We agree that HE machines use less water therefore less water has to be heated to whatever temperature is chosen. I believe this is obvious. The ES guidelines say nothing about ambient water temps, nor do they define "hot" or "cold" in the formulas or in the text. To get the ES rating/label, the manufacturer only has to comply with the formula. One of the annoyances for consumers researching current HE machines is trying to learn exactly what each manufacturer means when they say or write "cold", "warm", and "hot" for a particular machine. (which intentional obfuscation has been discussed to death on other threads.) For example, my HE machine (Duet 9400 from 2/95) has buttons for selection of cold/warm/hot. If I select "hot" in a cycle that doesn't use the built-in heater, and purge the line so that 130F water flows in from the first drop, my actual wash temp is about 105F. Due respect to Whirlpool and the US government's ES formula, that is NOT what I or anyone I know considers to be hot. Hot-tub "hot", maybe, but not laundry-hot. I resent this industry-wide obfuscation and/or failure to disclose this most basic of information. The number of consumers who have been surprised and disappointed to learn of their expensive machines' deficiencies in this regard are legion.

Considering that it's only my wife and I and we don't do that many washing loads, we're very satisfied so far that the LG will meet our needs and expectations (won't know how it holds up until later). With the different cycles available and the ability to modify them to a reasonable extent, we can always pretty much match water level to something that works well on any load we would wash. On the cycles that have a high default fill we will just add enough clothes to match. No more loads than we do, the water usage is not that important to us, and we prefer the choice of using a cycle (and/or the water plus selection) that will use enough water for great results, but use very little water when it's appropriate. On the water temps, we're perfectly satisfied as well. Machine cold (not tap cold which is about 62 deg right now) 80-82 deg is fine, well above detergent performance level. Warm around 102 deg tested after fill with clothes) is fine also, and having 120-124 deg hot water available on hot without using the heater (still haven't tested on sanitize or bright whites with heater available) seems unexpectedly good on an HE washer with a hot water heater setting of 135 deg. Don't know what the future holds, but everything considered, at this point we couldn't be more pleased with both washer and dryer (particularly after reading many HE experiences folks have had). It definitely pays to learn the 'ways of operation' of your particular machine. I'm not sure though, after observing a few wash cycles, our washer even knows what it's doing half the time... but it seems to work out well. Thanks... Quinn

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.

If it were me I would stick with the Maytag (or Samsung) front loaders. If you're buying soon, May is Maytag Month so there may be some extra discounts now, especially closer to memorial day. The Maytag front loaders are highly rated by Consumer Reports. Also the mold issue is not what it once was - they now build the machines with air vents and fans to keep everything fresh. Also, as for "leaving the doors open" I always just leave mine open a crack (not sealed). FYI Maytag is made by Whirlpool, who also has some good front load washers. The WFW92 is feature-rich and priced nicely right now. As far as top-load washers go, they don't work the way they used to. Continuing tightening of the energy and water requirements has lead to a whole new way of washing clothes. Take a look at this video for more info. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1stdNzvWZ4M