Like - mildew or Mold?
Standing water?
Smelly clothes?
Brand problems?
I'm looking to get a new washer and probably dryer too and can't decide if i should rebuy a top load or try out the front loads. It kills me that I have to buy a &$&^@ pedestal. Those suckers are like $200.00 a piece.

We bought an LG front loader washer about year ago (was listed in consumer reports). No complaints. Much easier on fabric as there is no agitator. I was mesmerized the first few times we used it watching how it goes about doing the cleaning - starts,stops, adds a little more water, starts, goes the other way, stops. Apparently its the wet clothes mushing each other that does the cleaning- they don't sit in a tub of water like a top load

They tell you to leave the door ajar when not in use as the rubber seal collects a little water and can mildew. They also must be set up perfectly level to work correctly as they don't use much water and the spin cycle well, its like looking into the vortex of a tornado- those things really spin!

The only drawback is the wash time is a little longer- about an hour. Not a big deal to us.

Lupe, I have a high efficiency top load. It is great and is the same idea as the front load. It has a glass top so you can see what is happening. It does not need a pedestal. Mine is the Cabrio by Whirlpool. Maytag now owns Whirlpool. I got it at Youngs.

What's the pedestal for?

There is a product made for the mildew and the smell I occasionally get. I saw it at Youngs, and Home Depot. A tablet. Worked great and I only used it 2 or 3 times.

I do miss my top load. Once it starts it starts, no more opening the top and tossing in the extra sock you found by the toy box.

I've had some problems and just break out a sponge and clean everything after completing the week's laundry. I also always leave the door open (well, when I'm not washing things). AND, I also found that when I switched to the Febreeze scented laundry detergent, that seemed to help a lot!

I was narrowing it down to the Maytag Bravos or a Samsung front load. either way I'm probably droping over $750.00 -on sale! (and this is without the pedestal). Those are the box drawers that give the washer and dryer height so your not squatting (like I was doing at the store).

I bought my frontload Maytag 5? years ago – it works great, uses less water and is so quiet that you aren’t sure it’s running.

I am a big Maytag fan and think they make the best product for the money. BUT, be careful if you are buying a Maytag from anyone but Maytag. I don’t know if it is the case anymore, but it used to be that “others” made Maytag products under the Maytag name.

Get the product number and visit a Maytag store – they will explain… if it is still true.

Also, 5 years later, and my better third has not asked for a pedestal yet.

quote:

Originally posted by side of FRYs:
Also, 5 years later, and my better third has not asked for a pedestal yet.

Better third? Are you a Mormon?

I had a he toploader, the dreaded calypso. I just bought a GE front-loader which is highly rated by CR from grants. I did get the base but you dont have too. One thing I do know from recent reviews of HE top loaders is that they do tend to wrinkle and knot up the clothes (even the calypso replacements) which is why I went with a front loader. My GE is awesome. Once a month you run a cleaning cycle with a cup of bleach to fight off mold. Oh one other thing, frontloaders do not work well on second stories due to vibration issues.

I got the GE Harmony about 6 years ago from Youngs - love it - as far as I can tell, I got all the benefits of a front loader, don't need the pedestal, and my energy bills went down. Oh, clothes seem really nice too.

i've had a GE set for a year, and i love it. the steam dryer...wow! no more ironing, and if you forget you can run it with steam to de-wrinkle. no issues. i didnt get a pedestal, since i use the top for folding. a bit of a pain, but it makes a good folding area. i do leave the washer open fairly often when i'm done.

Borax (Borox?) is your friend.

Seriously -- buy Borox, shake a wad of it on your clothes (or in an empty washer), and run through the wash cycle.

There's something about the chemicals in Borax that can get rid of the mildew in the front loaders. It's a pretty common problem. We, too, have a year-old LG washer. Nice -- very nice -- but it gets mildewy even with the door open when not washing.

I bought the Affresh tablets -- and that helped but only for a while. Bought the "smelly washer" powder (that's what it's called) -- and that helped -- but only for a while.

I read somewhere about Borax, went down to Dominicks and bought a box, and that definitely helps. The smell comes and goes, but a good dosing of Borax really helps -- and the clothes don't come out smelling mildewy.

Other tips:

- Use only a tiny bit of high efficiency detergent. You don't need more than a couple thimbles of the stuff. Part of the issue with front-loaders is people using way, way too much detergent.

- Leave the door and detergent door open when not in use.

- Don't let the clothes sit overnight and damp in the washer.

- Drain the water periodically from the drain spout near the bottom (or back) of whatever washer you purchase.

- Use Borox regularly (even a little bit of it in with the clothes completely eradicates any mildew).

- Use only the high-efficiency detergent.

quote:

Originally posted by Rob Herbold:
Better third? Are you a Mormon?

No, but in my house we go on a weight basis. BK (before kids) it used to get me majority vote… not anymore.

Borax

Borax is amazing stuff- its actually a mineral mined in California. When in college we were always fighting cockroaches. Someone told me to sprinkle a line of borax near baseboards. That stuff worked better than anything the pest people used.

I have an Amana front loader that works great! I do agree about the Borax - I use it with every wash and have no problems with stinky-washer.

Dave
DuPage Blog

Amana makes front loaders? wow! I had an oven that was Amana- it was a good oven. Really big!
I was narrowing it down to Samsun or Bosch.
My neighbor has the Duet and she love them too! Maybe I'll look at those too. But I'll consider looking at all suggestions now. I talked (over the phone) with the Plass guy and (I'll consider Youngs too) and he stated that LG gets returned a lot.

Me again. How about steam with a washer? I will get a dryer with steam but a washer? will I use it? I mean does a normal front load wash very well without it? A lot of my clothes I do not do in hot water. Wine? stains?
I've narrowed it down and will purchase in a few days -looking at sales and wondering if I'll get washer with or without steam. They're heavier and what is involved with installation/and or breakage? I know the dryer either has a resevior you add to or you hook up a hose to it. My husband is ready for that. So I was just going to maybe just get the middle of the road front load without steam, it's about 100 cheaper, give or take, and it is lighter. Not that it matters, we on concrete, but we may be moving it ourselves, maybe a few times, since I may wait to get a pedestal.