My experience, after owning both Whirlpool Duet and Frigidaire Affinity front load machines, is that they do a superior job when compared to a top-loader.  The Duet replaced an Amana (Speed Queen clone) top loader and it got out stains that the Amana could not with wash after wash.  The first time the stained item went through the Duet, the stain was gone.  That was all I needed to convince me that the wash action of front-load machines is far more effective than the swishing around you get from a top-loader.

I had my first front loader in 2002.  Previous to that, was all top loaders of different brands.  The last top loader I had was a Maytag and it did a horrible job compared to the F/Ls I have owned.  It could have to do with my own habits.  Maybe I used too much or too little detergent, maybe it was my water who knows.  What I know is my clothes are very clean in a very little bit of water compared to any top loading machine I owned.  My F/L does multiple rinses which I think also helps.  And they still use less water for the entire load than a Top Loader with one rinse.

My guess is you may get as many opinions as you will get replies and many will disagree with mine and that's OK.  It won't convince me to go back to a Top Loader.

I know that I’m gonna be in the minority here but I prefer a TL with an agitator over the current breed of FL’s.  Before they began building the current generation of FL’s with computer boards I loved FL’s, back when most disparaged them.

 The old FL’s up to the Frigidaire's that were released in the mid to late 90’s were excellent machines.  They cleaned well, used less water and completed a cycle in about 50-60 mins with no drama.  They always went into a spin, no endless hunting for a sweet spot to balance.  

The last FL that I owned was a BOL LG that I purchased in 2015.  It took 90 to 120 mins to complete a load, and often would refuse to go into a spin, especially with heavy towels.  The most disappointing washing machine I’ve ever owned, and I’ve owned over 20 different washers since ‘72.  I may be retired but I have no interest in spending all day to wash three loads of laundry.

My current BOL Roper TL completes a normal cycle with hot water in 34 mins., never refuses to go into a spin and the heavy weight towels from Restoration Hardware that a couldn’t wash in the LG come out perfectly every time.  It cleans thoroughly, removing even the toughest stains the first time the items are washed.  I’ve been very pleased with it.

Now if they ever start to build the old style FL’s again I’d consider buying an FL again, but the new ones on the market, not so much.

That’s my two cents worth.

Eddie

Some of us that are of "advanced age"...

Eddie raises a good point.  Front loaders have earned a well-deserved reputation for balancing issues that drag out cycles or, in extreme cases, fail to complete them at all.  My Affinity did just give up without spinning when handling things like throw rugs, but the Duet never did.  I currently have a 2014 Maytag Neptune, and it does a much better job of balancing to the point that cycle length is almost never extended by attempts to balance.

Speed Queen front loaders are supposedly the best at balancing, but other makes may have improved their systems over the years.  Speed Queens are prohibitively expensive though, so I'd have to find a killer deal on one if I were in the market. 

The reason I didn't mention the Neptune in my first post is because I don't think it's as good at cleaning as either the Duet or Affinity was, but it was here and came with the house we bought a couple of years ago, and I love, love, love analog knobs and dials, which the Neptune has.  It does clean better than my 1987 Maytag top loader, though, which I have held onto for jobs like throw rugs, shop rags, anything with cat fur on it, etc.

Yes, and in the case of the Affinity attempting final spin, the next portion of the cycle was "end" with sopping wet items left in the drum.  Annoying, but it didn't happen much and hey, those sopping wet items were for sure cleaner than a TL machine would have gotten them.  Some rearranging, setting for "spin only" and making the sign of the cross would usually do the trick.

The other thing I didn't mention was FL machines' superior rinsing.  I couldn't believe the suds that kept coming out of clothes that had been last washed in the Amana TL upon their first run through the Duet.  Of course, Amana/Speed Queen's piss-poor rinsing set a low bar, but I'd wager that with even stricter efficiency requirements for TL machines these days, they're not even in the same league as FL machines in the rinsing game.

There's really no contest, as the replies above have overwhelmingly indicated thus far. 

Yes Sean, I’d like to have a Westinghouse FL again too.  I had an ‘87 Westinghouse for 7 trouble free years and it was the best washer I ever owned.  Back then Consumers Reports wasn’t crazy about them or any other FL for that matter and most of America felt the same way about FL’s then too.  I love them, but not the new ones.  Too much time to wash a load and not enough water used in the wash cycle.  

The concept of FL’s has been ruined by over zealous energy restrictions, and I believe in conservation.  The old FL’s used much less water than a TL, but enough to get everything sloshing in water.  The LG I had barely got the load damp and in my opinion didn’t clean as well as my current energy efficient Roper TL with an agitator. 

Eddie

Isn't having owned and properly used three makes of FL machines a form of evidence?  Is there no confidence in what members of a site like this share about their experiences with -- wait for it -- automatic washers?  Does arrogance run in the family or what?

Thank you Ralph!  Just because I’m not an appliance service tech doesn’t mean that I haven’t got 48 years of personal experience in owning and using almost every type of washing machine.  I’ve paid close attention over these 48 years as to what I like and don’t like.  I’ve owned 2 Westinghouse FL’s, 3 Frigidaire FL’s and an LG FL.  The Westinghouse’s and first 2 Frigidaire FL’s were excellent machines.  They weren’t temperamental and while they used much less water than a TL they still used enough water to wash and rinse every load. thoroughly.

Back when I first owned FL’s most people hated them, because they’d not used one.

I’ve owned and used two of the new generation FL’s. a Frigidaire Affinity and a BOL LG.  The Affinity used an adequate amount of water but I couldn’t get heavy items like throw rugs or bath towels to go into a spin reliably, had to go to the GD laundromat to wash these sometimes.  

It really disappoints me that FL’s aren’t the simple, fast and water saving appliances that they once were.  But at least my current energy efficient Roper TL reaches a happy medium in water conservation, is fast and washes and rinses thoroughly.  I feel the clothes are cleaner than they were with the LG.

For those that love their modern FL’s I’m very happy for you!  These machines are expensive so the owner/user SHOULD be happy with their machines.

One other thing that makes the modern FL’s a no go for me is the depth of these machines, unless you purchase a compact model, they are too deep to fit my laundry closet, and I don’t want some jerry rigged curtain covering them when not in use. I want to keep the bi-fold doors on this closet as it was designed to be used.

I've put a great deal of thought and experience into my choice.  Just because my choice differs from the majority doesn’t mean that it’s wrong, its right for ME, and I’m the one paying for the machine and using it so I’ll please myself.  I’d prefer having an FL, but NOT the ones sold now.  

Eddie

I've had a BOSCH Axxis+, a Samsung behemoth something or other (it was huge) and now a Miele.  I replaced the Samsung because they were just huge and I wanted something that didn't stick out so far.  The compacts work fine for us and were a better fit for what I was doing in my laundry room.

In my experience the Bosch and Miele clean very, very well.  The Samsung was just OK.  I didn't know the Samsung was just doing an OK job until I got the Miele.  It's amazing how well this machine cleans.  I honestly don't know what makes one work better than the other.  I leave that to the experts I can only speak to the results.

Thanks Phil, I'm equally sorry I didn't recognize the point you were trying to make. 

I agree with you, though, and I find the overwhelming number of pro-FL posts very encouraging.  I'm confident that FL designs will continue to progress in a direction that resolves the balancing issues that so many here, including myself, find frustrating.

By the way, where, oh where is the OP?  Was this discussion launched just for the sport of it?

When my Mom's old Maytag gave up the ghost last summer, I gave my fairly new Speed Queen top loader to her, along with the matching dryer.  I then decided to give a front loader a whirl and purchased an LG 3900 pair.  I've been very happy with them too.  The washer does an excellent job.  I most frequently use the Normal cycle and can do a load in 35 minutes, which includes an extra rinse for good measure.  My clothes are always clean and thoroughly rinsed.  The bonus is that it spins out the rinse water at faster RPMs, thus reducing drying time in the tumble dryer.  I would give it 5 stars!

I guess I have had a F/L for so long now that I just automatically make sure the load is such that it won't go off balance.  For example, last week I was washing our king size mattress pad.  The Samsung we had gave mixed results on how well it could balance this.  The Miele is about 2 for 2 on whether or not it was able to complete the spin so I just add a large white towel to the load and that seems to do the trick.  When I was testing this and had a load that didn't spin out, I just threw in a big white towel and set the machine for a spin only.  At 1600 RPMs these come out ready for a short run in the dryer.

That's about the only thing I wash that sometimes has an issue to complete the spin.  Everything else spins just fine.  It actually amazes me sometimes at how it starts and stops to get the load balanced.

Hi John, be sure that you have an extra top seal and bearing along with an extra inner tub and tub lock nut We see the inner basket break apart frequently and it takes the outer tub with it if you don't catch it fast. You should also have the front cabinet support frame [ these bend often ] along with a lid switch.

It is far easier to put main bearings in a SQ FL washer than doing major repairs on these GE TL machines, Simple repairs like the water pump or motor replacement are about the same.

John L.

The first two videos above capture what I've experienced with a Pitman type Maytag 712.  If the tub is packed, turnover suffers.  As shown, some makes are far better than others in this regard, but I was surprised to see that the old Norge was even worse than the Maytag.   That goes counter to everything I've read here from Norge aficionados. 

The 712 isn't my daily driver, and I'm mindful about its capabilities.  My biggest issue is the way-too-short deep rinse that, with a full load, can barely manage a single turnover of contents within the allotted time.  At the very least, Maytag should have allowed for another long spray rinse after the deep rinse to remedy the situation.  That said, I've learned that with just some sensible consideration for load size, the 712 gets the job done well enough.

I can recall turnover issues on my mom's '74 Kenmore with large tub and Penta-Swirl agitator.  With a full load, the turnover was pathetic.  The Penta-Swirl had even less pronounced vanes, all of them at the very bottom, than its Maytag contemporaries.

of a top load washer.

That has not been my experience and I'm curious to know why people think that happens in a F/L machine.  My F/L machine has the ability to do extra water in the rinse cycle.  I've tried both the normal rinse water level and the extra water rinse cycle.  I don't experience any foul smelling laundry as a result using either option.  My machine does monitor the water and if the rinse still has a lot of soap in it, it will add another rinse.  I'm also very careful with the amount of soap I use.  I've spent a fair amount of time testing different amounts of detergent to try to get to a place where it cleans well and doesn't leave a lot of detergent in the clothes.  We have soft water and when I use powder I am literally using one tablespoon of powder.  I get a tiny bit of sudsing on the glass and very clear rinses.

Is that why I don't get any smelly laundry?  Do all F/L machines do multiple rinses?  I realize they probably don't all have the sensor but I thought they all do at least a couple of rinses.  I generally don't use fragrance beads and only occasionally use Fabric Softener.

I always leave the door open a little and pull out the soap dispenser tray a little bit when I am finished for the day.  So again, never any smelly laundry nor have I ever had any mold or foul smell coming out of the washer.