ALL items are treated more gently in a front loader all the time. Tumbling is more gentle than agitation. I can't say I've ever watched my front loader run a cycle on delicates to note any difference.

I set my wash/rinse temps. Warm/warm is an option. The washer doesn't know what's in it. It could be empty. It's not that smart.

I think if you look at various tests regarding front loader vs top loader, that in general the front loaders beat the top loaders, hands down, on cleaning effectiveness.

BE AWARE that front loaders will possibly require you to do some things differently. Not hard. Not complex, just different. They spin faster, they require the use of HE detergents (High Efficiency) and POWDER seems to be the way to go. USE LESS detergent than the package says to use (I'm using less than half). AVOID liquid fabric softeners (they contain wax). If you MUST use them, dilute them half and half with water. Believe me they'll still work fine. But you probably don't really need all that wax in your clothes anyways. Look for anywhere that holds water when you're done washing. Typically this is just a bit in the rubber bellows between the tub and the door. Newer ones may not have an issue, but on mine I have to dry it out as mine holds water (I have an older Kenmore). And leave the door open. You want the washer to dry out when you're done.

Now keep in mind that I've had a serious issue lately with moldy smell in my washer. I didn't know about these boards and I didn't have the information I just gave you. Even after this learning experience, I will never go back to a top loader. The front loader will probably pay for itself in energy savings not only from washing but from shortened dryer cycles. The high speed spins leave teh clothes much dryer leaving the washer.

"Should we buy a front load washer?"
Yes, absolutely.

I have an older Duet. We have had it for over 5 years. I love it and don't think I could ever go back to using a TL regularly!!

I don't have a choice of rinse temps on mine-- but wouldn't ever rinse in warm anyways! I never rinsed in warm on my TL. Never have had a problem by only using a cold rinse.

I wash all sorts of delicates in my FL with wonderful results! I wash things I wouldn't dream about putting in a TL such as lace doilies, dresser scarves, antique linens, etc. I even wash my kids' backpacks with wonderful results. I would think a TL would tear them apart.

You have to do laundry a bit differently but it isn't any big deal. The hardest thing is getting over the fact that only using a tablespoon or so of detergent is sufficient! More is definitely NOT better when it comes to a FL. We use Sears Ultra Stain Fighting detergent. $20 on sale for a 275 load bucket.. I use less than recommended so it will probably last about 400 loads. Pretty economical! And it does a wonderful job cleaning! Sure beats paying $10 for a jug of Tide (or Gain or Cheer, etc) for 32 loads!

I don't use fabric softener. I will use vinegar on towels. Sometimes with a load of lots of synthetic fabrics, I will throw a 1/4 of a dryer sheet in to help with static but otherwise I don't ever have trouble with static.

The water savings is remarkable! Just moving into your first home means you probably don't have a houseful of kids like we do so it might not be as much of an issue for you! The first month we had our washer, our water bill dropped about 3000 gals!!

I don't think you can go wrong with a FL-- just remember they are a little bit different than using a TL. Like I heard my DD explain it to a friend of hers that was getting one-- it is like comparing an electric stove to a gas stove. They both do the same thing... you just have to do it slightly different!!

Thanks for your input!

OK, my thoughts are at ease about the gentleness of the FL's.

What about wrinkles? Right now with our top loader and front load dryer, I don't get any wrinkles. Don't even need to iron my wrinkle free dress shirts. Am I going to have to start ironing now with a FL ?

The local appliance shop offers GE financing and GE extended service plans while carrying many of the well known FL's. THe fact that they deal with GE is that good or bad or not a factor?

What about brands - I see an LG on sale at Home Depot for $899 that sounds right in our budget. 4.0 liter too. My DW has a friend at her work who also has an LG. Are LG's good?

I am wary of Kenmore because everyone says Sears isn't what they used to be, customer service is horrible, and their machines are trouble. Is this true?

We're either going to buy LG, Whirlpool or Kenmore. What's the better brand?

We don't want to spend more than $1,000 or $1100 on the FL. $1300 is just too much.

Thanks again!

Regarding Sears, I have not had a problem with them. I have had my HE3t washer and matching dryer for 4 1/2 years and they have been great. The washing machine gets everything unbelievably clean, is odor free and squeaky clean inside, and works as well now as the day I got it. If I needed to replace it, I would get the current model equivalent, the HE5t.

The one feature I love and would hate to do without is the stain treat option. It starts the wash with warm water and heats it to hot/extra hot (depending on cycle) over an extended wash time. It seems to be able to get anything clean, even w/o pretreating.

I purchased the washer and dryer from Sears in 2003. In 2005 I bought a Bosch dishwasher from there, and just a few weeks ago I had a new Kenmore refrigerator delivered. I have had competent and friendly delivery/installation people for all 3 deliveries, and my experience with Sears has been great. (I bought the appliances at the King of Prussia, PA Sears  I live in the City of Philadelphia).

Sears doesn't make their Kenmore appliance, but they usually have additional options/features that the original manufacturer does not include on their models. For example, the Stain Treat option on some Kenmore washers is missing on WhirlpoolÂs sister models. I don't know if it is still true, but when I bought my Kenmore washer the nearly identical Duet model was rated slightly lower than the Kenmore model. One difference was that the wash time on the Kenmore model was slightly longer and the spin speed slightly faster than on the Duet.

Another example is the refrigerator I just bought. Made by Whirlpool, the Kenmore model is pricier, but includes features like an accelerated ice making switch, tilt out freezer door racks, and a pull out freezer floor, all options not available on the Whirlpool model. I find that that in the end, Kenmore models are a good deal.

My suggestion to you is to be sure to get a washer with an internal heater. My aunt bought an LG w/o an internal heater is not happy with how her whites are coming out.

I do know someone who couldn't be happier with the Kenmore HE2t washer. That may fit right into your budget.

Good Luck,

Joe

Yes... go with a good brand front loader that has an internal water heater. I think the Duets, HE5t from Kenmore, LG, Miele and Bosch are all good. The Kenmore and Miele are better with the Miele being the best on performance, reliability and longevity.

I had a Kenmore front load washer for a year and didn't like it all. I went back to top load.

I didn't care for the very long cycle times and increased wrinkles. An appliance this expensive should make life easier not harder.

Once the novelty of a front loader wears off it's just laundry again.

And unless you live in an area with extremely high utility and water rates you'll never make back the high purchase price and repair costs in energy savings.

Wrinkles:
Someone clued me in to a little trick. When you take the clothes from the washer to the dryer, give them a little shake to "open them up". Believe it or not this cuts drying time quite a bit and I am not ironing my slacks and shirts for work.

Something not-so-new that I recently "discovered" is dryer balls. Google that or look on Amazon.com. They're nubby balls that go in the dryer. They fluff up clothes and they also shorten dryer cycles.

Regarding long wash cycle times on front loaders.... mine does a "normal" load in about 40 minutes. That's roughly the same amount of time a regular dryer cycle goes. So maybe the newer models have longer wash cycles (mine was built in february of 2005) but I am not experiencing that.

Wrinkles??? What are those???? :)

I can't remember the last time I even had my iron out. I don't have any problem with wrinkles at all. I hang what clothes need to be hanged as I get them out of the dryer and that's it. I think if you overload regularly, someone may have trouble with wrinkles but no one I know has trouble with wrinkles with their FL. I also heard someone say that before they learned that they didn't need the mfr's recommended amount of detergent, they had wrinkles with the overdosing of detergent.

Cycle time is a bit longer that it was on my top loader BUT I am doing less loads (since they are larger) so it all evens out. PLUS you aren't waiting for the dryer to finish so that cuts time! I am not one of those people that base their day around doing laundry-- I have way too much laundry to do for that! I start a load, go do something else, put it in the dryer when the cycle is done, go do something else, get it out of the dryer when it beeps.... so the time a load takes hasn't ever been an issue to me. Overall, in a week, I actually spend less time doing laundry though-- because of the larger load size.

Mine is an older Duet without all the bells and whistles and I get along fine with it. We happened to be at a big appliance store yesterday and I saw some of the newer FLs-- and they cost more than my W/D together! YIKES!!

If you are handy at all, my husband says the Duet is the easiest washer he has ever worked on. We have only had one mechanical issue in 5 years... and that was when a pocketful of BBs went through the washer into the drain pump. Needless to say, the drain pump didn't survive. It took my hubby less than 30 mins from start to finish to repair it!

PS: my LG can do a warm water rinse. You just override the standard settings by pressing the water temp button a few times. Other machines can do this but you may have to read the instructions (GASP!) to determine how.

Something I did not see mentioned here, where your laundry room is located. FL washers are more prone to vibration issues. If the machine will be on concrete that will not be a problem. If not, you need to make sure the store you buy your machine at will allow returns or exchanges if you are not happy with your purchase without charging a restocking fee. Lowe's allows returns and does not charge you. Best buy and Sears will charge you. You also might want to get the extended warranty, circuit boards are not cheap! Again, Sears is problematic with this. They charge a larger amount than most other stores for the extended warranty, and their service is not what it once was. I started with a FLer and now have a Cabrio HE (HE TLer) because of vibration and rinse problems (I have topical allergies and the FLer did not rinse well enough for my skin). Good luck with your purchase. By the way I got the Duet dryer just recently, I did not like the Cabrio dryer. The drying times are a bit longer than with my old dryer but I do like it very much.

I'm in the "wouldn't use anything else" camp. We've had our FL for about 6 years, no problems. It doesn't have a heater, and that's fine, too. We usually use warm wash, cold rinse. Our clothes get clean. We do have some wrinkling, but that's minimized by using fabric softener and shaking shirts a little between the washer and dryer. I'm glad to hear that earlier poster doesn't know what wrinkles are and never hears about them from others, but we know what they are (*smile*).

Anyways, we're very happy with our FL.

-Roger

Again, thanks for all of your input! (Hey Joe in Philly I live in the western burbs myself near Springfield)

So my choices are Kenmore, Whirlpool and LG. Are these 3 reliable choices? And how would you rank them?

Finally, The HE3t and HE5t are available. The HE5t has options for wool and silk clothing, which we don't own. I thought I also saw somewhere that it had longer wash cycles than previous HE's. Is this true?

So Kenmore is still a reliable brand?

The only reason I'm not buying from sears directly is because a local appliance shop offers 4 year extended service plan for $99 compared to Sears' $270. Also the ESP from this shop is through GE and serviced by GE.

Thanks again!
Paul

I have had a FL for almost 7 years. It is a Sears Kenmore and has been trouble free and reliable. However, I would have no qualms about going back to a TL. It is essential that you use powder as was mentioned-if you don't your laundry-particularly towels and wash cloths will develop a mildewy smell impossible to get rid of until you switch to powder. The other thing is you will spend more time maintaining a FL than you will a TL-you will have to regularly clean out your dispenser for example. I also find that a FL being more gentle on your clothes than a good TL is somewhat over rated. I am happy with my machine, and I am pleased to be saving water, but I am hard pressed to unequivocally recommend a FL over a TL.

Paul,

I used to live in Secane! :-)

Yes, you are correct about the longer wash time. My washer is the first generation (named HE3t), and has shorter wash cycles than the newer versions. The HE3t became the HE4t, then HE5t. The current HE3t based on the same design as the HE5t, and is made in the same German factory, but has fewer cycles, options, and a slower final spin speed...and a lower price too. Did I confuse you?

The HE2t is a little bit smaller, made in Mexico, but cycle/option wise is more similar to the HE5t than the HE3t. The HE2t (or Duet Sport HT - Whirlpool's sister model) may be a good option.

If you don't want to purchase at Sears that rules out the Kenmore models as they are only sold at Sears. My preference would be for the Whirlpool over LG, but that is based on my good experience with Whirlpool made Kenmore models. I don't think you would regret an LG either.

With the preface that my washing machine is conveniently located in my kitchen in direct view of the kitchen table, that I have studied its operation intently, and add in my abnormal fascination with washers, the following is my reasoning for preferring the Whirlpool.

Though careful comparison of my good friend's LG and my HE3t, my conclusion is that the Kenmore just operates more gracefully. The spin ramp up and down is smoother and more controlled, and it never even tries to spin with an unbalanced load. The motor controller can sense when a load distribution is unbalanced while still spinning at the slow distribution speed. It is not based on the swaying of the drum, but rather the uneven resistance of slowly spinning an unbalanced load. In comparison, the LG spin ramps up and down over and over on some loads until it gets a balanced distribution. Of course I doubt this would bother most normal people.

Some LGs have a recirculating pump which sprays the load with water as it washes and rinses. I do not like that when the pump starts up in the rinse cycle it sprays the left over soapy wash water stored in the hose into the rinse water. I suspect that my reduce rinsing effectiveness.

Also, the Whirlpools fill directly into the tub while spinning the clothes, pulling the fresh rinse water though the load as it fills for the rinse. I find this method better than the LG's of filling into the outer tub. The direct fill method also saturates a large dry load during the wash fill faster than the LG method.

The holes in the LG drum are larger than in the Whirlpools. Smaller diameter holes are more desirable at high spin speeds. Miele had a honeycomb drum that has extremely tiny holes which is supposed to be the gentlest. I don't think this matters much, but I thought I would mention it.

In conclusion, I think you will probably be happy with whatever washer you choose!

Joe