Another Which Brand to I Buy Thread...

9 years ago

Hello, this is my first post on GW. Although I have been a lurker, GW has gotten me through a new stand mixer purchase, a granite purchase (saved me here!), a backsplash, and now I'm hoping through a washer/dryer purchase.

Some background information about my family. We are currently a family of 5, 6 in September. Also, we cloth diaper, and will have two in cloth this fall. As if that isn't bad enough, we are also dairy farmers which means a lot of very dirty work clothes, in addition to regular household laundry (sheets, towels), and "good" clothes. I do a lot of laundry. I was all set to buy a front load Electrolux washer and drier and stack them in our mud room so I could still have the top load for cloth diapers (I really need a top load for these). Yesterday I went to our local appliance dealer and asked if they carried Electrolux, they were quick to tell me that they were made by Frigidaire and that they were the most serviced brand they sold. She steered me to the GE or Samsung brands. I don't know a lot about either, but I thought I had seen somewhere that Samsung was a bad idea for a washer/dryer. Enter confusion.

So now what do I do???

1) Stick with Electrolux?

2) Go with another brand - Kenmore??? Grandma has a newer Whirlpool Duet that I used all summer (long story), but it started in with the hinge issue.

3) Forget it all and buy the Speed Queen top loader and drier? I'm leaning in this direction but have some concerns. Will this keep up with the amount of laundry that I have? Also, can it handle larger quilts and our heavy barn jackets and bibs (we live in MN so the super insulated stuff)? Going to a laundry mat isn't a good alternative, the nearest one is in the next town.

Featured Answer

poppy214

9 years ago

If you don't have Electrolux service in your area, I would look at something else. GE is now owned by Electrolux. I had very bad luck with a GE front load washer purchase--bad service and technicians who didn't fix it. IMHO, the GE toploader is small and doesn't clean. Samsung is plastic and prone to problems. I ended up with a Kenmore Elite (built by LG) 41072. It's huge (5.2 cu ft) and will do the comforters, the diapers and the heavy clothes you mentioned. You might look at the larger LG washers that stack provided you have service in your area. I would avoid the HE toploaders; they don't clean or rinse properly for super dirty clothes. In my experience frontloaders less than 4.3 cu fit cannot not do comforters without becoming unbalanced. The SQ is nice but small only 3.3 cu ft. You would be doing more loads with more water and they don't have the on-board heater needed for a truly hot wash. All rinses in the new washers are cold (mandated by law). I think the SQ only has 2 rinses. SQ has a frontloader, but it is expensive. Whirlpool is hard to service (filter not accessible without taking it apart). Maytag the same as Whirlpool. The Kenmore is noisy (loud spin cycle especially on a pedestal), but it gets the job done.

Good Luck

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Comments (7)

laundryvet
9 years ago
Stacy,

SQ top load probably still has the industry's best out of balance capability. A technical explanation of "why" if you want to know is below:

1) It's suspension is both pivoting and translating, which means the center of gyration can be anywhere from around the middle of the tub to 10 or more feet in the ground; many others just slide or pivot, not both

2) Having an all metal inner and outer tub creates a high mass moment of inertia, in particular the spin tub, which promotes on-center spinning minimizing wobble

3) it has a huge high density special fluid liquid balance ring, again promoting on-center spinning minimizing wobble

4) the overall unit heavy weight creates a high foot force to floor preventing it from sliding

New SQ FLW is quite a bit bigger than older unit. I have seen coin versions of it - it washes queen comforters no problem.

Good luck on your decision.

Laundryvet
Stacy T thanked laundryvet
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rococogurl
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
If you could possibly afford it I would look at the Miele Little Giant. That's basically an industrial machine that will handle everything you discussed. It will require special hook up and electrical line.

I have the smaller under counter Miele which has been outstanding. With cloth diapers I'd want a true sanitize cycle. Miele's is 165F.
Stacy T thanked rococogurl
georgect
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Tough one Stacy...

You could make a significant investment and go with Miele Little Giant or Miele Professional or Speed Queen front load. (the miele may need special electrical hook up and I don't think the Speed Queen offers "Sanitize" cycles)

Or go the other route with Electrolux and make a relatively smaller investment and know they wont last as long and just use them until they give out.

Personally I wouldn't go with Samsung (I read too many complaints), not a fan of LG (with that whole exploding top loader issue).

My friend is "frugal" and has had a Frigidaire bottom of the line washer and dryer set and has had them for 5 years now and no issues to date.

Please let us know what you decide and your experience with what you get.
Stacy T thanked georgect
hvtech42
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
If you are interested in the Miele Little Giant, take a very close look before you buy to make sure the capacity suits your needs. I saw one in person a while back and thought it was much more "Little" than "Giant".
Stacy T thanked hvtech42
Stacy T
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you everyone for all of your advice, I appreciate it! I didn't know Miele made a bigger machine, I checked it out, it's out of my price range. I'm really leaning towards the top loading Speed Queens, especially since the new electronic control models have a delay start.
Stacy T
Original Author
9 years ago
My husband installed my new Speed Queen top load washer and dryer yesterday. The fourth load of laundry is washing right now, so far it is living up to the hype, it did a great job on diapers last night. I ended up getting the new AWNE92SP113TWO1 washer because it had the extra rinse option and an XL load setting. I did the lower end dryer - ADG3LR with mechanical controls, I didn't want anything with to many drying choices, I just set it and start it.

Another Which Brand to I Buy Thread...

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laundryvet

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laundryvet

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