I hate my Kenmore too. I didn't buy it, it camr with the house we bought last year, and at the time, it seemed like a really nice machine. Well, it's constantly flashing error codes at me, online research shoes tons of others with the same issue, it'll cost $300-400 for Sears to fix it, and it will likely break again! It mangles my clothes, doesn't clean well, and won't dry the load half the time. Crazy. I want to buy a new set but it seems like such a waste...and I'm worried I'd end up with another lemon.I may just say screw the earth and get an ugly old set with knobs that will be less likely to break.

Hate Kenmore and Sears!

Anonymous wrote:OP here, to the PP who said it takes 1 - 2 hours per load, is that for wash and dry or just wash? That seems like a really long time!

That was me, and that was for wash only. Normal wash takes about 58 minutes. If you add in prewash and stain treatment it'll take up to 2 hours. There's a Power wash that can take 2 to 3 hours depending on if you run it on hot or warm/cold. There is a rapid wash setting that's only 30 minutes if you need something clean in a hurry. But like I said the dryer makes up for it: normal dry is only 40 minutes, and half the time- depending on the load size- the clothes are done around 30. If I have to wash something that needs the Power wash or prewash/stain treat, I'll load the washer and set it to run around 4 in the morning. That way when I wake up at 7, it's done, and if for some reason I can't get to it right away, it has a fresh spin cycle that will occasionally rinse your clothes to keep them from getting musty for up to 12 hours. I don't use that cycle very often. Unless my kids have thoroughly destroyed their clothes, I stick with normal wash.

With the top loader normal wash starts at 59 minutes, soak and pretreat adds an half an hour to that. The dryer takes around an hour on medium to get things dry, and often times, I have to give it another half an hour because the load size is so much bigger.

Kenmore -hate them. Major mold seal issues.

We have had a LG HE front loading washing machine and dryer for a couple of years now and I have no complaints.

I have the HE washer/dryer too. Wish the companies would figure out how to make sure the seal dries out, or makes the door so that it can be left ajar AND look like it's meant to be that way (my kids keep closing it).

I also have an LG HE front loading washing machine (4.0 cubic feet of space) that's about 6 months old now. Love it. Gets things much cleaner than the old 12 year old one that broke, and with much less lint in the lint trap. Also clothes dry in less time (we still have our old dryer though).

I have an HE washer and love it. It holds just as big a load as my old top-loader, but takes up less space. It seems to be a lot gentler on the clothes, but gets them just as clean. And I've never had any problems with mildew or odor (just be sure to leave the door ajar when you're not using the washer -- that's really important).

I recently purchased an LG front loading washer and electric dryer from Best Buy. The machines are normally $699 each, but were on sale over Labor Day for $499 each. I LOVE THEM! The machines we purchased are not top of the LG line, but get excellent customer and consumer reports reviews, and were recommended to us by the Best Buy staff over the more expensive machines (he said that people are generally happier with the machines we bought than the fancier models). We have a small laundry closet, so stacked the units.

Wash loads take 38-80 minutes (depends on the size of the load, water temperature, and soil level set), dryer takes 20-45 minutes for full loads.

PROS: speed of the dryer is incredible (I have to be careful not to let things dry too long), washing machine and dryer "sense" size load, soil level, wetness, etc. and set time accordingly. It is virtually error proof. I can wash 2-3x more clothes per load than in my old top loader. the energy efficiency is also incredible - barely uses any water.

CONS: Machine machine is rather low to the ground without a pedestal, so you have to lean over to load/uunload. Water does collect in the rubber gasket and I cannot leave my door open, so I leave a towl on top of the machine and do a quick wipe after I am done using the washing machine. If you do that, it is very easy to keep the machine dry.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone with a front loader had issues with mold growing around the plastic seal?

We have a very old front loader and find that water pools in the black seal portion around the opening and it smelly nasty. We leave the door open after a wash but still it doesn't fully dry. Not sure if this is just an issue because ours is really old.

Is it in a really humid place? I would think leaving the door open would be enough for it to dry out.

nope not in a humid place.
I think it is the design of the plastic around the opening. There is a weird lip that holds water. Like I said it is an older washer so totally possible that newer ones don't have this problem/are designed differently.

OP here, to the PP who said it takes 1 - 2 hours per load, is that for wash and dry or just wash? That seems like a really long time!

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone with a front loader had issues with mold growing around the plastic seal?

We have a very old front loader and find that water pools in the black seal portion around the opening and it smelly nasty. We leave the door open after a wash but still it doesn't fully dry. Not sure if this is just an issue because ours is really old.

Is it in a really humid place? I would think leaving the door open would be enough for it to dry out.

Has anyone with a front loader had issues with mold growing around the plastic seal?

We have a very old front loader and find that water pools in the black seal portion around the opening and it smelly nasty. We leave the door open after a wash but still it doesn't fully dry. Not sure if this is just an issue because ours is really old.

Love our front loaders -- we have Whirlpool Duet. Only issues are occasional mildewy smell (keep door ajar as PP said) and sheets and pants may get twisted in washer so you gotta untwist for dryer.

I have both: A GE top loader washer/dryer in our basement and a smaller Maytag front loader set that I had installed stacked in our top floor laundry room. I much prefer the front loader. The top loader has a larger capacity (I can fit about twice the size load vs the front loader) but even on the lowest spin setting, if I don't shake out each item of clothing before drying, everything comes out wrinkled. I loathe ironing, so that was a big turn off for me.

The front loader also has a longer wash cycle - 1 to 2 hours on the regular cycle, but it evens out in that the dryer only takes about 30 to 40 minutes to finish. The top loader takes about an hour to wash and dry.

I've read that alot of people have mildew and smell problems with front loaders, but when not in use I keep the door ajar. No problems so far.

We are in the market for new washer/dryer set. I've been coveting the front load HE machines but now that I've started to do some research I'm not sure if that's the ring way to go. I'm open to top loaders as well. I would need electric machines. I'd love to hear pros and cons for the front loaders.