Sharon, Just did the exact same thing myself! My new Maytag Bravos was just delivered today and the first load of wash is running now. Our Whirlpool Duet front loaders were 8 years old and we were looking at replacing the pump in the washer. They were actually on the pedestals as I had back surgery a few years ago and could not bend down that low to lift heavy wet clothes. The pedestals did help with that a lot. The problem is that when they are on the pedestals they shook the house. Our laundry room is on the second floor and I thought it was going to shake the floor boards loose. We adjusted it to a level position several times but couldn't control the shaking and moving inches across the floor. Anyway, I did a lot of research, read all the great advice on this forum and decided to go with the Bravos, after looking at the Cabrio, Oasis, GE Harmony, now known as the Profile and Fisher Paykel. I went He instead of a traditional top loader for several reasons. 1) the water and energy savings and 2)not having the agitator, which I had liked with the front loader. It was a tough decision. I went with the Bravos as Consumer Reports rated it #1 and I learned that Maytag, who was just bought by Whirlpool, still uses more stainless steel and less plastic in their machine for now. I do know the Oasis has a brand new model out that is supposed to try and correct all the trouble they were having, but I was afraid to try it. I preferred the control panel of the Bravos over the new control panel on the GE Profile/Harmony that just came out. And the FP did not have the same large capacity. Anyway, we'll see how it goes and I'll post later on and let you know how the laundry came out!

Jo: I'm looking for a new machine, too. From what I've gathered, a major consideration is whether the floor you will put your machine on can handle a Front Load (FL) machine. They spin quite a bit faster than the TLs to get out all that extra water. Someone here recommended setting a glass of water in the middle of the floor and jumping up and down by the machine. If the water spills, a FL machine will have your floor constantly dancing so go with a TL. I tried it in my laundry room, and the water hardly wiggled. FLs can hold larger loads than TLs. If you usually run large or extra large loads, that can be a good thing. If you usually do smaller loads of clothes, it wouldn't be a factor. FLs use less water than TLs. FLs spin more water out of clothes than TLs, resulting in lower costs to run the dryer. FL tend to have a longer cycle time than TL (but clothes take less time in the dryer). TLs tend to range 45-60 minutes. FLs range 65-105 minutes. When they tumble clothes in and out of the water, FLs are gentler on clothes than the agitator in a TL. I doubt that there's a significant difference for most of the laundry - after standing up to kids, clothes can stand up to a washing machine's agitator! HOWEVER, the gentleness means that handwashable items can go in a FL; that's a mark in their favor. Also, FLs supposedly are better at getting clothes clean. People don't mind bending over to load the washer any more than they mind bending over to put clothes into the dryer. Pedestals to raise the height are completely unnecessary. I considered the LG SteamWasher, but have decided against it. There is a thread here on that machine, and someone had a link to LG's website where they have a demo video. The machine sounds great, but I don't need to pay for a bunch of cool-sounding features that I wouldn't really use. Evaluate the type of laundry you do, and determine which features you would actually use. (another factor in my decision is that someone mentioned LG's owner's manual says not to use hard water in their machine) Hope this helps. Good luck.

I have had the Samsungs with the VRT now for 2 1/2 months and love them. Mine are on the first floor, but the only time I hear it is when if fills with cold water (for some reason I don't hear the hot water going in). Even on the highest spin speed I NEVER hear it spinning. I think these were designed specifically for 2nd floor laundry rooms. I had Maytag Neptunes before these and it thumped loudly when it was trying to balance itself. Oh, and my Samsungs are on pedestals which usually makes the vibration worse, but as I said these are way quieter than my Maytags which were not on pedestals. If I was concerned about the vibration I would have ceramic tile put in the laundry room which would limit the vibration. My sister has her laundry on the 2nd floor with ceramic tile which slopes toward a drain in case her machine would flood. Very smart idea by whoever built that house. PS - mine are the 328 Samsung models. Do a search on the laundry forum and you will get lots of responses!

FL vs TL debate will continue LOL I am 60 years old and always used a TL until recently. When after two ddeliveries of Speed Queens proved to be lemons...I decided to take the leap and buy a Whirlpool Duet FL. ..lets back up a bit....I had a routine in my TL'ers...I always added boiling water after the load was started and filled with hot..for whites, bedding, bath, and kitchen towels by dumping soup pots of boiling water into the machine to boost the temp...that started to really become a chore for this old carcuss to cart those heavy pots, I started dreaming of a FL'er with a onboard heater. The more I thought about it the more desirable it sounded..BUT I was concerned about low water levels, HE detergent, and reports of mold....but this heater was really getting my attention. ..than the good folks in the Laundry forum started nudging me towards a FL...I was scared, understand laundry is my thing..I enjoy laundry and all the challenges it can present...so I gave up my ocean of water for a heater...I can now choose between cold (I dont use cold) to hot, and I am talking 154+F...and everything inbetween......no more pots of boiling water. My textiles are clean, stain free, soft, fluffy and so fresh smelling, with much less work on my part. As far as moldy machines..it only takes a few seconds to wipe out the door seal and leave the door open when not in use. The use of hot water at lead t for your whites and bedding will also keep the machine clean. I won't go back to a TL'er....my whites have never been more white.