I did all of the typical Internet research before replacing my twelve year old Sears top loading washer and matching dryer. I was tired of a dryer that took twice as long as the washer to complete a cycle---laundry room backup. I had heard all sorts of rumors about the front loaders not getting clothes clean, bad smelling clothes, mold, mildew, repair issues and so on. After narrowing it down to LG, Whirlpool and Bosch, I went with the Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer in the 9200 series. In that brand we are talking a level below the top price point. I am confident that Bosch and LG make fine machines. LG Electronics, a South Korean company has been making front loading washers for decades. Front loaders are typical in the rest of the world---only in America do we see so many top loaders. Remember: the very first automatic washers were front loaders. The more you pay, the more cycles and features you get. There is a point of diminishing returns not to mention the fact that more gadgets can mean more things to go wrong. One name manufacturer has a dispenser system which you fill with detergent and bleach and it dispenses the stuff through multiple loads. A technician who services that brand informed me that the feature is---from a repair call perspective---a weak link in an otherwise fine piece of equipment. After decades of doing so, we all think we know how to wash clothes. The most important thing I can recommend is to READ THE OPERATORS MANUAL! Secondly, do some research and if the sales person doesnt seem to know what he is talking about, go somewhere else. Ask whoever you buy from if they actually set up the machines or just drop them off in your laundry room. If they dont level the machines, hand them a level and make sure they do so, which leads me to vibration. These machines spin at a very high RPM; 1,000 RPM is very typical while the top of the line LG machines (Tromm) spin at 1,320 which is why the clothes come out nearly dry and dry so quickly in the dryer. Mounted on a concrete floor or modern trussed floor, leveled, spaced a couple of inches apart and without the pedestals, the vibration during the spin cycle will not be an issue---these machines are remarkably quiet. Each variable you add will increase vibration. On solid flooring even with the pedestals if all else is equal, the noise and vibration factor should still be less than typical top loaders. However, on wood flooring, on a upper story in an older structure with an unbalanced load, on pedestals, unleveled and too close together---the darn thing is going too shake the house. Several manufacturers make machines specifically for upper stories with lower spin speeds. HE detergent is not an option---it is a mandate! Simply using less regular detergent doesnt work. In fact, if you read the HE detergent label it indicates that you should use barely a quarter to a third of a cap for normal loads. A friend who services appliances told me to use even less than the detergent maker recommends. More detergent will not get your clothes cleaner in a front loader. Suds from conventional detergents will ultimately screw up the machine, not get your clothes clean and drastically extend the wash cycle and your energy usage because the machine has to enter a SUD cycle to get rid of the excess suds. If you use the minimum recommended detergent for most loads the HE is not more expensive than convention detergent of the same brand---it may well end up being less expensive. Cheer, Gain and Tide are all available in HE and more are being added. Many service techs recommend powdered HE detergent over the liquids and claim that powders dont leave the film that most liquids do---which forms a basis for mold growth. I cant personally attest to it but it seems to make some sense. If you use powder, you can add Borateam or Oxyclean to the dispenser with the powdered detergent. If you stick with the liquids, any powdered additives should be placed in the bottom of the drum before adding the clothes. Throw away your fabric softener! It gunks up machines worse than any other additive---it has wax in it for gosh sake! It makes towels less absorbent. It leaves a film on the outer drum that you can get to to clean. If you have hard water, consider buying Calgon Water Softener available in the supermarket and adding it to the rinse water. You might also consider adding some 20 Mule Team Borax or Borateam either with the detergent if you use a powder or in the bottom of the drum if you use a liquid detergent. Front loaders have to seal completely or the water will leak out---unlike top loaders. That means that the interior stays damp after you close the door. Leaving the door ajar for an hour or so after you remove the load will help it dry out completely---leaving it cracked open all the time makes even more sense. Consider keeping a spray bottle of something like Sams Clubs OdoBan and a rag next to the washer and wipe off the seal periodically---to include underneath and the front lip which faces inward. If your machine has a machine cleaning cycle, run it as recommended. The newer machines tend to have this cycle and it specifically jets water around and under the seal to clean and sanitize it thoroughly. If you start getting excessively long wash cycles or fault codes, it is possible that someone didnt empty their pockets and something is clogging the pump filter which also tend to preclude complete drainage and add to the potential mold and mildew issue. If you are going to spend two to three grand for a washer dryer pair, seriously consider a service contract---$120/unit for five years in my case but you can often negotiate these down with the salesman. The average service call to clean out that filter is $115. If you are handy and confident, you can unplug the machine, remove three torq or hex screws on a bottom panel and do this task in a couple of minutes. I would not buy any brand in which this pump filter is not "reasonably" accessible. If you have a service contract, then they will handle the task but you may have a deductible. Very cold water doesnt wash clothes very well; at 60 degrees Fahrenheit and below, detergents just dont emulsify as they should. Many front loaders have an internal water heater so that even if you select cold wash, it will heat the water just enough to make it work with detergent. This is a very valuable feature in ensuring proper detergent dispersion and helping prevent mildew. The typical front loader uses a quarter of the water that a top loader does. If you are using cold water to save money, youve already save 75% of the cost of heating water for a load. Warm water will always wash better than cold. Mold and mildew: if you leave a wet load of clothes in a front loader overnight or all day while you are at work, you are asking for mildew problems. Its a sealed container; unless the clothes have been sterilized or at least sanitized, the drum---and clothes---will grow mold and mildew. Use the delayed wash feature available on many machines---most will tell approximately how long the cycle will take---so that the wash cycle ends right before you leave the house or come home. Follow the recommendations in the manual for proper loading and mixing of items. Put your baby socks and thongs in mesh bags---they end up in the pump filter too easily. As with any washer, full loads are preferable but front loaders dont typically handle very small loads as well as top loaders. If you need to do a small load, consider throwing in a couple of those designer towels that have been hanging in the bathroom for who knows how long. If your family insists on throwing their wet towels on the floor or shoving them in the bottom of a hamper, you are going to start with mold and mildew problems. Molds, yeasts and mildews are very hard to get rid of once they start to grow. Short of very hot water and chorine bleach---over multiple cycles---you are fighting a lost cause. Are front loaders "harder" on clothes than top loader/agitator machines? The opposite should be true. One measure of how much of a beating your laundry is taking is the amount of lint that collects in the dryer lint filter when you wash a relatively new, predominantly cotton item. Occasionally I buy 100% cotton rags (terry) to use around the house and in the garage. I always wash them thoroughly before I use them to get all of the starch and chemicals out. Two dozen of these relatively low end, imported rags used to throw of so much lint after a full cycle in my top loader that I had to clean the lint filter several times during the initial drying cycle. The first time I did a load of new rags in the front loader I was astounded at how little lint buildup there was. I used to be in the hospital bedding and apparel business and have visited numerous fabric mills---you dont even want to know what it takes, chemical wise, to produce a sheet, towel or item of apparel. You really want to get that stuff out of the fabric before it touches your body. I digress---back to the smelly towels and such. You can try Oxyclean, OdoBan or Borateam---or all three---but on fancy, designer towels you probably wont be willing to risk either Chlorine bleach or super heated water. Drying them occasionally outside in the bright sun helps. Using soft water or a liquid water softener (Calgon ) may help. Getting all of the fabric softener residue out of the towels will certainly help. Drying them completely is essential, particularly with heavy towels. If your towels are smelly indicating the existence of mold, yeast or mildew, you may not notice it when you take them out of the dryer but probably will the first time you use them and get them damp. It is easier to prevent the mold and such than it is to eliminate it. If youve already got it, it will probably take several cycles to get rid of it. Another approach might be to explain to family and guests that the designer towels are just for show. Go to Costco or Sams and buy pure white, hotel grade towels, bathmats and washcloths. Theyre really not expensive---and they are made to be washed in institutional laundries at very high temperature with both peroxide and chlorine based bleaches at high concentrations. Run them through the washer on the highest temperature possible, often called a sanitize setting. Washer technology had improved dramatically in the last decade---dryer technology really hasnt changed much. If you have gas, consider using it instead of electric; the dryers cost fifty to a hundred dollars more but in many---not all---parts of the country gas is cheaper than electricity so you will recoup the difference fairly quickly. You should be able to get information from your utility company, from a local appliance service or on line regarding the cost differential. If you live in an area where electricity is produced using coal, than electric may be break even or even cheaper. If you live in the southwest or Texas, natural gas is generally more cost effective. A couple of companies make hybrids---top loading without the agitator---but there seem to be issues with those machines either in design---or in the fact that people dont know how to use them. In summary, assuming you can reeducate your family, the most important things you can do to prevent mold and mildew in a front loader and the resulting smelly clothes are: Read the manual. Leave the door ajar long enough for the drum to air out or anytime the washer is idle. Use HE detergent only. Stop using fabric softener. Run the machine cleaning cycle as recommended. If your machine doesnt have one, run a regular cycle with hot water and bleach---no detergent---periodically, at least once a month or more often if you do a lot of laundry. Dont leave wet clothes in the washer all day or all night. Follow the loading recommendations. If you have hard water and dont want to/cant install a water softener try using Calgon , Borateam or even baking soda in the wash water. Vinegar (white, pretty cheap by the gallon) can be an effective fungicide but its going to take more than a tablespoon; try it instead of softener in the rinse cycle. Havent tried the idea of using some powdered, enzyme based dishwashing detergent to clean the front loading washer but it makes sense. I called my friend who services all sorts of appliances and he indicated that he even recommends it even though the manual doesnt. There is also a commercial product available on line at www.smellywasher.com that many repair techs seem to endorse. By the way, if you prefer scent free HE detergent I know Tide has one---not sure who else does. We love our Whirlpool Duet front loader washer and dryer. Laundry room backup is a thing of the past. Comforters that used to take two hours to dry are dry in under thirty minutes. The clothes are really clean. Our electric bill has gone down. There is less lint in the dryer vent---because the clothes arent getting as beat up as they did by that center agitator on a conventional top loader. They are both remarkably quiet but making the switch requires some reeducation. When I read complaints from people who wont read the manual, wont allow the drum to dry after each use, refuse to use the right detergent and cant be bothered to perform a few seconds of preventative cleaning and maintenance, I throw up my hands in frustration. If that is you---dont buy a front loader! I dont want to sound like a commercial but no matter what other detergents I try---because they are on sale or whatever---I always end up back with what my mother and grand mother used---Tide. I made the switch to liquids a few years---smaller package, easier to measure, less spillage but also too easy to use too much! Based on what I have read and heard from several appliance techs, Im switching back to powder because I believe it works better in front loaders and cause far less film buildup than liquid. Also you can add powdered additives---Borax, Oxyclean, washing soda, baking soda---with them in the dispenser.

I just thought I'd post an update for anyone also considering these machines... Due to my incessant comparisons and price shopping, I delayed enough that I was able to find the LG Waveforce (WT5101H & DLEX5101) washer and dryer set for less than the initial price that was luring me toward GE set. Since the main reason I was considering the GE Harmony over the LG Waveforce was price, I stopped comparing and got the LG washer and matching steam dryer. We decided on white. I would have chosen white anyway since it would look better in the space, but I have seen many people say the stainless color is a shrink wrapped covering that can bubble up and not actual paint, so that is something to consider for anyone else contemplating the purchase. They were delivered last week, and I LOVE them! After getting them perfectly level, we did every piece of laundry we could find and tested out several of the modes. It has worked wonderfully for towels, sheets, clothes, delicate undergarments (on the wool setting and in mesh wash bags) and even fit our california king comforter. I cannot believe how big the drum is! I think I could curl up and sit in this thing. I was concerned about things twisting up, especially our sheet set, but that wasn't a problem at all. The extra water and extra rinse options are really nice to have. I haven't had any issues with soap residue and the wash feels CLEAN! Not just 'clean' but CLEAN CLEAN! I am picky on clean; you can trust me on this! The washer does a great job moving the clothes around. It does really seem to move the water through the clothes rather than tugging the clothes through the water the way an agitator-style washer would. We applied some Rain-X Interior Glass Anti-Fog to the inside of the washer lid so we could get a good look at what was going on inside. I don't plan to make laundry viewing a regular pastime, but I wanted to be sure of my purchase before the return period was up, and the whole point of the glass lid is to be able to peek inside. The dryer steam feature I don't see using a lot, but it will be nice to have occasionally for de-wrinkling and anti-static. We of course have used it just to try it out! There is a drying rack you can set in the drum so you can dry bras, sweaters or shoes with no tumble rather than rack or hang drying them elsewhere. I have a few more modes to try out, and also plan on testing out what the temperatures of each setting are, but so far I am very pleased with the purchase. I expect the warm and hot temps won't "wow" me, but I want to at least be sure each mode is working as it should before the return window closes. To anyone contemplating getting this LG set, or the GE or Kenmore branded similar machines, I would advise you to shop for the best deal and availability between the brands, and get them! Especially if front loaders aren't a consideration for you, I really don't think you can do any better. I am not the type to go buy the first thing I see and I often agonize over deciding on larger purchases. Hopefully my review will help a someone currently in their own washer/dryer comparison shopping nightmare. ;)

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.

I have tried a few different cycles and they have ranged from 55 minutes to over an hour. There is a fast 20 minute cycle option for lightly soiled items, but I haven’t tried it yet. I considered the Electrolux machines, but the GE machines are slightly larger, have the best anti-microbial ring, and have a function where they can do a combo wash and dry for a small load, all right in the washer. This is ideal if you need an outfit cleaned for the next day and just want to stick it in the washer and go to bed and have it be ready for the next day when you wake up.