I had inadvertently posted this in "Appliance". Thought this would be better served for the "Laundry" folks: OK, top load v. front load. Here's my story. I had the infamous Maytag Neptune W/D front load (tip: if someone tries to sell you a "NEPTUNE" ... run). I had it for 11yrs, going through all the smelly troubleshooting. This past October, I couldn't stand it anymore and started doing my research. My research found: ALL front loaders will exhibit the mildew smell if 1) you don't clean the gasket 2) don't prop the door open 3) use a "sanitizer". I'm all about conserving water and energy and usually wouldn't look twice at a top loader. I was seriously drooling over the new Samsungs ... until I happened upon the new LG top loaders. I found that this new top loader uses about or less than the amount of water that the front loaders use. It also has a great Waveforce technology that doesn't use a "clothes damaging" agitator as the normal top loaders use. I was going to pay the same for a front loader, but didn't want the inconvenience of fighting the mildew. I went for the LG WT5101H (matching dryer) ... and GAVE away the (still working) Neptune set to a womens shelter (and full 'mildew-be-gone' written instructions). Now we've had this for little less than a month. There is no front loader that can handle the loads I can do, using the same amount of water. As previously posted, it also has the Sanitary hot water heater up to 158degrees (that the pricier front loaders have). I also followed many Appliance forums (washer repair specific) and the new GE Profiles, Maytag Bravo's and Kenmore's are on the top of the repair list. I saw nothing for LG top loaders. There is a HUGE 10yr direct drive motor warranty ... that's a big deal. So, yea, here's a vote for this top loader. I won't buy into the overhyped marketing of front loaders too much; although I will agree that they do clean well (not better) and save water. I do not agree that I need to do daily "mildew maintenance" instead of quarterly cleaning. ...and as of today, I just saw Best Buy selling these for 699.00 Here is a link that might be useful: LG WT5101HW Washer

"Cleans just as well, far less likely to have problems." Nunyabiz1, can you tell the OP how you know it cleans just as well? You've never owned a FL machine before. @twray, I have no personal experience with LG - although the LG WM3885 was my runner up choice when I purchased earlier this year (and I researched for approx 9 months). I went with the Miele W4842/T9822. My parents own the LG2140 and love them. I think between the two you are considering they "might" perform similar. FWIW, the 3360 didn't rank very high on CR for performance. Not all machines are created equal. Having said that it seemed to have good reviews. I started using FL machines almost 11 years ago and would never go back to any TL format. I have a preference for FL machines. For the most part they clean and rinse better than other options. They are also more gentle on your clothes (CR ranks the 5101 as "fair" for gentleness). I personally would never consider an HE TL. One only needs to consider "how" the laundry is moved through the drum to understand how it might be less gentle on items than FL. However, your personal preference for doing laundry should be your deciding factor here. They are two very different units. Do you have a preference for how you do laundry? Not sure if you're married to the 3360. I might consider other LG FL over that one. I'm a fan of the WM3885 although I know it costs more than the one you are considering. The WM3875 is also excellent and less $$ than the 3885. Good luck and let us know what you end up with and how you like it!

Shawn1972ut: "Front loader complaints of smell, long cycle times, inefficient rinses, poor electronic components, and failure rates at less than 5 yrs concerns me. " It is necessary to separate issues of front loader vs. top loader from issues of generations -- both generations of people and generations of manufacturing. The numbers would be difficult to aggregate, but, with a fair degree of certainty, it can be said that a majority of the automatic washing machines ever made have been front loaders. Front loading automatics have been around since the 1930s, but top-loading machines did not lose their mangles (those wringer arms that you see atop older top-loading washing machines) -- that is, they did not become automatic, until after World War II. Like tail fins on automobiles, top loading automatic washing machines became all the fad in the United States in the 1950s, but never caught on elsewhere in the world. In the United States, though, some consumers mistakenly think of top-loaders as "traditional." There is a high correlation between those who refer to top loaders as "traditional" and those who simply do not know what they are talking about. A couple of generations of housewives (that is not sexist, just the way society was organized), brought up on the post-WWII top loading machines, were educated to think that you need at least 40 gallons of water to wash a load of laundry. And that much water required at least a cup of laundry detergent; and if one cup is good, aren't two cups even better? When those consumers encountered later generation water-conserving front-loading washers, they continued to use their two cups of detergent per load, and that detergent overload is the source of a lot of the negative comments you see about front loading machines. Now, getting to your question, there are two kinds of "features" in washing machines. One kind of feature is choice of materials and construction techniques. Speed Queen washing machines are rightly often praised for construction quality largely because of choice of metal bearings in place of nylon bearings, heavier gauge steel where it counts, etc. The other kind of features are multiple selectable cycles, programability, LED screens, etc. You pays your money and you takes your choice. Personal opinion: one of the better "features" is a dimpled stainless steel drum. When a washing machine's drum spins for water extraction, fibers of the laundry inside the drum are drawn through the water drainage holes in the drum, and that accelerates fabric wear. Miele pioneered the "honeycomb" drum, with the drainage holes positioned in small domes in the drum surface to minimize the fabric pull-through. Samsung rather blatantly copied that feature in its "diamond" drum. So far as I am aware, no other maker has followed Miele and Samsung down that road. Our family, starting with my mother, has owned only four washing machines in over 75 years; they all have been front-loading washing machines. The first three lasted, on average, over 20 years each in moderately hard use. We purchased the fourth machine a few years back, and the deciding factor in our purchase was the dimpled drum design; we selected a Samsung over a Miele for price considerations. HTH.

We all have our faves, I suppose. Top loaders never got my clothes clean. Well, I thought they were "clean" at the time because I had nothing else to compare with. When I bought my first front loader in 2000 - a Maytag Neptune - I was blown away by how clean everything came out. I had a years-old stain on a white shirt that was obliterated by the Neptune. When I moved to Seattle in 2002, I sold my Neptune pair to my aunt and bought an Asko set in Seattle. These were smaller units, but perfect for my townhouse. They cleaned amazingly well. I swapped those out in 2009 for my XXL Miele which continues to give me the clean clothes I've come to expect from a front loader. From the standpoint of twisting clothes, all of my front loaders did it to some degree. The Neptune and Miele have tilted drums, the Asko was a true h-axis design. They all twist clothes. The biggest factor in twisting, I've found, is the spin speed. Maximum speeds tend to exacerbate the problem by plastering the clothes against the drum, making them more difficult to remove even if mildly twisted. It's not a big deal, as everything comes out smooth and wrinkle-free from the dryer. Make sure any machine you buy will continue to tumble the clothes after the wash cycle is completed. That's one feature which is missing from my Miele and it annoys the heck out of me.