Help! Quick! My washer went toes up and the laundry pile is mushrooming as I type. I am thinking about a front loader but I can’t wait days to purchase it. I would hugely appreciate some quick recommendations for a durable front-loader (or top-loader for that matter.) Emphasis on DURABLE. I do 4 loads a day just to be able to walk through the laundry room.
We’ve had good luck with our 6 year old Maytag Neptune front loader (we probably average “only” 2 loads a day with our 4 kids) but will likely replace it when it dies with an LG front loader (to match our dryer).
Whirlpool Duet..
I think the affection I have for my front load washer and dryer is probably wrong ;o), but they make me so happy.
I was going to recommend the two already recommended (LG or Whirlpool). I hear good things about them. I do not possess such sweetness myself unfortunately!
I like my Neptune (5 years old). Just don’t overload it or the door will stick closed… π
We have a Neptune washer and dryer (the great big capacity..can’t remember how it’s termed) and I love them. Except for when my 15 year old does a load of clothes. He puts too much detergent in (takes a much smaller amount of soap) and makes it go crazy. It has a computer read out panel on the front and when he’s put too much soap in it, it either shows the ‘dc’ (door close) or a running box line thingy. Overloaded and it won’t ring out as well, but other than that, I couldn’t be happier with mine.
LOVE my Neptune washer and dryer. We have had the washer for 5 years now and average 6 loads of laundry a weekday. Not as much on weekends. We have never had any problems. Happy shopping.
I have had the Duet for four years and love them! Get the pedestals if you can so you don’t have to bend plus they are good for some storage!
Oh God ! four loads a day!
that’s a laundromat business. I have been using a Kenmore 80 Seres for 7 years now it runs well. It only gets mad if we overload it.
I do 5 loads a week I will not complain any more.
I should not complain at all. When I lived in Ethiopia I use to wash all my clothes by hand on a wash board. Thank God I live here (Dallas) now !
I agree with all your wise commenters who recommended the Maytag Neptune.
Ours is 6 years old, and still works like new. It routinely washes large loads (just make sure nothing gets stuck in the door) and queen size hand quilted quilts which still look brand new as well (one was a wedding present so it is 8 and a half years old, and was a first Christmas together present so it is 8 years old).
The take a beating and are very kind to your clothes.
I now average about 10-12 loads of laundry a week.
It is also nice that they use less water and soap than top loaders!
We have a Fridgidaire front loader. I’ve liked it (no actually, I love it, I’ve never felt this way about an appliance) so far…we’ve had it about a year. The salesman at the appliance store said it had a great repair record, as in not needing them, for what it’s worth.
I LOVE my Kenmore front loader washer and dryer. We’ve had it for 3 years and my kids still think it is great. It’s one chore they don’t complain about; moving the laundry.
I have a Whirlpool Duet and love it….and I easily do 2-3 loads per day as well!
The Frigidaire affinity front loader that my husband got me last year is a life safer. I too do at least 4 loads a day. The companion dryer is also a front loader.
I just bought the Whirlpool Duet set a week ago and here is why:
They have 6 stability bars around the washer’s drum so the washer is less likely to “walk away” as it spins because boy do they spin fast. (The sales person said most of them have only 3 bars. I don’t know if this is true but mine certainly hasn’t gone anywhere yet.)
It also has a self-heating feature so the washer heats the water itself rather than depending on the water heater to do the work.
The standard cycles on the washer takes 50 minutes and the dryer takes 40 minutes so the clothes are dry before the washer finishes. Just enough time to fold the clothes before the washer finishes.
And they are huge. I have 7 kids so I know all about the laundry pile. I got the largest size they make so I do the least amount of laundry possible.
Whichever set you go with I guarantee you you will love it over your old ones. I can’t believe the difference in the amount of laundry I do.
We bought the Whirlpool duets with pedestals last summer and it revolutionized my life. The dryer actually keeps up with the washer. Clothes are dry by the time the next load is ready to dry. Laundry is not a big deal anymore. It’s ALMOST a joy.
We got our Bosch Nexxt 300 Series in March, and I have been really happy with it so far. You probably already have a large capacity washer, but I was amazed at how much I could stuff into this thing and it would still come out clean. Plus front-loaders use less soap and water, so you will eventually make up for the cost. And they don’t wear your clothes out as fast.
I, too, love my Maytag Neptune!
I especially appreciate the way it spins the clothes so dry that the dryer and the washer are in sync. Know what I mean? No more waiting for the dryer to finish so that I can rotate the loads. I find the washer and dryer each take less than 50 minutes to do their thing.
Also, love that it only takes about two tablespoons of regular Tide with Bleach, per load. That box of detergent goes a LOT farther now!
I’ve had mine for about three years.
I’ve also heard good things about the he3t series.
Blessings,
I STRONGLY recommend the Kenmore line of frontloading washing machines and dryers. I have the HE4T (bought about 4 years ago). My sister-in-law has the model before mine (bought about 6 or 7 years ago), and I know there is at least an HE5 (or something like that) out now. I do at least 2 loads everyday, but usually more like three or four.
My washer does aproximately 1 1/2 to 2 times the amount of laundry in a load that my old toploader did. That makes a serious difference in time spent doing laundry when you do the volume of laundry that those of us with large families do. I’m not sure if you’re in the market for a dryer too, but I love the Kenmore dryer just as much as the washer. It has the same HUGE capacity as the washer, and dries fast! Another big time saver.
I wash king size comforters and sleeping bags in my frontloader on a regular basis. I could not do that with my toploader, in spite of its’ claim to have “extra-large capacity”. This has saved me lots of trips to the laundromat.
You will also use less water, less soap and less electricity!!!
So, there you have it….my stellar recommendation for the Kenmore frontlaoders!! 8^)
I notice the two who recommended Frigidaire have only had them a year or so. At that point I still liked mine, too. You may remember the many posts I did on the trials I had with my Frigidaire front loader, so to make this short I’ll just say to avoid that brand like the plague. Chris’s fridge that went belly up? Frigidaire. HolyMama’s? Frigidaire. The comment about them not needing many repairs would make me laugh, if it didn’t make me so mad. (Not at the commenter, at the sales guy who told me the same thing. Liar.)
Nine years ago, we had the very first Maytag Neptune washer and my, it was such a piece o’ blankety-blankblank.
Sure all the repairs were under warrantee, but there were 7 repairs in TWO years!
Once Maytag Corp. got its act together and made a front-loader worth paying for, ours was kapoot and replaced by a
Sears Kenmore front-loader and I must say, I am twitterpated.
I do about 10 loads a week, usually 5 are back-to-back (as in, I stand and watch the final spin, then quickly remove and put in the next load) on a weekend.
The Sears warrantee covers routine maintenance service, so each year, somebody comes and has a looksee and cleaning.
I think Whirlpool has the same type of motor as Kenmore, so it is probably also a fine product.
Though I will never have another Maytag anything in my house.
And I will NEVER buy another appliance that isn’t a Kenmore. I have Whirlpool everything, all brand new, upgraded, blah blah blah, and every single one of them has needed service in the first 18 mos. My Kenmore extra capacity toploading washer (and dryer), which I bought 10 years ago, is/are still functioning, through three moves and disconnect/reconnects, (but only three kids) and have never needed any service whatsoever. For me, Kenmore is it, baby. I lurv Sears for appliances and stuff. They do it right.
I love frontloaders. I do about 24 loads of laundry a week. The frontloaders wash more clothes at time than top loaders and they don’t get off-balance. I have both a Whirlpool Duet (5 years old)and a LG front loader (2 years old). I love both!! However, I prefer the LG. It’s larger and I think it cleans better.
I got the sanatize function with the LG. It is wonderful. I’ll never buy another washing machine without the sanatize function ever again. It was well worth the extra money as it cut down on the “merry-go-round” sickness in our family of nine. I wash all our linens, towels, dish towels and rags. They are noticeably cleaner. The only draw back is the time for the sanatize function is one and half hours.
Good luck in finding a washing machine. Speaking of laundry, I must go and finish mine:)
Sears is having a sale and free delivery and hauling away of your old machine.
About a year ago my washer died. Well ok, it was usable if I ran down cellar and jiggled the dial to get it to change to the next cycle. That got old fast.
Anyway we took a little time to research and read reviews. I had my heart set on a front loader. I had visions of doing our queen size comforters with ease at home. BUT all the reviews we read didn’t give us a good feeling, so we went with a 3.8 cubic foot, top loading Kenmore Oasis….and I LOVE it! I do at least 2 and sometimes 3 or 4 loads a day and it does a great job.
Good Luck!
One word of caution – don’t know how it applies to all front-loaders….but mine is a Bosch and while I can’t complain about the cleanliness of clothes and yay, the sanitizing function – it takes FOREVER to wash a load of clothes. Minimum – 1 hour. Longer if it’s a heavy load (towels, jeans, etc) I get kinda cranky waiting for loads to finish, especially if I’ve skipped a day of laundry doing.
We have a Maytag frontloader and love it. Before this set, we had a regular Maytag toploader and it was still going strong after 10 years. (We replaced the set because the dryer needed a repair and Home Depot was having a great sale!)
By the way, I believe Whirlpool bought out Maytag. Looks like they divide and conquer by offering Maytag at Home Depot and Whirlpool at Lowe’s.
Good luck!
christi
I LOVE our LG front-load washer and dryer that we bought when we moved into our new house! You can customize your own wash settings and the washer has a quick cycle that only lasts 30 minutes. The spin cycle does get a little loud but since ours is in the bottom level it’s not a big deal.
My two year old loves to help with the laundry now since he can reach the wet clothes. I can’t complain about that. π
I will chime in and recommed the GE Adora series. They are also front load but 1/2 the cost of the brands mentioned above and have nearly the exact same features. The thing that I LOVE about the dryer is that the entire back panel is the heater vs. just the typical small area in the back. The “speed wash” We have had ours for 2 years now and love them. After spending days and days on reviews, I was very happy to have found these!
We have had 2 service calls on it so far, 1 was because the guys who delivered it installed it wrong and the other because we failed to read a simple direction. I was able to set my service call up online and he was here within 24 hours both times.
The LG’s can be nice EXCEPT they are on a tilt axel and the ball berings are known to fail after a bit of time and there are many complaints on thier service if they have issues.
Best word of advice, whatever you chose, make sure to ask and ask again about Service calls and overall satisfaction. Make sure to get an extend warranty on it!
Ending my soapbox π
I have to say I’m shocked at all the people recommending the Maytag Neptune. I’m glad yours work well, but I agree with MrsDoF. Mine was also a piece of blankety-blankblank. Nothing but problems no matter how many warranty covered repairs. I know several people that owned them and they all had problems. I seem to remember seeing them having the highest rate of repairs in Consumer Reports. Perhaps Maytag fixed the problems in recent models? (mine was purchased almost 9 years ago) I now have the Kenmore Elite HE4t, which I just LOVE.
Hi Mary,
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I have visited you before, but have never commented.
I have the Kenmore Elite HE 4t (front loaders) and I am happy with them. The large load capacity is wonderful. Although, I wasn’t thrilled with the price we had to pay. We are hoping that we are saving on electricity and water as well. It is hard to know since we purchased them as we moved into this home. I do know I use less laundry detergent over time with the HE and bleach as well.
I hope you can get what you need soon!! I have five kids and I know how much laundry we generate, so I am thinking double with ten and that scares me. π
Hi Mary! Oh the agony! ;o) My traditional Kenmore top loader breathed its last (the day before Thanskgiving – ouch)!
After an absolutely horrible experience at the local Maytag store (sadly, NOT the first – but, definitely the LAST time I will ever darken their doorstep….sorry, I digress) –
I traipsed off to Sears. My checkbook was saying – ‘budget, what budget – laundrymat, honey!’ I tried it once (laundrymat that is) – not happening again with a 3 year old and a 5 year old in tow. (The nearest one is not realy in a great neighborhood).
After talking to the saleslady, I made a quick ‘field trip’ to my brother’s house to consult with ‘the expert’ (my awesome SIL ;o) ), I ended up with the Kenmore front loader. LOVE it, LOVE it, LOVE it! The guy who intsalled it was great – and was gracious enough to not laugh (too hard) when I had to call his cell phone – to ask how to ‘unlock’ it – must read manual more carefully next time OOPS!
The absolute best though, is the picture I have of Reilly (3) sitting in front of it on her little wooden stool ‘watching’ it as though it were a TV!
Good luck!
We have a Fisher & Paykel and LOVE it! It holds so many clothes, does a great job and seems really durable so far (we’ve had it for two years). We did just have a minor blip with it, but it was because a safety pin got caught in the pump. Easily fixed.
Stay away from the Frigidaire Affinity front loader!!! They are absolutely unreliable.