Washer and Dryer - opinions

[Regulator75]

Washing machines... Serious business.

[cral12]

Originally Posted by flameswin

I ain't no thread Nazi, but good lord, a 6 year bump for advice on washing machines?

lol...apologies; thought better than starting a new thread...

Sunday PM research includes W & D + Cuba research - strange combo - just looking for CPers input...

[Minnie]

Originally Posted by cral12

Looks like we're in the market for a new washer. We have a frontload (stacked) Frigidaire Galaxy washer that sounds like a jet engine gone wrong in the spin cycle.

Looking for stackable washer and dryer.

Anyone recently have to purchase?

Recommendations on where and what to buy?

We currently have a Kenmore HE4t front loading set. Previously we had a Whirlpool Duet front loading set. I do not like the Kenmore, nearly as much as the Whirlpool. The Kenmore spins quite a bit faster and has a few more bells and whistles - IMO, the increased RPMs (or whatever) isn't really warranted. It seems to unbalance itself much quicker than the Whirlpool set did. Not sure if you could stack the Kenmores - have to look that up.

Sears does not manufacture any of their products, instead they are all made by the other leading manufacturers, often with added features. They are then rebranded with the Kenmore (or other) brand name.

We originally bought our Whirlpool set as a floor model deal at The Brick but I don't know that I'd recommend The Brick as anywhere to buy stuff. The Kenmore set we bought through Sears. No real downside to that, except they can be a bit annoying about phoning you with 'deals' later on down the road. IIRC, the Whirlpool set could be stacked.

If someone offered me a straight trade of their Whirlpool set with my Kenmore set, right this moment, I'd take it in a heartbeat.

I'm trying to remember the make I've heard that people have a lot of trouble with - LG, maybe?

[Northendzone]

^ we have a similar ken more model. Last year, some computer related part went on it. Started dealing with a local appliance service company and they could not fix it, so went with a sears tech, and they fixed it total cost of repair was about $650........other than that, washer and dryer work fine.

[Jimmy Stang]

I switched from top-load to front-load about a year ago. We got a Samsung high capacity something-or-other set for about $2000 in total, and I have been very satisfied. The clothes come out cleaner, less detergent is necessary, and the amount of water used is quite a bit less.

Keep in mind, I was going from a 9-year-old set that was the cheapest option when we moved into our new house and fund were tighter. And the drier nearly caught fire, which necessitated the new one. So the new Samsung set was a massive upgrade over what we had. But definitely no regrets after about 14 months.

One other thing that I have observed about front-loaders vs. top-loaders : the clothes seem less wet when they come out of the front-load machine. I'm not sure if the spinning is just better/faster, or because my old washer was crap, but the clothes are definitely drier. This results in faster drying times, which also saves you energy and time.

[darklord700]

Front loader all the way. Forget about steam, it's useless. Washing technology hasn't changed much since it's inception. It's just a drum spinning and spinning with water in it.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by darklord700

Front loader all the way. Forget about steam, it's useless. Washing technology hasn't changed much since it's inception. It's just a drum spinning and spinning with water in it.

Although steam may be a bit of a gimmick, having the ability to sanitize may be handy, depending on your needs. My wife wears scrubs to work, so she likes to put those in a sanitize load so that people's blood and saliva are, well, sanitized. Also, if you have a kid that poops on things, it is nice to sanitize sometimes too. My family sounds so nice, doesn't it?

Sanitize actually raises the temperature of the water. So it gets hotter than a typical "hot" cycle, which is simply hot water from your water tank at home. Would a regular cycle clean things well enough? I suppose it probably would. But there is something satisfying about doing a load on sanitize when it involves bodily fluids.

[PIMking]

What about the size of the front loading machines?

I've been leaning that way but most are only like 4cuFt. and some of the newer top loads are a lot bigger. I'm tired of having to take my blankets to work to wash at the hotel because our old sears top load isn't big enough.

[onetwo_threefour]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Although steam may be a bit of a gimmick, having the ability to sanitize may be handy, depending on your needs. My wife wears scrubs to work, so she likes to put those in a sanitize load so that people's blood and saliva are, well, sanitized. Also, if you have a kid that poops on things, it is nice to sanitize sometimes too. My family sounds so nice, doesn't it?

Sanitize actually raises the temperature of the water. So it gets hotter than a typical "hot" cycle, which is simply hot water from your water tank at home. Would a regular cycle clean things well enough? I suppose it probably would. But there is something satisfying about doing a load on sanitize when it involves bodily fluids.

Also, steam in the dryer is the shiznit. We got the lowest end Samsung front-loader set that still had steam for both Washer/Dryer through a buddy at Trail last year. Steam in the dryer is nice if you have to wear dress shirts or slacks that wrinkle. The de-wrinkle is a cool feature so I don't have to iron a shirt every single time I wear it.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by PIMking

What about the size of the front loading machines?

I've been leaning that way but most are only like 4cuFt. and some of the newer top loads are a lot bigger. I'm tired of having to take my blankets to work to wash at the hotel because our old sears top load isn't big enough.

I got one with 5.0 cubic feet, which is fairly high capacity for front-loaders. I can wash a winter queen duvet without any trouble. The biggest advantage is that there is no agitator to take up room. So the duvet tumbles through the water instead of wrapping around the agitator as it swishes in the water. I remember that with our old top-load model, the duvets would never rinse properly because the water never got high enough. I just gave up and took them to my parents' place to wash.

I can't speak of whether or not 4.1 cubic foot front-loader is enough for a big duvet, however. But the lack of agitator and the rolling motion is still working in your favour.

[Minnie]

The Kenmore set we have is 3.8L capacity, I think? (it's been 7 years since we bought it) I fit king size duvets/comforters/coverlets in there without any problems at all. I have this vague recollection that when we were looking, they bragged about the capacity and it being possible to hold 17 bath sheets. IIRC, we put that to the test and it did indeed hold that many. I don't know that I ever counted, but I know it can hold a freaking ton of jeans, as well - with 3 active teens and us just as busy, the capacity was definitely a draw - the less time spent doing laundry, the better.

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by Minnie

The Kenmore set we have is 3.8L capacity, I think? (it's been 7 years since we bought it) I fit king size duvets/comforters/coverlets in there without any problems at all. I have this vague recollection that when we were looking, they bragged about the capacity and it being possible to hold 17 bath sheets. IIRC, we put that to the test and it did indeed hold that many. I don't know that I ever counted, but I know it can hold a freaking ton of jeans, as well - with 3 active teens and us just as busy, the capacity was definitely a draw - the less time spent doing laundry, the better.

That's awesome! thank you

[Minnie]

D'uh - 3.8 cubic feet, not litres. Sorry! Brain fart.

[Rathji]

Our front load washer, no idea about capacity, easily holds 2+ times the clothes that a normal laundry basket holds.

Do yourself a favor and get bigger baskets.

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by Minnie

D'uh - 3.8 cubic feet, not litres. Sorry! Brain fart.

luckily I have dyslexia and read right over that

[DeluxeMoustache]

Water can sit in the rubber seal in front of the door and get mildewy or moldy. It is a pretty common issue with front loading washers if you don't dry it every time.

[CalgaryFan1988]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Water can sit in the rubber seal in front of the door and get mildewy or moldy. It is a pretty common issue with front loading washers if you don't dry it every time.

I've been told you're actually supposed to leave the door open a crack when you're not using it. Prevents that from happening apparently, I know I've never had a problem with it.

[Minnie]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Water can sit in the rubber seal in front of the door and get mildewy or moldy. It is a pretty common issue with front loading washers if you don't dry it every time.

This tends to be more of a problem in the older models, or so we were told. The Kenmore set we have has a special cleaning cycle for the machine - it's laid out in the manual. We use that and it seems to be fine. About once a week, I also bend the seal back and just make sure there's no snarls of hair or stray threads from the fabrics, etc.

Check the owner's manual for your machine, see if it outlines anything similar. If you don't have a paper manual, typically if you do a little googling, you can find them online.

And, as someone else said, you can always leave the door open a crack as well.

[calgarywinning]

I would highly recommend looking at Fisher and Paykal.

The spin out on the washer is where the money is saved as it reduces the drying time substantially. Also, on spin out you may get an excellent rated washer that can spin out but the machine will actually move or hop around the floor. Paykal's don't.

Therefore, the drying is working with the absolute least amount of moisture in the fabric and that is a huge benefit to cost savings and performance.

I've worked with commercial equipment and this is about as good as it gets for a home machine and they are very reasonable priced.

[cral12]

Originally Posted by calgarywinning

I would highly recommend looking at Fisher and Paykal.

The spin out on the washer is where the money is saved as it reduces the drying time substantially. Also, on spin out you may get an excellent rated washer that can spin out but the machine will actually move or hop around the floor. Paykal's don't.

Therefore, the drying is working with the absolute least amount of moisture in the fabric and that is a huge benefit to cost savings and performance.

I've worked with commercial equipment and this is about as good as it gets for a home machine and they are very reasonable priced.

Looks like they are top load only though?