Help me decide on a new washer/dryer
 

My DH told me to start researching washers & dryers. I know it's not a terribly exciting purchase, but a necessary evil none-the-less. I want a front loader which I think should be much more accessible for me. One of the little hurdles is our laundry room is set up for the washer on the right and dryer on the left. All of the front loaders I've seen are set up reverse that & altho you can switch the dryer door on many of them, you can't change the washer door.

Anyway, do you have front loaders and if so, are you happy with them? And what brand do you have & why?

Thanks guys, I appreciate any and all advice!

I wonder if you can call the factories direct and ask about having one made with the door the other way - kind of a custom order.

Hi BeckyD. I don't own a front loader washer but my parents do as well as my brother and his wife. I sometimes go over there to do laundry because I just love the front loader. It cleans the clothes so well.

Both of them have stackable front loaders. I am not sure what the name brand is but they do work great.

Good luck and let us know what you end up getting.

I bought a Maytag washer and dryer when we moved about 4 yrs. ago. Prior to that I'd always had Sears Kenmore.

I wish I'd stuck with my Kenmore!

The Maytags we bought are top of the line, but in particular the washer (a front loader) is noisy. Sounds like a jet engine reving up. The dryer is not bad but kind of sensitive.

I have a friend who loves her Maytags and a neice who hated hers and got rid of them.

So it's hit and miss. Good luck:)

Front loaders are good. Bought my Mom one.
Except the bending. I have to get lower to pull the stuff out when I help with laundry. Or use my reacher/grabber stick thing. (Yes. I'm a guy and I can do laundry).

You'll see a slight savings in water and electric bills, too. As the front loaders use less of both.

Since I'm in a powerchair, bending isn't a problem for me. We will get the pedastels tho so DH doesn't have to bend way over (he does laundry too :)!

Good to know there will be a little savings on water & electric since front loaders are so pricey.

DD is trying to get me to make a decision ASAP as she will inherit our current ones for her apartment.

not 100% but I recall the salesman telling me Amana and Frigidaire make reversing front door washers. My friend was looking for the very same thig but ended up with the Maytag set. She had her husband put in a long set of water hoses so she could put the washer on the left side (and door would open comfortably). As a hint: She got the drawer for the bottom of the machines which helped her back height wise FWIW

jane

I have Kenmore HE3t front loading washer and matching dryer. We had them stacked and it is so much easier for me. Stacking them also means you don't have to worry about reversing doors.

My laundry room is the same as yours set up with the washer on the right. Before I got the matching dryer, my DH just got a really long washer hose to make the reach to the laundry tub so I could have the washer on the left, though.

I love the stack option now. I don't have to lug clothes over to the dryer just have to pull them out and put up. It is easier for me to unload the dryer having it at eye level, too.

Hello, BD. I was going to recommend the Fisher/Paykel from New Zeland, bout ours is a top loader that works like a front loader. You can do a google to see if they have front loaders. We LOVE it! Half the soap and min. water. Cleans gently, but thorough (SP).

My parents just purchased a new front loader set. I'll call to find out the brand. They, too are pleased with the results.

Happy Hunting!

Appliance research
 

For me personally, we are in a mobile home and my washer and dryer are in the hall as you go to the rear bedroom or the bathroom. Wash on the right and dryer on the left and I have to lean over the dryer door to load it from the washer. I have a Fridgidaire dryer and a Maytag washer, have had very good luck with both.:D

I found a site that is wonderful for checking on complaints about stuff and also a great place where you can leave compliments about stuff. its at:

www.my3cents.com

Great website....you can leave feedback and its a free site to join. Be sure to check it out!!

Thanks for the site - I'll definitely spend some time there. We've always had good luck with Sear's appliances & I figured we would just get Kenmore - but we bought a new Sear's dishwasher (made by Whirlpool) just last month, and we're waiting on our second repair visit today. One thing I'm finding with these new appliances is there's so much electrical on them that there's so much more things that can go wrong with them. Sometimes simpler is better!

Hey Becky! I have a LG front load washer and dryer and love it! I also bought the pedestals so it raised them up. No more bending to the floor! I bought mine refurbished with a two year warranty because they are so expensive. So far, they work great and my clothes have never been cleaner. Let me know if you want the site I bought them at.

Oh, one more thing. Buy the largest capacity you can. My washer is a 3.8 and my dryer is a 7.3...nice and large for getting the job done!

:Wave-Hello:I wish I'd gotten the pedestals. They are on my list now. (List is always growing).

I have a fairly new home and darn if builders don't give short shrift to space for laundries.

I remember my older house and an entire basement under it. IT was finished off and in the back I had a laundry room. Big. (We could hide our laundry there very well).

Nowdays you get a few feet. At least in my case. We looked at numerous homes but only found one with a genuine laundry room. Unfortunately that home didn't meet our criteria at the time.

So I've got my few feet of space.

It's hard to keep it neat and it is also in a spot that we move through often. There are three doors in it and one window!

The bonus room door, the door to the garage and the door to the main part of the house (kitchen and dining entrances).

I am always trying to find a creative way to make that laundry room work for me.

Tootsie

Sandy, LG is definitely on my list to check out, and we have decided to spring for the pedestals. Are they large enough to store detergent - what else do you use them for?

Diane (or should I call you Tootsie now?) - I know what you're saying about laundry rooms! We do have an actual room that's off the kitchen & besides the washer/dryer, that's where the litter box & kitty supplies are as well as trash, etc. There is a nice closet with shelves but it's become catch all - I need to spend some time organizing and throwing out a bunch of stuff. It's starting to become hard for me to turn my chair around in it without scraping up against the walls :eek:!

Right now Sear's is here for the second time in a week trying to figure out why my new dishwasher shuts off before it gets to the drying cycle & flashes its lights at me in a very obnoxious way :mad:. He was here over an hour a week ago and it seems to be a mystery to him. We just got it last month so at least it's covered. Thankfully my DH is home so he & the repairman are talking "plumbingese", something about the water getting drained out prematurely. Can you believe just a few minutes ago Sear's just called to ask if I wanted to buy an extended service plan on the dishwasher?!

I hate getting appliances repaired almost as much as I hate getting cars repaired!

Thanks for all the advice - keep it coming!

I put the laundry bottles and stuff in them. They are huge! I have the 14 inch ones. Ther is a seven inch one but who wants that? LOL

You do have to buy the smaller bottles. That's OK though because most make super concentrated soap now. All has one. And make sure you buy High Efficiency soap.

I recently purchased the Maytag "Sport" front loaders with pedestals.

I have always had a mismatched pair with the washer being top load so it takes getting used to a new way.

I did notice that my clothes are coming out softer. So I am happy with them.

I want
 

one of those where you hang up your clothes and they dry while hanging!

I have last year's Neptune models and couldn't be happier.

I thought they'd be overkill, since there were only 3 of us at the time... Then ds, dd's bf, and baby moved in.

Mine are set up catty-corner to each othr, but washer on the right. A little awkward, but no biggie. Still better than top load. It used to hurt pulling wet clothes out that high - I'm 5'1" on a good day.

:p


I use about 1/3 the detergent and other stuff - bleach, softner, etc - than the toploader needed, and get more clothes cleaner. hmmm. A lot less water too.

And the dryer gets them dry in the same time as washer gets them washed - way cool, since they're in the basement. I save a trip downstairs with every load.

My model has delicate and handwash cycles that actually ARE gentle, saving my clothes the wear and tear. My bras don't come out tied in knots and all my clothes wear so much better - sweaters look like new for months.

My electric bill dropped over $25 (electric dryer), my water bill dropped at least that, and even the gas bill (gas water heater) went down. (this before the three extra people moved in - I'm not sure what the savings would be now but I wash all those clothes on 1.5 bottles of detergent a month)

Only thing is this - they have to be level, and you have to be careful not to move them or you have to level them again - especially the washer. It would be really loud if it were on a wood floor (upstairs) instead of the concrete, or in the next room.

We've got the LG front loader washer and dryer as well. They are rather large for two people, but the great thing is I can wash several pairs of jeans and towels at the same time, so I am doing less wash during the week than I did before we had this big of a washer and dryer. We bought ours at Best Buy, and they were great about setting things up, and working with me on my schedule (I was working full-time when we bought them).

Instead of having Best Buy haul away our old machines, we called Freecycle and donated them. Freecycle is wonderful if you have one in your city. I believe their website is www.freecycle.com

Another vote for LG, I'm definitely going to look at them. There's just the 2 of us now, too, but it seems like I'm always doing laundry, so I'd love to cut the number of loads. Thanks for the suggestion about Freecycle, but our daughter has already offered to take our current ones off our hands, and we've agreed, tho we'll see her less cause she comes over every Sunday to do her laundry and watch football :rolleyes:.

Hi Becky. I have GE front loader Washer and Dryer with pedelstal. I just love mine.

The only problem is which you have mentioned is the washer door opening to the left.

Mine is also set up with dryer on the left Washer on right.

I have really cut down on the numer of loads of washing I have to do!

Hope you find what you are looking for:)

laundry rooms.....
 

I've come to the conclusion that if more homes were designed by women instead of men, the the laundry room would be put closer to the bedrooms and bathroom...that's where the bulk of the dirty clothes are...why should we have to drag them from one end of the house to another to wash, dry, fold/hang them, and then drag them back to where they belong?

Laundry rooms in basements....need a centrally located laundry chute with clothes falling into a large basket...and a dumb-water next to the washer and dryer that goes up to a bedroom closet or hall closet by the bedrooms so the clean laundry can be waiting at the top for you...no carrying things on the stairs and risking a fall!

Only a man would think to put our washer and dryer in the garage, off the kitchen, in a utility room in the carport, etc. and the washer should be on the left....comes on guys, get with it!!:confused:

Amen, sister! :I-Agree: Most men here this:Talkative: and do what they think is 'best', never really thinking about the person who is actually doing the work! (unless it were them doing it!)

Annelee,

My husband and I think very much alike as we both have trouble navigating stairs. I'd rather have a bathroom large enough to put a washer and dryer in, or at the very least have the laundry room close to the bedrooms and bathroom so I wouldn't have to cart stuff throughout the house or trailer...

Our washer and dryer are in the hallway between the bathrrom and spare bedroom so that's not bad. They may be different brands but that's not a biggie, they are both white, even that isn't important to me. All that matters is that they do work well.

Give me any set of blue prints for a new house or apartment and I think I could figure out a better place for the laundry room.

We were in a townhouse in Washington state for a few months and the laundry rooms was off the bathroom upstairs, next to the master bedroom, which was also a loft room overlooking the living room. The water heater was also in the laundry room. Worked great for me!

I have a Whirlpool Duet front loader - the large capacity one and it is wonderful. I did get the pedestal to help with the bending down. I love it.

Thanks for all the feedback! Next ? - do any of you have the washer or dryer with the steam option? I can see why it might be good esp. with the dryer to help freshen up something or remove wrinkles. Not sure how necessary it is for the washer tho.

I like having options, but too many choices just confuses me more! :Hum:

I heard the steam option is great! I wish I could have bought the steam ones.

I love my Fisher/Paykell set. They're super efficient.