes. Then I returned it and after advice from the DCUM, got the GE Harmony. I love it. It has many options. In addition to several pre-programmed options, you can choose pre-soak, extra rinse and extra spin. It has a hand-wash, delicate, normal, and vigerous wash options. We got the higher model that you can even create special programs. What I also LOVE is that the top does NOT lock. All the front-loaders lock (they have to) and so does the Fisher and Paykal top-loader. THis means if you find that one extra sock after the wash cycle starts, you can't throw it in. I also like to throw vinegar in the rinse cycle after it fills with water.

One thing to note, all the HE models have long wash cycles. One of the front-loaders that was reccomended (I forget which one) had a 90 minute wash cycle!! Ours is closer to 50 minutes, but obviously can be longer if I do presoak or extra rinse.

[Anonymous]

I have a Duet super size front load that I bought when I realized that the 15 yr old top-loader we inherited when we bought the house didn't actually clean our clothes.

I used to spend Sunday nights running back and forth changing out the 5-8 loads that had built-up. No more!
My new washer can do the whole week's laundry in 3 loads. The front loads (and maybe all newer models) have high-speed water extractors so clothes come out damp & I only need to put the clothes in the dryer for about 35 minutes. I saw a huge difference in my water bill after we got our new washer last year. Also, because the machine uses gravity plus electricity to agitate the clothes, it uses less electricity than our old machine. The high efficiency detergent costs more per bottle, but it's concentrated and so 1/4 cup will wash a big load (10 pairs of grass stained little kids pants).

Hope I don't sound like a complete throwback, but I do love our new washer. I think any super capacity front loader will be a big improvement over anything you had before. We went to the appliance store with the Consumer Reports list and basically bought the one the appliance store gave us the lowest price on--and it has turned out great!