Thread Number: 86255
/ Tag: Modern Automatic Washers
Help I need to choose a new washer asap! |
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Post# 1108130 , Reply# 1   2/15/2021 at 20:40 (1,164 days old) by eurekastar (Amarillo, Texas)   |   | |
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Post# 1108140 , Reply# 2   2/15/2021 at 21:27 (1,164 days old) by StuftRock1 (Kentucky)   |   | |
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Speed Queen TC5. Nothing on the market even comes close to this thing's rinsing ability.
Don't buy a top loader that doesn't have an agitator. Those impellers are terrible and only exist because they are cheaper to produce than full length agitators. Don't buy into the "larger capacity" and "gentler wash action" those impeller top loaders love to tout because that's all rubbish. If you can't afford a new Speed Queen, or you can't take delivery of it soon enough, then go to a used appliance store and buy a refurbished 20 year old Whirlpool/Kenmore/KitchenAid direct drive. Those were some of the best washers ever made of all time. They are incredibly easy and cheap to service but that won't matter because it will last 15-20+ years with no issues. Not only do they have phenomenal cleaning performance, but they will finish a load in like a third the time it took your old LG or any other "high efficiency" washer. If the water bill and having a water heater is very important to you, then I suggest a front loader. However, any front loader will take so much more time to complete a load than a direct drive and they won't rinse nearly as well. |
Post# 1108160 , Reply# 3   2/15/2021 at 22:53 (1,164 days old) by petek (Ontari ari ari O )   |   | |
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I bought the LG WM3700 last fall from Lowes and very happy with it. It has a steam settings though I only tried that once. Also has Sanitize and Allergiene cycles It's very quiet and does an excellent job. The other cycle I really appreciate is the Speed Wash.. 15 minutes, good for a few items like a shirt and pair of jeans. You can add up to 3 extra rinses to any cycle including the speed cycle.
As for service, I wrote about this earlier. About a month or two after getting the machine it quit and lighted up an error code. I contacted LG and had a ticket opened for a repair service out of London 60 miles away because there are no LG service people here. They came a few days later and upon inspection found that I had not tightened up the water line, or cross threaded it, and water had been leaking into the machine right over top of the motor and fried it. I figured I was on the hook for the repair but they came back about 10 days later with a new motor, installed it and all's been good, no charge. So as far as I'm concerned their service is great (they only service Sarnia once or twice a week) |
Post# 1108220 , Reply# 5   2/16/2021 at 11:44 (1,164 days old) by panasonicvac (Northern Utah)   |   | |
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Since you're from Canada, you would find Speed Queen under the Huebsch name. The Huebsch TC5 is pretty much exactly the same thing as the Speed Queen TC5. Just different names and Huebsch's TC5 comes with a 5 year warranty whereas Speed Queen's TC5 comes with a 3 year warranty.
ca.huebsch.com/products/home-pro... |
Post# 1108230 , Reply# 6   2/16/2021 at 12:31 (1,164 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay)   |   | |
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I think front load machines are superior to top loaders. We switched to front load in 2007 and have never looked back. They clean better and are more gentle about it, they are much more efficient with water use, they offer on-board heaters, they spin faster for shorter drying periods, and as stated above, some offer quick cycles that are similar in length to those of top loaders, overcoming one of the primary objections made by top load aficionados.
Here's a link to some advice for your water hammer issue:
CLICK HERE TO GO TO RP2813's LINK |
Post# 1108234 , Reply# 7   2/16/2021 at 13:37 (1,164 days old) by StuftRock1 (Kentucky)   |   | |
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As someone who has both a front loader and a top loader, I 100% disagree with this. We got a Whirlpool Duet I think in 2007 to replace our older direct drive. Trashing that direct drive was the biggest mistake I ever made especially since, looking back, all it needed was a new motor capacitor. While you are correct that front loaders do use less water, are gentler, and spin faster, every single top loader I have ever used has done a vastly superior job cleaning. Any dog hair, hard crumbs, or even dirt never comes out with the front loader. It can't rinse worth the plastic it's made of.
I currently have a 1994 Maytag Dependable Care LAT4914, and it runs circles around the front loader. The Maytag, even on the regular fabrics heavy soil cycle on extra large, a load is completed in only 30 minutes. Sure, front loaders have a quick wash cycle that can compete with top loader times, but if your clothes are actually dirty, quick wash is not going to actually clean them. Quick wash only works if your clothes just barely smell bad. It's useless beyond that. I also have a 1986 GE Filter-Flo WWA8320 that I bought in late 2019 and refurbished. I haven't used it as much, but it does an even better job cleaning than the Maytag. I washed a large blanket in it that was covered in dog hair on the regular fabrics with extra rinse cycle, and on the first rinse it had collected so much hair in the filter pan that a massive hairball spilled over the rim of the pan back into the wash LOL. I can soak my clothes in mud and let them dry and both my top loaders will get them completely clean in only 30 minutes, whereas my front loader will take 95 minutes to maybe get most of the dirt out. My college dorm has Speed Queen front loaders and even they don't do as good a job. My clothes always come out smelling musty, and yes we leave the doors open. People like to argue that old top loaders tear up your clothes and praise front loaders for being gentle. I have been using that Maytag as my daily driver my entire life, and during that time it has only ever ripped one article of clothing, which only happened because it was severely overloaded. I am currently wearing a 10 year old tshirt that has no holes, rips, tears, or loose threads and it's still just as thick as it was when it was new. It has seen regular use since the day I got it and it has only ever been washed in my 27 year old Maytag. This isn't the only old shirt I have that's just like new either. Never once have I had to buy new clothes because the old ones wore out. Heck, I have 30 year old towels that are still very fluffy and have only been washed in my Maytag and its predecessor, an LAT4910. Top loaders only wear your clothes out or rip them up if you load them incorrectly, overload them, select the wrong water level, or select the wrong cycle. If you use them correctly, your clothes will last just as long as your top load washer. Maybe even longer. One more thing I would like to add, I hate the ergonomics of front loaders. It is so uncomfortable having to squat down and bend over just to load and unload the thing. I hate it so much. Yes, I know they make pedestals for that very reason, but why would I go buy a pedestal for my front loader when, for the same price, I could just go buy a refurbished direct drive that doesn't even need a pedestal? |
Post# 1108241 , Reply# 8   2/16/2021 at 14:15 (1,164 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay)   |   | |
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We'll have to agree to disagree. I have the reverse argument in favor of front loaders, and it involves a 1997 Amana (SQ clone) top loader and a 2007 Whirlpool Duet HT. I had a favorite shirt that got stained, and no matter what stain treatment I used, the Amana, with the same wash system as current SQ machines, failed remove it. The first time I put the shirt through the Duet, the stain was gone. I was sold on front loaders right then and there, and still am.
Then there was the issue with the Amana's poor rinsing. With load after load that went through the Duet for the first time with clothing that had been through the Amana, the amount of residual suds generated by what the Amana had failed to rinse out was ridiculous.
Currently I have a 2004 front load Neptune stacking set, which was here at the house when we bought it, and a 1987 Maytag A712 with pitman transmission. I have put items in the 712 with ground in dirt and stains, set it for automatic soak/wash, added detergent boosters, etc., and it couldn't get them as clean as the Neptune does on a normal cycle. The 712 sees little use as a result, most of which is for things like rags and other items where appearance doesn't matter.
As for stooping, don't you already do that when loading and unloading your dryer? This post was last edited 02/16/2021 at 16:00 |
Post# 1108252 , Reply# 9   2/16/2021 at 16:11 (1,164 days old) by twintubdexter (Palm Springs)   |   | |
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Well, I have to disagree to agree to disagree. Unloading a front load washer is an entirely different animal than unloading a dryer, especially if you happen to have "surgery-necessary but pending" back issues. Unloading dry fluffy clothes is easy. Prying wet clothes off the drum of a front load washer after a 10,000 RPM spin is no fun, even with what Archie Bunker called a "pa-dest-all." You might as well have added a few tubes of super-glue to the final rinse. Old age can be very cruel. It's a series of compromises.
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Post# 1108254 , Reply# 10   2/16/2021 at 16:31 (1,164 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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I'll throw in the disagree too. Duet with steam/stain treat has run circles around my previous two opt loaders--a 1986 DD Lady Shredmore and a 1977 GE Fflo. But then again, I use cycles where the heater is engaged 95% of the time and steam and heaviest soil when called for. Speed isn't always your friend. I have some nasty food and soil stains. I no longer spend time while the LK was washing a load and searching through the next load to identify and treat stains, garment after garment. Doing laundry is fully carefree for me. Put load in Duet, select appropriate option, and off I go to deal with other needs around the house, cook meals, or relax.
2nd, I'm physically challenged and have had to deal wit surgeries with both the LK as well as the front loader. Surgery when I had the LK, I had to wait for my parents to come visit me so I oculd do laundry I couldn't lift things out of the washer and transfer them to dryer. Since having the Duet, I've had two surgeries whereby if I had a top loader, I couldn't do my laundry. But I can sit on a step stool and load & unload the washer and dryer and being careful with any weight limitations prescribed by physician. ON a daily basis, I deal with cerebral palsy and wear a leg brace and have balance issues. The front loader still is much easier for me than a top loader, especially now the larger top loaders. Also I'm visually impaired and can't drive at night. And the Duet is big enough whereby I can still do a large bed spread at home and not have to try and navigate going to a coin laundry to wash bulky bedding and pillows. And many front loaders are ADA designated. |
Post# 1108267 , Reply# 11   2/16/2021 at 18:46 (1,163 days old) by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY)   |   | |
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Keep in mind, my Duet is a German FL early generation. Now 16 years old. Best washer EVER. I don't have any experience with ANY of the other FL's out there, but after getting used to and doing laundry with it for almost 16 years now.....there's no way I'd want to go back to a TL. Now, are the OLD TL washers built better than the new FL's? Yes. They will last much longer. I think I just got REALLY lucky, although I've seen a few people on this forum who have those German Duet's or HE3t's going on 20 years old. That's old school Whirlpool TL washer territory.
I think if I had to buy a washer today, it would be an LG front load with Turbo wash OR an Electrolux FL washer. With Electrolux, you must must MUST MUST check pockets for loose items since they don't have a coin trap like the LG's do. I'm trained myself to check pockets and only I touch my machine so that wouldn't be an issue for me.....In 16 years, I've ended up washing a few bits of change and a small screw driver that got past me. Luckily, no damage. |
Post# 1108287 , Reply# 12   2/16/2021 at 22:13 (1,163 days old) by eurekastar (Amarillo, Texas)   |   | |
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Post# 1108289 , Reply# 13   2/16/2021 at 22:52 (1,163 days old) by whirlykenmore78 (Prior Lake MN (GMT-0500 CDT.))   |   | |
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Post# 1108329 , Reply# 15   2/17/2021 at 09:05 (1,163 days old) by Labboy (SD, CA)   |   | |
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We had an LG front loader (with heater) that ran perfectly up until it was about 10 years old. It started having control panel issues and finally died. The control panel was NLA so I decided to replace it. I replaced it with another LG (WM3700HWA) about a month ago.
I loved the first LG and the 3700 has some great improvements. It’s vastly quieter especially when draining and spinning. You can select the Extra Hot and/or Steam options on 5 other cycles aside from Sanitary and Allergiene (former machine Extra Hot only was active on Sanitary). You can also add up to three extra rinses (former only allowed one). The Water Plus option is gone but it seems that there are now more cycles which increase the water level by default. (I haven’t tried them all yet.). Cycle time on Normal (no options) is 59 minutes but will go to 1:45 when you select Extra Hot. I’ve been very happy with LG so far. Bob |