Can I reignite the HE washer debate..?

[davester]

We bought a (barely) used Fisher & Paykel, the only top-loading high efficiency washer that I know of. It's been great, though a valve broke. Fortunately, they are absurdly simple to repair, just a few moving parts and very modular electronics. The replacement part came straight from F&P parts in Los Angeles and was dirt cheap. I'm definitely happy with the machine, and even the new ones are vastly cheaper than all the mainstream brands, though some of the parts (the valve) are a bit flimsy (I guess you get what you pay for). Most of the other brands seem to be way more complex, so I imagine repair bills would be expensive.

[Grace62]

Davester (and anyone shopping for washing machines...)
Nearly every major washing machine manufacturer makes a high efficiency top-loader. Ours is by Whirlpool. It operates in a very similar fashion to a front loader because there is no agitator, it uses HE detergent, doesn't fill all the way with water, and the spin cycle is very fast.
Here's a good run-down of the pros and cons of each type, from CR.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/appli...-types.htm

[Winston]

DRR wrote:
Love my Whirlpool (3 yrs old) but the only problem with it (shared by many HE washers) is the mold smell - have to run bleach through it regularly, as well as manually clean the rubber seals with bleach, and also take out the detergent drawer and clean it regularly too.

This is all with doing the things I'm supposed to do with it like leaving the door open so it'll dry out faster, and I also live in a very low-humidity area. Can't imagine how bad the problem would be in other parts of the country.

Whirlpool did a no-cost service call on our front loader to replace the mildewed door seal. When that didn't solve the problem they gave us a discounted price on a replacement based on the age of our machine. The newer machines have a cleaning cycle which the older ones lacked. We tried cleaning the old machine with tablets Whirlpool sent us, running 23 of them through the wash cycle. It softened the mildewed residue inside, but didn't wash it off.

I think the single most important thing with front loaders is to always use HE detergent, and to use the correct amount (OK, two things). If you use regular detergent, even once, it will suds up too much and leave residue inside the tub, behind the drum where you can't reach to clean it. The machines don't use enough rinse water (or don't slosh it up far enough) to remove all the suds from regular detergent. Mildew will grow on the residue.

Leaving the door open for the inside to dry is important too, but may be futile if you don't use HE detergent, or regularly use too much. Front loaders require very little detergent.

So far so good on the replacement Whirlpool. No mildew after a year of use.


Good luck.

- Winston

[Racer X]

dad@home wrote:
I bought a new front-loading washing machine 2 1/2 years ago based on Consumer Reports "Best Buy" recommendation-----Frigidaire Gallery GLTF2940 at Lowe's for $640.

Very very happy with it, so happy that I bought a second one for our new lake cabin (this time at Sears on sale for $619).

I was gratified to note that in the May 2010 edition of CR that it is still a recommended washer and is also the least expensive one listed.

Dad

That series/family of front loaders has been one of their top picks for at least 8 years. I got my Gallery front loader in 2002. Still love it.

[Lew Zealand]

We bought a Frigidaire front loader about 6 years ago and have had zero problems with it so far. It was the lowest end model, about $600 and had a slightly smaller tub (about 0.4 cu. ft. smaller) than the full priced models and we got the city's $200 off with it so it was the same price as the top-loaders to us.

We've never had a mold problem and we use Costco detergent which they claim is HE compatible but we leave the door open to air it out for a few hours after last use of the day (or overnight). This is the problem with mold for some people— you're OK with leaving a top loader open as the kids, etc. won't fool with it but you're more reticent to leave the front-loader open.