We're very happy with our Miele W4840, and it is quiet. But if the floor of your laundry closet is "bouncy", the washer might shake it too much during spin. Our laundry room (passageway, actually), is on a very sturdy wooden floor over the basement.

Re Consumer Reports, I've been a subscriber for 22 years, yet I think their reports on washers leave much to be desired. Look at the laundry forum on CR's own site, and you'll see complaints about machines which they rated highly.

There is a washer tech who frequents the CR members' forum who, AFAIK, has no connenction with CR -- his recommendations often differ from theirs. The only FL he recommends for a 2nd floor is Samsung because of its VRT (vibration reduction technology).

If you are a CR subscriber (I subscribed online, didn't get the magazines), you can access that members' forum. His name is John.

Don't know if you've considered an HE TL, but my Maytag Bravos is a great washer (and dryer). It is extremely quiet and there is virtually no vibration (none that I can tell). It is also a great choice for a 2nd floor laundry.

The CR forums are open to anybody.

If the CR forums are open to anybody (not saying they're not), that's a change from last year when they were only available to subscribers.

A little over 5 years ago I bought an LG WM2277HW - and now it's kaput.
The maintanence history was not extraordinary - the motor had to be replaced shortly after the manufacturer's warranty ran out, but to LG's credit it was replaced without charge. I noticed that the new LG's have a 10 year warranty on the motor (guess I wasn't the only one with a motor problem)

But now my LG has blown electronics and bearings, estimated $1,000 to repair.

In a matter of two days I've purchased a Samsung WF328AAW. It's a little bigger than my LG with a few other snazzy upgrades pertaining to Samsung. ($750 from Best Buy using a price match from Frys sale).

The LGs still looked good but I just could not bring myself to buy another LG because my old one should have lasted longer. I figure the Samsung and LG are comperable, I just decided to give my business to Samsung this time.

I most definitely prefer a FL because I like to wash bulky things like comforters, stuffed animals, throw rugs, sleeping bags, etc.

My daughter has many household allergies so I like to wash all that stuff regularly and I used the extra-hot sanitary cycle on anything that could handle the heat (supposedly kills dust mites).

I probably use the extra-hot sanitary cycle every-other-day and believe that that is why I've never had a problem with mildue/mold

I need the onboard heater. I also liked the hand wash cycle on the LG, unfortunately the Samsung I bought doesn't have that cycle.

I plan to keep the LG dryer - I don't care if the washer and dryer don't match, they're in the garage.

good luck!

The Samsung washer is scheduled for deliver on Monday - it will take me a couple days to catch up the laundry, when I get a good feel for the washer I will post my experience.

gladiolus, I hope your Samsung washer turns out to be a great buy in every way.

I did want to point out, HE TL's like mine are very capable of handling big, bulky items such as comforters, throw rugs, sleeping bags, etc.

Some of them also come with the onboard heater, as well as sanitary cycles.

My Bravos has the Hand Wash cycle, which I really like. It does a great job on sweaters and delicates.

It seems that a number of people don't know that HE TL's have the same features as FL's, plus there is virtually no vibration.

Again, all the best to you and your Samsung washer. :-)

If anybody is looking for some really good deals on this kind of stuff I know a really good place. Its called Appliance Factory outlet and they hooked me up with a whole house load of appliances for a really good price! Way better than I could find in any stores. Great customer service and they shipped it directly to my house flawlessly! Check em out! 720-929-9202

I had a TL HE machine before and that thing was much louder and shook and rattled a lot more than my FL. I have the LG, and while I have seen Samsung mentioned a lot for second stories because of the VRT, I can hardly imagine a machine spinning at 1300 rpms with less vibration than my LGs once they were properly levelled. Whatever you get, check the level in every direction -- front to back, side to side and diagonally on both sides of the machine, and you should get the smoothest ride possible with your machine.

I'm happy with my LGs. We looked at Miele, but then they changed the machines and I started hearing complaints about the newer ones and the lower power, less water heating, and more mechanical failures too. I couldn't see spending 50-100% more for them at that point. LG is also shallower, which was significant for me -- the dryer connection and vent placement made a difference.

Since I own a W4840, I've read most everything I could find online about the "American" Mieles. In summary. it seems that the W4840 is reliable and people are happy with it, people aren't quite as happy with the W4800, and the dryers (especially the gas dryer?) are indeed troublesome.

The early W4800 series had a door latch issue that required a retrofit. My W4840 from September 2008 already had the corrected latch.

The W4800 series don't heat the water on Normal cycle, apparently to improve the reported energy consumption numbers. Not a problem for me, because the Custom cycle is functionally equivalent but does heat the water. Well, not exactly equivalent, because Normal does full spins between rinses, while Custom does pulse spins, but I can live with that. They both do a full spin between the wash and first rinse.

Back in 2007, one member here was very worked up over the Normal cycle issue. IIRC, he also reported that the "water plus" setting on the configuration menu doesn't affect the Custom cycle. I haven't found a need to use "water plus" so this doesn't bother me.

Regarding LG vs. Miele, I first bought an LG WM2455, returned it a few days later due to water temperature issues, and then ordered the Miele. I'll try to keep the story short:

When I contemplated the switch to FL, LG seemed like the best choice, but I knew that hot water could be a problem, because I have a long hot water supply lag. Contacted LG customer service, who told me the WM2455 would assure the water temperature on all cycles and all temperature settings. And, mindful of "dumbed down" wash temperatures, I checked the manual online, and was satisfied with the temperatures listed for Warm and Hot.

Well, when the machine arrived, I found that the drain water at the end of a hot wash could be barely warm (and, no, it wasn't because of a post-wash cooldown). Not only that, but a hot fill consisted of mixed hot and cold water, even though my hot water was barely hot for most of the fill. What's more, the printed manual with the machine omitted the box in the online manual that gave actual temps for Warm and Hot. Seeing my frustration with all this, my wife said, "Face it, they want all of us to do cold washes." I think she's mostly right, but fortunately there was still the option to get the Miele.

So now I've got a machine with a choice of five evenly-spaced wash temperatures, 30degC, 40degC, 50degC, 60degC, and 70degC, all guaranteed by the heater. The way a lot of other machines seem to work, I could have a really hot wash (70degC or thereabouts, depending on brand), or a lukewarm wash, but nothing in between.

Yes, the W4840 has lower heating power and lower max temperature compared to the 220V Mieles that are smaller, and hard to find new these days. Compared to other American-market machines of similar size, its heater power and max temperature are on par.

Thanks, everyone, for your feedback.

It is so confusing with the competing reviews: CR's July issue says GE are best buys, but so many reviews on here and other sites say NOT to get GEs. Guess I'll keep reading.

So, it sounds like Samsungs are one possibility for a second-floor laundry....?

And, is an on-board water heater really necessary? I currently never do hot water washes. Should I be doing hot water wash for sheets/towels? If so, sounds like the on-board heater is necessary, especially since we're finding out that the water heater in our new home hasn't been properly maintained, so even though it's only a 2001 model, it might not be as efficient as it should be.

Thanks!

From what I've read, it seems like hot water is very important for keeping your FL clean and mold/gunk-free.

It's not only the age and efficiency of your water heater that comes into play, but also the distance your water heater is from your washer. If you hot water heater is located further away, by the time the hot water travels through the pipes in your house it will be much cooler when it reaches your washer. If this is the case in your house, you probably should get one with an on-board heater.

My understanding is that CR's review process mainly looks at the washer's stated features and how well it washes dirty fabric samples. I'm not sure if they do any rigorous testing for durability.

Okay, after reading a lot on here and on other sites' forums, we've come to the conclusion that it makes more sense to stick with a TL for the 2nd floor laundry. Now the question is, can we find a High Efficiency TL? Some sites rank the Whirlpool Cabrio highly, but then it seems that there are a lot of dissatisfied owners on these boards and others.

As for whether you should be doing hot washes, here are a couple of links from the detergent manufacturers' trade association web site:

Energy Management In Home Laundering

Basic Laundering Procedures

I'd say they are in favor of hot washing. They certainly don't promote cold washing, except grudgingly as an energy-saving measure.

Thanks for the links!

I believe in the internal heater. It keeps that smaller quantity of water in the correct temperature range through out the wash cycle(s).

jgseason, I am more than satisfied with my HE TL Maytag Bravos. I haven't used the Cabrio, so I can't give you any info about it. My DIL has the Sears Oasis, which is supposed to be the same as those, and she loves it.

If you were to buy the Cabrio at Lowe's, you would not have any problem returning it if you had a problem with it.

I personally haven't had a problem with my hot water being hot enough. Because my laundry room is near my kitchen, I do turn on the hot water in the kitchen sink and make sure it's good and hot before I start the washer. We keep our hot water heater set on 140 degrees, and that seems to be plenty hot enough for good washing.

My washer has the see-through lid and it always steams up when I use a hot water wash. I can even feel the heat coming up around the edges of the lid, and it is hot.