Re: Re: Front load washers and dryers OT

October 15, 2008

I have Whirlpool washer & dryer- both front loaders. I did a lot of research

before buying them and chose Whirlpool due to quality issues with Maytags.

I LOVE mine. I was eternally behind on laundry despite the fact that I was doing

laundry EVERY day. The front loaders have huge capacity. Now I do a load of

towels only every couple of days- I was doing them every single day, sometimes

twice a day. Going to front loaders has reduced my electricity bill AND my water

bill noticeably.

There are some quirks- I am not convinced that the clothes get cleaner, for one

thing. You do need to be careful that there is sufficient room for clothes to

move around, despite the manual indicating only that you need to be able to

close the door- don't stuff it that full. I have also found that the bleach made

for high efficiency machines works MUCH better than normal bleach. You have to

make sure your dispenser cups are cleaned regularly and the rubber seal around

the door can build up mold, I am told- though I have never seen it in mine. A

few socks have found their way in there, but that's it. Also, once the cycle has

started you are pretty much stuck- you cannot unlock the doors to toss an item

in. And the first few times you watch the machine washing, it looks like some

damp clothes just tumbling around- don't panic, they will come out clean in the

end!

You also need to be sure that the surface you place the machines on is very

stable- the washer rocks like you would not believe in the spin cycle and I have

been told that unless it is placed on a concrete surface it can rock itself

apart over time. If you have to place the washer on a different surface, you can

buy rubber stable mats at farm supply places- the rubber cushions the machine

(don't know for sure about this- just heard it somewhere).

I got my pedestals free- there was a special running at the time. You might ask

the salesmen, they are usually pretty good about giving you a heads up on deals

like that. They are nice- they give you storage room and save on the back a lot.

The only thing I do not like about mine is the way the doors are set up- where

my sink is the washer needed to be on the right side and the doors to the washer

and dryer are set up so that they are in the way when transferring clothes.

There is a door kit you can buy to remedy the situation, but it was another $125

or something like that. I just dump the clothes in a basket and slide them over

to the dryer.

I would not have a different machine now!

~Marie

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