Question re: washer

[martel]

so, our washer is on its last leg and we are considering the impending need to purchase. there is a young guy moving out of town and is offering his 2 yr old whirpool (base model) washer and dryer for $275. Not a bad deal me thinks. Two things: First, he wants to sell them together because he thinks he has a better chance that way. Also, it is a toploader washer. I have recently become interested in the frontloaders because of their added efficiency of not only electric, but also water.

So, who has some words of advice? Anybody see a radical change in energy consumption from a toploader to a frontloader?

A bit more info on our fam- me, the wifey, and 15 mos old daughter. we DO use cloth diaper system and are hoping in the next year or so to try for another little one (practice, practice, practice). Needless to say more washing than when it was just dear wife and I.

 

[Eric Johnson]

Don't buy them if they're Whirpool's Calypso model. I don't think that's their base model, but it's a piece of junk, regardless. Class action lawsuits, etc.

 

[begreen]

We have the White Frigidaire HE 3.1 cu. ft. Extra Large Capacity Front Load Washer - Sears item #02602392000 Mfr. model #FTF530ES. It will wash better and save lots of hot water. Our's is 10 yrs old and going strong. Great washer. On sale last weekend for $599. Just be sure that it is installed correctly. Must be level and remove the yellow shipping straps.

 

[elkimmeg]

I would not buy from home depot sears ok Again I fear these models sold at Home chepo are made inferior to appliance stores.
Look at Maytag one of the best names in business Making crap now, I know I bought one from home crapo. Two weeks later it is rated poor in consumer reports. I paid extra $100 for a Maytag rated worse than the GE, it used to be quality.

Sears / whirllpool Kenmore are the same products. I do not own a front load but Would consider one due to claimed conservation and energy effeciencies

$275 may be a good deal especially strapped for money. We all have to make compromises. I spent well over $400 for that maytag dryer

 

[SeanD]

We bought the Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer. My wife loves them. Our electric bill went down $10/ month and our water usage dropped significantly. We also use a lot less detergent. Washer is also much gentler with clothes. HOWEVER, I don't think we will ever recover the high purchase cost of the front loader with energy/water/detergent savings. We easily paid at least $1,000 more for a front loader versus top loader. Not sure why front loaders are so expensive in the US. They are the norm (and much less expensive) in the rest of the world, in fact I don't think you could buy a top loader in Europe.

 

[cbrodsky]

We have the White Frigidaire HE 3.1 cu. ft. Extra Large Capacity Front Load Washer - Sears item #02602392000 Mfr. model #FTF530ES. It will wash better and save lots of hot water. Our's is 10 yrs old and going strong. Great washer. On sale last weekend for $599. Just be sure that it is installed correctly. Must be level and remove the yellow shipping straps.

We've had what I think are the exact same ones for about 8 years - simple, and works well. I think it's a big part of the reason we have dirt cheap electric bills. May not look flashy, but this boxy design is simple, well tested, reliable, and marketed as Frigidaire Gallery and Kenmore. The simple design w/front controls also let them be stacked. We stack ours on top of each other - opened up a ton of space in our laundry room to let us leave an ironing board setup all the time.

It's unfortunate so many new models have had problems - just stick to proven models and you'll be happy.

-Colin

 

[Sandor]

I put in Fisher Paykel. Its a top load, but works more like a front load. Very efficient, and its entertaining to watch/listen.... with a beer.

 

[wg_bent]

I would not buy from home depot sears ok Again I fear these models sold at Home chepo are made inferior to appliance stores.
Look at Maytag one of the best names in business Making crap now, I know I bought one from home crapo. Two weeks later it is rated poor in consumer reports. I paid extra $100 for a Maytag rated worse than the GE, it used to be quality.

Sears / whirllpool Kenmore are the same products. I do not own a front load but Would consider one due to claimed conservation and energy effeciencies

$275 may be a good deal especially strapped for money. We all have to make compromises. I spent well over $400 for that maytag dryer

Do not buy the whirlpool/sears calypso washer!! And that's not just my opinion, there was/is a class action lawsuit aginst them both on those machines. Just mentioning it to Sears will get you your money back on those POS machines. I now have a Maytag and other than it being a little noisey, it works fine.

 

[velvetfoot]

We have a Fridgidare front loader too and like it. It uses less water, less detergent, and gets the clothes dryer.

 

[PAJerry]

Go with the Fisher-Paykel. We've had ours a few years with no problems, the heavy duty cycle gets even my filthiest work clothes clean and it's a great water and gas saver. Only cost us $10 more than a Maytag and has better features.

 

[velvetfoot]

Consumer Reports rates them.

 

[saichele]

These are all great comments if you're just comparing new washers. Water in our area is dirt cheap. Don't know where you are. So saving water per se will never pay off. But front loaders do dry clothes better too, which might pay off if you have electric dryer.

As for me, recently upgraded to a freecycled Amana topload and gas dryer. Just switching to gas (from electric) saved about 300 KW the first month. Wife thought the utility billw as a mistake.

You also have to look at where you;re going to have an effect. Laying out an extra 1000 bucks on fancy washer dryer may not be as good as putting thta into insulation, windows, etc.

Steve

 

[Eric Johnson]

^^^I'm still pushing clotheslines.

Some communities have outlawed them, which I think ought to be some kind of a crime, all things considered.

 

[velvetfoot]

They are getting cheaper.
Something that struck me was that it seemed that although I got the washer for a pretty good price, the matching dryer seemed high! Kind of interesting.

 

[Sandor]

^^^I'm still pushing clotheslines.

Some communities have outlawed them, which I think ought to be some kind of a crime, all things considered.

I agree with you Eric.

I dry the clothes inside during the winter for humidification, and outside on the clothesline the rest of the year.

I can certainly live without a dryer.

 

[cbrodsky]

These are all great comments if you're just comparing new washers. Water in our area is dirt cheap. Don't know where you are. So saving water per se will never pay off. But front loaders do dry clothes better too, which might pay off if you have electric dryer.

As for me, recently upgraded to a freecycled Amana topload and gas dryer. Just switching to gas (from electric) saved about 300 KW the first month. Wife thought the utility billw as a mistake.

You also have to look at where you;re going to have an effect. Laying out an extra 1000 bucks on fancy washer dryer may not be as good as putting thta into insulation, windows, etc.

Steve

I agree that the actual water cost is very much a second order benefit - even when paying water + sewer. But the heat in the hot water is not cheap, nor is the energy used to dry clothes, and I that is where the big benefit comes in with frontloaders.

Agreed that it would not make sense to replace unless you're well into the useful life of your existing washer. And a new dryer isn't even needed to take advantage - the simple Frigidaire/Kenmore frontloader that goes in the $600 range will deliver all the benefits. As someone else noted, the manufacturer's seem to know most people have to have the matching pair and are probably making an exorbitant portion of their profits on the dryer side of the pair.

-Colin

 

[Sundeep Arole]

We are quite happy with our Kenmore front loader (I think HD sells the same washers branded as something else, GE, I think). This is the model which can fit under the counter or you can stack the washer & dryer. We have had our set for six years now, no problems so far. It did make a huge difference in our water consumption.

We don't use the dryer except when we don't have a choice, like on the rainy days we had here. Our neighbors don't much like that we hang dry our clothes in out back yard, but we have decided that's their problem to deal with.

 

[suematteva]

About 6 weeks ago we purchased the Whirlpool duet sport slightly smaller than the duet...It definitely cleans better even the carharts after 2 days of chainsawing...Clothes are dryer after spin. We also just bought the Fisher Paykel fridge because we heard so many good things about the products..I had to talk the misses down from buying the matching dryer due to the fact that she uses the other one 3 times a year...clothes are on the line 7/8 months and inside for the humidity during the season...Supposedly the Bosch washers are the Mercedes, evident in the price...My comment about the door looking like a toilet seat hanging on a cabinet went over well. If you have problems with your septic/leach field the front load will certainly make a difference in the flows.

matt

 

[Mo Heat]

I bought one of those fancy pants Maytag Neptune front loader washers with the matching dryer with the programmable LCD touch screen interface about 6 years ago. They still work fine, but...

Class action suite due to significant molding. I didn't follow up on my class, but I've got mold out the wazoo on the rubber door seal.

Clothes get clean, but every once in a while an item gets wrapped around the axle (so to speak). Just gets twisted in a near knot and I can't believe it is clean inside when I untwist it. I don't get that dirty, so it's hard to tell for sure. I know sheets and blankets can come out looking like someone is about to hang themselves in their jail cell.

I've noticed significantly more wear and tear on my T-shirts over the last six years. I think the front loader really takes a toll on delicate (or even normal) items. That can reduce dollar savings if you are buying new T-shirts more often.

I'm not sure how much money we save. The washer has an electric heater that I turned off to keep it from sucking amps. And the high efficiency detergent (low suds) isn't always available in bulk like I like to buy it.

My sis-in-law lived in Austria for a year. She had a front loader there that really twisted stuff around, much like my Maytag. She swore she'd never buy another front loader. When she returned to the USA 4 years ago, she bought a Maytag (Neptune I think), but it was the top loader model with matching dryer. Different strokes.

I think the next washer I buy will be a top loader again. Especially if I have a solar water heater by then. Water is cheap and plentiful here in St. Louis (Missouri and Meramec Rivers) and I waste a lot more out in the yard and the gardens anyway. Electricity is around $0.06/kwh, so no real problem there either. I figure the dryer takes the most power.

But my shredded T-shirts are really starting to bug me.

 

[begreen]

Hmm. Sounds like a way too aggressive washer or cheaper fabrics. Odd because we've found the opposite to be true. Many things are lasting longer. And my wife no longer worries about bras and other delicates. The Frigidaire washer I mentioned that we have is actually made by Electrolux of Sweden. Sears unit is the same. There have been no issues with premature wear except for crappy clothes from Target etc. and that has been in wear points like knees, cuffs and butt. Are you sure that this isn't just crappier fabric quality?

 

[Mo Heat]

... Are you sure that this isn't just crappier fabric quality?

I think they were all Hanes Beefy T's, 100% cotton. I've had some cheap ash T-shirts in my days, way cheaper than the ones in question, and I never saw any of them go through the ringer like these. Some of them lasting as long as 10 or 15 years. These lasted around four to four and a half years. But then again, I guess it's hard to say for certain.

I know one thing, the Maytag Neptune front loader grows mold like a pennisillin laboratory. Seems like the antithesis of clean to me, but maybe they've got that worked out after the class action suite. They've lost me, though. I still like the Maytag extra quiet dishwasher we bought (it really is extra quiet), but as for a washer and dryer, I'll try something else next time. Frankly, I was just as happy with the bottom of the line Whirlpool's I had for around half the price before meeting Mrs. Mo Heat and ponying up for the luxury models. I'll probably move back in that direction next time if I can cajol SWMBO.

 

[begreen]

Mold's not good. We always leave the door slightly open when not in use to air out the interior. I'm not sure if you can do that with the Maytag. Perhaps a wipe down with a little bleach on the seals wouldn't hurt with the Neptune either. Sounds like Maytag has given front loaders a bad rap.

http://blogs.msdn.com/johnmont/archive/2004/09/15/230169.aspx

 

[bldginc]

Whatever you do, stay away from Whirlpool. We bought a set about 3 years ago and they have been nothing but junk. I thought it was just our Calypso models, but it seems that Whirlpool is not what it used to be.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/whirlpool_washing_machine.html

We have mildew, mold, drainage, and residue on our clothes problems. The water saving selling point works only in theory. Since we have to wash our clothes several times for them to come out "clean" the water savings goes right out the window.

The dryer doesnt work any better and we have to run the clothes through 2 cycles for them to dry properly. So the energy star rating is a crock as well.

I would sell my set for $200 if I had no conscience.

Good luck.