I'm being misunderstood. I have no qualms against attractive laundry rooms - indeed, given that several I've seen much be walked through when entering the house from the garage or side entrance, and are thus the first inside view of the house many people see, I'm usually the one urging homeowners to spruce up their laundry rooms. I was merely commenting on why distinctively-colored laundry machines have become so common in the 2000s, after decades of availability in white or ivory only, and why the color selection in other major appliances is smaller. The marketing strategy seems to be: homeowner's washing machine break, goes to store to buy new one, sees an expensive but cool-looking metallic seafoam green washer, wants to buy it but realizes it will make the old white dryer look out of place, figures the dryer will need replacement soon anyway, so buys the matching-color dryer too. Then, years later, when one of the machines needs replacement (or the laundry area is remodeled), seafoam green is no longer available, so homeowner again has to buy two machines, now both metal-flake red (or taupe, or sky blue).

The #1 rated washer is the LG Steam Tromm (WM2688) with an overall score of 83. There are some happy owners of it here on this forum. The only real problem may be the lack of service in some areas. The LG is closely followed by the Whirlpool Duet HT (GHW9400, a discontinued model), the Kenmore HE5t, Maytag Epic and the Bosch 500. They all scored 79 points overall. The new Whirlpool Duet HT (WFW9400) got 78 points. It was downgraded for lower gentleness (an error on CR part). Also 78 points were awarded for the LG 0642, the KitchenAid Superba and the Frigidaire LTF2940. The Samsung SilverCare got 77 points. I wouldn't get too hung up on the CR ratings though. It is not always clear how or why they rated a feature a certain way. The differences among the above wahsers are not huge. CR actually says that a difference of less than 3 points is not significant. They should all be good washers. There are different numbers out there regarding the capacity of washers. On the energy website the capcity is alqays quite a bit below the IEC standard. The LH Tromm seems to actually have the largest capacity. Regarding the stores, Lowes got very good reviews on this forum for their return policy and price for the extended warranty. It all depends on what brand you decide to purchase. Lowes will match the lowest price you can find and there is a 10% movers coupon on their website that you can print out for additional savings. It is tough to say which washer would best suit your needs. You'll have to decide what features and options you need...pre-wash, soak, sanitary cycle and so on. If you have more specific questions, just post them again and I am sure you'll get answers here. Good luck with your research and decision!

sr712 - I've can't remember anyone on this forum question the utility and intuitive usefulness of the steam fresh cycle. You suggest motivations and viewpoints by others that just plainly don't exist. With the coming Whirlpool "steam" dryer I suppose you could debate if this feature is better served in a washer or a dryer, but little is known about the Whirlpool implementation and no hands-on experience exists. The only area of concern for a steam fresh cycle I can think of is questioning the long-term maintenance of the steam generator. If LG built a flushing cycle into the steam generator this would much lessen this concern, but so far haven't heard anyone confirm how LG keeps the steam generator clean. This concern isn't raised because I think LG does bad engineering or the machine isn't a good one (aside from the steam wash capability I actually think it's one nice machine with many well thought out features but very expensive). The concern is from having other steam appliances and seeing what can happen over time if it doesn't self clean or if the user can't easily clean it. If LG has addressed this issue then the machine will provide a useful capability that is problem free. If not, those with soft water will probably never see much of a problem, but those with hard water will have problems, but it may take 1 to 3 years before it becomes an issue. Overall the debate hasn't been over the steam fresh feature in any substantial way. Maybe my science-engineering background makes me picky, but I'd term the observations reported here as "anecdotal" rather than "emperical". "Emperical" means you've verified or proven something via observation and that suggests you've designed a controlled experiment. Anecdotal observations may be valuable especially if many observations concur, but there is a degree of uncertainty to them which preclude them validating something. It's entirely possible the steam wash cycle on the LG does a better job than the non-steam cycle, but what's been debated is that this may add no additional cleaning capabilities vs heating the wash water a little more. If in fact that's what's happening it certainly doesn't discount that the LG may wash a bit better with steam. However, if true it's also hard to deny that LG was generating a bit of hype with the steam wash feature and is creating a pure marketing feature. Having steam fill the drum is certainly much more dramatic than saying they have a wash setting with a 3 degree higher wash temperature. Without question it's a simple talking point for sales people. Enough said - lets keep the steam wash debate on the other thread.

I've had my LG washer and dryer for almost a year. I'm using Sears detergent that was on sale. A $15 bucket will last more than a year. I love LG and my water bill is just about half what it was before. A word about several complaints about mold in the LG (and other brands) washing machine. Mold needs moisture and food. There's alway going to be some moisture left in the washer, but to form actual mold or off smells, that means that there is a food source, either from the clothing or from the water itself. Since we all put in dirty clothing, and only a few have mold problems, that indicates that the mold is likely a water quality issue. If it even happens after using the sanitary cycle, then it's the water. I'd have my water tested if clean rinse water in the washing machine smelled funky after a day or two. Mark