While I can't speak to any of those machnes (I have bosch) in particular, I can tellyou if you go to cloth diaper web sites they will all say FL with HEATER and whatever the brand you are getting refers to as their "sanitizing" cycle... My laundry is on the second floor... house construction is one issue, supporting walls vs open sapns is another, leveling certainly comes into play, and I personally believe so does the luck of the draw...

My bosch set works just fine without vibration on the second floor... but others here will admit they had problems with the same set on the second floor...

Dogs... I have dog hair on clothes and beds, doesn't seem to be an issue.. other than it sometimes will be onthe door of the washer and I will wip off those hairs with a cloth..

I've read that a number of brands of machines vibrate, enhanced by 2nd floor installations and house construction variables...

What's the possibility of having the washer/dryer on the first floor or basement ?

"What's the possibility of having the washer/dryer on the first floor or basement ? "

While historically laundry was in the basement, and then moved to the first floor, more and mor it is moving to the second floor of the house, where the predominent amount of laundry is generated... bedrooms are typically on the second (except for the now growing trend for first floor masters).

I wanted my laundry on the second floor. The only laundry generated from the first floor are kitchen/dining room towels, table cloths, and napkins; and then hand towels from the first floor bath. EVERYTHING else that needs to be laundered comes from weither the second or third floors of my house. For me, it's much more convenient not to lug baskets of dirty and clean laundry (I make those children on the third floor tote theirs up and down themselves!).

Luckily, I did not encounter a problem with my second floor laundry, but location and what is below appears to have been in my favor!

Look at the Samsungs also. They are supposed to be great for 2nd floor. No vibrations. Check them on the web and see what it tells you--the ones with the VRT.

I wondered the same thing as you in trying to decide my new set. (I went with the Duets with steam, btw.) I can't say decisively, but I think there are a number of reasons the reviews for the Duets are so much poorer than the Bosch. 1) A lot more people buy them, so you have a lot longer track record and more people to run into problems with them. 2) Education level of the users. I'm trying to be polite here, but suffice it to say that many of the problems people report or knock down the scores for reflect that they didn't read the instruction manual, use the right type/amount of soap, or have proper expectations. I'm not saying this explains everything, but it does seem awfully common when you read the Duet/Kenmore HE reviews. If you run the machine and don't take care about mold, can't squack when you get it. 3) The Duets and Kenmore were sold, early on, without onboard heaters, correct? So it may be some of the reviews from people with mold are people who didn't have enough heat to kill the mold. Those are the things I wondered about as I read those reviews. I also came to realize that there are MANY, many happy users with no problems whatsoever, and the epinions reviews mask this. I assume the Duets/Kenmore sell more than Bosch, so there are even MORE satsified customers than what we realize.

As far as what to get, here's what I concluded:
-LG-vibrations, only good if you have service available
-Bosch-good, simple to operate, some vibration, long warranty
-Duet/Kenmore-seems generally preferred over Bosch when people have used both (just from my reading), see BigWormie's post comparing them.
-Miele-no service in our area, so this wasn't an option for me.
-Samsung-husband didn't think it wise to take a chance with a newer product, not sure of availability of service and parts, few reviews and the only ones long-term were negative

I went with the Duets because I wanted the steam. The Bosch 800 was really good, and for ease of operation seemed very nice. I just couldn't see passing up steam in the dryer when I iron so much. For just a few hundred more, it seemed worth the try. My set isn't delivered yet, so we'll see how it turns out. It really was a toss the coin type thing, deciding between the Bosch and the Duet. We got the extended warranty because I just wasn't willing to be without that. And we got the Duet, not the Kenmore, because Sears has terrible service around here.

Good luck!

Hilltophome, Yep, feel just the same. The Miele's are going back tomorrow and the steam Duets are coming in. The vibration issue was the final clincher for us. First floor laundry off the kitchen. Some concern though, it is not natural to spray water into a non stainless steel drum.

I know this is an old post, but ambrosiamonkey almost describes our family to a tee--we have a second floor laundry (new construction, builder doing all the right things for a 2nd floor laundry room for reinforcement/insulation/drains and pans), we have two babies in diapers and a sweet yellow lab (with almost white fur) that sheds year round. I thought I'd bump this post and see if ambrosiamonkey can tell what she ordered and how she likes it, or if other posters can advice with some newer 2008 models out there.

We have been considering the Maytag Epics mfw9700sq, Bosch Nexxt wfmc8400uc or possible HE TLs like the Whirlpool Cabrio HE or GE Harmony HE TL.

There is just too much to process here and I'm stuck in analysis paralysis!!!!! :)

I still say ignore Consumer Reports and you'll be far better off. They're way too biased.

If you try to use a FL on a non-basement floor, make sure you get it in writing that you have a full-credit return option if there's any problem.

And now there's options for heaters on TL models too. Harmony has one, Oasis has one and if rumors are true, Bravos will soon have one which would mean the Cabrio wouldn't be far behind.

Speed Queen and Fisher & Paykal TLs would also be good options. With both you can have deep rinses. SQ gives a decent spin speed and the F&P is a high spin speed.

I was skeptical so I decided to do a quick search on the comment that everyone says you must have a FL with a heater. I looked at the first five links and not one made that requirement! One of the first sites on the list, along with a lot more, had this to say:

Washing Machines

A simple, inexpensive top loader cleans best. Some families actually buy a second washing machine, and love having 2 machines for their growing families long after the diapering years are over. That's not an option for everyone, but if you do find yourself in a position to purchase a new washer, do NOT buy a low water machine, unless you have a very real need to conserve water. A standard, simple top-loader cleans best. Super-heated cycles on expensive washers are not recommended for diapers since they will destroy the cotton, and the super-heating is not necessary. From our experience, very expensive front loading washers and automatic water level top loading machines make diaper washing more difficult than a simple, inexpensive top loader. More expensive does not mean "better at cleaning" when it comes to the price of washers. Except however, if you can get a warm rinse that is nice to have, because warm water helps rinse detergent residue easier than cold water.

So, if you were about to buy a $1,300.00 washer, buy a nice $300 or $400.00 top loader instead and you just came up with $900.00 to spend on a very fancy cloth diaper wardrobe!

It went on to say that FL will work fine too. Interesting comments. Many here admit that cotton diapers are best, and many here also concur that high heat damages cotton. Therefore it lends credibility that the heater might NOT be nirvana when it comes to washing diapers. The warm rinse comment was interesting too since Consumer Reports maintains that there is no difference in rinsing at cold or warm temps. But, considering CR....

I maintain there is no one best machine for everyone. Any of these mentioned will do a fine job IMO. Learning to use it properly is normally the key.

Cynic - Great advice on the written guarantee from the appliance people if we go with the FL--let them put their money where their mouth is, if they do swear there is no problem with the FLs on a second floor!

Also, I think you make a good point for all of us lurkers who are scared to choose the wrong model: "I maintain there is no one best machine for everyone. Any of these mentioned will do a fine job IMO. Learning to use it properly is normally the key."

Still I'd love to know which you would choose if you were me! Kids, pet hair, lots of laundry, second floor laundry room! Which is it?? :)

Don't worry about the dog hair. When you unload your FL you'll have dog hair all over the drum and door. You can wait until the drum dries out and then use a wet/dry vac to vacuum it out. The dryer is what captures the dog hair off the clothes in a FL washing system.

Personally, I too think you would get much better results with a good TL machine like a Speed Queen as well. They are built like tanks and have a long standard warranty.

My experience: I used cloth diapers on three children, over a period of 15 years (not continuously, of course, LOL). During that time I has traditional top loaders - the first was a GE, top-of-the-line at that time (we're talking early '70s) and, later, a Sears Kenmore huge capacity washer (bought it in the late '80s). I did prefer the Kenmore, mainly because it held so much more laundry and our family was growing.

I liked a traditional top loader for washing diapers because I could SOAK them in the washer itself; what a blessing that was! When the machine got full, I just drained that water out, filled it with HOT water, detergent, a bit of bleach, vinegar as a fabric softener, and the diapers always came out snow white, soft, and comfy for the babies.

Now that we're in the 21st century, I'd use the HE toploader I have now - the Maytag Bravos MTW6700 model. I can soak clothes in it (I still soak white socks, T-shirts and underwear), it cleans better than any washer I've ever had, uses far less energy and water, yet the laundry comes out beautiful every time.

Two big advantages of a HE toploader would be, you wouldn't have to worry about vibration (I can't believe how quiet and still our washer is, though the spinning RPM is dizzying to watch) and you wouldn't have to worry about little ones being able to touch the controls or open the door/lid.

Hope this helps.

We have a golden retriever who shed her winter coat for at least three months - seemed like much longer, though. She rotates between our beds at night, which means our comforters usually have a good bit of her hair on them. However, I haven't had any problem at all washing them.

Which brings up another point: The fact that the Maytag Bravos doesn't have an agitator (and a huge capacity of 4.6 cu ft) means I can wash king-size comforters with no problem! I've never had this luxury before.

Ambrosiamonkey,

Yes, the Bravos is an awesome machine! It does everything that mara 2008 says, HUGE capacity, cleans and rinses clothes thoroughly and does an excellent job removing pet hair as my grandmother's cats shed on everything! And yes, it has the ability to soak clothes in it.

And as far as I know, other machines that seem to get rave reviews here that may fit your criteria (some of them were mentioned above) are:

GE Harmony
all FP washers
Samsung VRT ( may not be the best pet hair candidate being it is FL, however I could be wrong)
Speed Queen TL

And it certainly would not hurt to also check out Whirlpool Duet since it supposedly has an improved suspension to better handle 2nd floor installations. And if a machine with a heater is what you are looking for and you decide you want TL, the Kenmore Oasis HT might be worth a look (but be warned there is a lot of negative reviews on them, however the HT model is new so maybe they have improved them).

Also, the Bravos is coming out with a model with a heater and a "Sanitary" cycle. Actually, there are 3 new up-and-coming Bravos models but only the 800 model has the heater. Here is a link to this new models which looks a lot like the Oasis as well as other FL models such as the new Performance series FL's and a new Centennial TL line (might want to look into those, too). Hope this info helps! Good luck with your purchase and let us know what you decide on! :o)

Kevin

Here is a link that might be useful: New up-and-coming Maytag models

Kevin - Do you know when these Maytag models are going to be available? They aren't listed on Maytag's site yet. I'm very curious about the new Bravo with heater. Also going to look at the Samsung VRT.

It's also very tempting to look at the new GE Profiles's with Smart Dispense in the pedestal (fill soap only a few times a year!) and with the washer and dryer that talk to each other (if you wash on perm. press, the dryer already knows to dry it on the perm press setting. HMMM...this sounds so cool, but as new features I am also worried. I don't want to be a beta tester!

Here is a link that might be useful: GE Profile Washer/Dryer with SmartDispense and CleanSpeak

seattlemamadrama,

I am not sure when they are going to become available. I am guessing sometime in September (even though the brochure says Summer 2008).

They were on the Maytag website about a month ago, but they were only there for about a week and then they disappeared from their website. I emailed Maytag to get more info on them and asked them why they took them off the website and their response was very uninformative and all they told me was that I provided them with the wrong model # when asking about the 800 model. So they were no help at all.

Unfortunately, that is all the info I have on them now. If you would like, you would try emailing Maytag and maybe you will have better luck with them than I did, just a thought.

As for the GE Profile SmartDispense, GE washers seem to get mixed reviews here. The GE Harmony gets rave reviews, while the GE Adora FL does not seem to get the most positive feedback. Maybe these GE Profile FL's are better quality than the Adora's were but I guess time will tell us that. I have, however, heard good things about the Samsung VRT's, though. Hope this info helps!! :o)

Kevin