Coin-op washers aren't a good example of front loaders, because their cycles are too short. A good home front loader with long cycles will clean far better than an agitator top loader, unless you augment the top loader's basic operation with soaks and multiple cycles. Front loaders do require some maintenance, but it's worth it. Besides, top loaders aren't immune from mold either.

I can whole-heartedly recommend front loaders over top loaders. There is ONE company that still makes a traditional deep fill washer, and that is Speed Queen. All other top loaders are pretty much High efficiency, and in my opinion, beat your clothes to death, all while swishing them around in a pool of tepid water that does not even immerse them. I am sure there are HE top loader lovers out there, and I commend y'all. I know that manufacturers cannot make a washer that cannot clean, otherwise they would put themselves out of business. I feel that front loaders can provide cleaner, better rinsed, and better extracted clothes. By using tumbling action, it is gentler on clothes. By utilizing a built in heater, you can have proper hot water by heating up only the several gallons that it takes to fill a front loader for main wash. Front loaders rinse at least twice, typically with spins in between (not always, though). Higher spins release more water, which means more detergent is spun out, which also means that it is taking dirt along with it. High speed extracts means clothes leave the washer with less water. Less water, less detergent, less dirt, and much less time in the dryer. Not to mention that they still use less water than even the most strict HE top load washer. Mold and mildew issues are typically operator error, not the machine. Cold, quick washes with cheap liquid detergent and capfuls of softener in ANY washer is going to cause trouble. Leave the lid or doors open when not in operation. Proper laundering techniques will prevent you from even having to run a Tub Clean cycle. I have had front loaders for almost 15 years, and never had mold or smell issues, nor have i run a cleaning cycle. If you are considering a modern top load washer, I would suggest you check out YouTube and watch some washer videos there. That will give you an idea of how washers work these days, and will demonstrate water levels and wash action. There is no right or wrong answer, only opinions and what the right situation for you might be. For me personally, I will never own a new HE top loader as a daily driver, front loaders all the way! Sorry for my long post....

ask2003, you and hubby wear/wash only darks, delicates/sweaters, and t-shirts? What about sheets, towels, kitchen linens, socks, underwear, jeans, casuals/shorts? There are many other kinds loads and fabrics that you can do in warm and/or hot water.

HE detergent must be used, which is available in both "regular" and "free and clear" formulations.

I was wondering the same questions Dadoes asked.

When we moved into our house there was a Kenmore top loader. It stank. Washes were not hot enough and if I forgot and closed the lid, phew. I hated it. But I don't think I ever liked top loaders. Others do. It's just personal preference.

Doesn't sound like you would need a large pair of front loaders. One advantage I don't believe anyone has mentioned is that, with smaller pairs, they fit under a counter. I have a 13-foot counter over mine. It's in a combi laundry/mud room entered from the garage and it's probably the most used surface in the house.

Any washer requires a little maintenance. Not a lot but some. With a FL, I wipe out the boot and run hot maintenance cycles every other week or so. This is my third front loader set and I've never had a mold issue of any kind.

You might look at the Bosch Axxis or Electrolux fls and see what you think. BTW -- if you care about having your sheets and towels last longer and be in good condition, I would wash them in separate loads.

Some people here have front load Speed Queens that are similar, mechanically at least, to the new coin-op Speed Queens you used. Maybe they can make an educated guess about the length of the wash portion of the 40 minute cycle.

I almost always use the Extended option on my Miele W4840 (discontinued line). On the cycle I use most often, this means a total cycle length of an hour and 50 minutes, of which almost one hour is the wash cycle. During that hour, the clothes are in almost constant but gentle motion. Compare to an agitator top-loader, with a maximum wash cycle of what, 16 minutes? During that time, only part of the load is in motion, the part that's at the bottom at any given moment. Considering this, it's obvious to me why I get better results from my FL. And that's not even considering the hotter temperatures that an internal heater can potentially provide (but may not, depending on the brand and model).

I don't wash anything in cold water except some "collectible" decorated/screened cotton t-shirts that are variously black, navy, chocolate brown, or red. And that cold water may be 80°F+ degrees during summer months (TX), which is higher than the ATC warm temp (75°F-ish) on some (crippled) machines nowadays. Cold wash water shouldn't be less than 65°F so I temper it with warm if necessary during winter weather.

Regards to towels, cotton white and light/pastel towels (and kitchen linens and white cotton socks) I give full-hot treatment between 130°F and 140°F depending on where I set my tankless water heater for the load. And chlorine bleach is usually added. No, they are not yellowed. Point of info, my dad gave to me a few very nice towels he found in their neighbor's trash (he kept a few as well) that were apparently used for decorative purposes and they had redecorated and tossed the towels. A couple had some discoloration on fold-lines. The discoloration disappeared after several washes.

My go-to warm is 102°F to 105°F. Warmer is 112°F to 115°F. These temp ranges are used for casuals, shirts, shorts, underwear, slacks, jeans, bedding & blankets.

I think people are being much too paranoid about shrinking.

My sister is one who washes everything in cold "so our shirts don't shrink." Happens there was an incident a couple years ago when she got my grandmother's washer after granny died. Hubby connected the hot/cold hoses in reverse, so her cold wash and rinse was hot for several weeks. The machine kept beeping for help when the expected cold water flow was hot but they didn't know what that meant until I heard about it and advised what's the cause. Anyway, I never heard any mention that all their clothes had shrunk during that interim. Also, her old washer (a 1985 Maytag toploader) had a musty/smutzy odor from accumulated scum due to the cold water washing. I did hear her complain a few times about needing to find a good-smelling detergent (to cover the odor), and she uses a lot of Bounce dryer sheets.

Keep in mind also that low temp on most dryers is 125°F to 135°F and high temp is 145°F to 155°F. Moisture evaporation initially keeps the fabric temp lower but items approach the target temp as the load progresses toward dryness.

Not everyone who washes in cold will have a stinky washer. However, it will most certainly act as a catalyst. It is not limited to front loaders, just as others have stated. Normal cycles will run you about an hour. However, in today's washers, Normal cycle is the Energy Star cycle. This means that, by design and default, this washer cycle will use the least hot water, shortest wash times, and lowest water fills. To me, in order to remove soils, smells, and general gross, you need to use at least warm water. Body soil requires a minimum of warm water to work itself loose from fibers. Cold washing and the rumors that go with it are a bunch of hoo-ha. The surface of your body is about 95F. If clothing can take that temp next to your skin, then that need at least that water temperature to remove that specific soil. Not only that, but if they can take 95F skin, then they can most certainly be washed at 95F (warm water) and not suffer damage. Towels, sheets, kitchen towels should certainly require hot water to by washed hygienically. Just because they smell clean, does not mean they are. I never wash anything in cold. Woolens, silks, all warm. All toweling, sheets, body linen get washed at 120F or above, up to 205F. Other clothes like jeans or darks get warm water, about 105F. You would be very surprised how much cleaner your clothes get, the better they smell, the better they feel, and the longer they last by simply using good laundry practices. My clothes, sheets, and towels last for years and years, with minimal wear. It is a better practice to clean your clothes throughly, versus cleaning them half way each time to keep them from shrinking or fading. You will get some very good advice here, from some very novice laundry folk. We want everyone to have beautifully clean laundry, just like we do!

Does that long wash time translate to higher energy costs? Well, let's look at the cost of adding 1/2 hour to the wash cycle. First there's electricity for an extra 1/2 hour of tumbling. I think it's safe to say this is a very small fraction of a kilowatt-hour. Next, some electricity might be used to maintain water temperature. At worst the heater would stay on for the entire 1/2 hour. In a 120V machine with typical 1000W heater, that's an extra 0.5 kilowatt-hour of energy use. The worst case would occur only at higher wash temperatures. So, the answer is Yes, a longer wash time does use more energy, but not a whole lot.

Suburbanmd...I agree it's a negligible amount. My electric bill is holding steady.

You might see more electric usage of you always do a Sanitary or Steam cycle, but not by too much.

agk2003, what part of the world to you live in? Some areas, particularly the US Pacific Southwest and West, have water rationing and/or environmental issues that make owning a traditional top-loader an expensive machine just for the water usage. I personally prefer a front-loader anyway as they really do use less water. The beloved Speed Queens that some of the regular posters on here tout are only available from a couple stores in Phoenix, the 5th largest city in the US. Kenmore, Whirlpool, Maytag and a host of others, even Miele, have better availability and prices. Because of our dry climate, mold is rarely an issue. I wipe the gaskets and leave the washer door open anyway. It doesn't take a minute to do and if I forgot a sock or a washcloth, I find it before it starts to smell. There are pros and cons to any machine. This is the first year I've ever had laundry for just the two of us. Always had kids and/or parents living with us. The two ol' cats contribute a load a week so I've got fur. Both of us telecommute so our professional work clothes could be confused with our pajamas :).

I would advise that you compare prices locally if purchase cost is your number one issue. Look at local water issues. Rationing and city water increases can impact your decision. What type of flooring? Some washers aren't recommended for sub-floors or 2nd floors. What kind of space do you have available? Front-loaders just seem to be bigger than top-loaders and fitting a top-loader into the same space in a fitted laundry room can take some professional help. I'll post a pic on this.

Moroseaz, we are in nyc and I don't believe we have any limitations on water. Units will be on the 1st floor and the flooring is tile. The Laundry room width is 62" wide so we should be ok as far as size though admittedly I haven't paid close attention to unit size. I wouldn't say cost is the primary factor. Just looking to get the best unit at the best price. I lean toward kenmore/whirlpool as that is what my parents have always had though they got a bosch front loader in their Florida condo and my mom loves it.

I have a Bosch dishwasher, circa 2004. It came with the house and I'm quite pleased with it. First Bosch appliance I've owned. My limited experience has been Maytag or GE, now KitchenAid, for the kitchen with a White Westinghouse fridge we got 30 years ago. Whirlpool has always been my preference for laundry and I'm not sure why. Back when I purchased my first new set, I was looking for ease of use, a permanent press setting, no plastic drums in either washer or dryer. FL's were hard-to-find and POS anyway...leaky gaskets, drainage problems, endless list. I know several people that bought the LG Tromm FL's and haven't complained. One of my sisters swears by Kenmore and the other by Maytag. I've used my fair share of the lower-end brands; Amana, Hotpoint, etc. and see no reason to ever purchase one. Find out what your Mom uses and do a cost comparison in your area. Look at your laundry needs and determine if you want to be able to wash and dry your comforter at home or pay to have it cleaned. Kids, pets and hobbies can create some weird soils, too. Have fun with your purchase!

The Speed Queen front load is pricy but worth it and includes more wash cycles than you find in the Laundromat version including selectable wash times, more rinse cycles, spin speed selection, pre-wash and soak cycles and five year warranty plus containing the same internals as their commercial or Laundromat offerings. A typical wash cycle takes 45 minutes.

The load size is 3.42 cubic feet which is about 3 bushel baskets or 22 lbs. of laundry. The amount of wash control is an order of magnitude over the Laundromat version. Through the use of selecting various wash cycles, spin speeds and soil levels you can add up to an additional 15 minutes of wash time over the Laundromat model from 15 minutes of wash time agitation up to 30 minutes. In addition you can select to add a 7 minute pre-wash cycle or a 30 minute soak cycle or both. Finally you can select to add from one to three additional rinse cycles.

Water temperature selection is straight forward with a choice of cold, cool, warm and hot with cold only rinse.

The spin speed is 1200 RPM or 440Gs meaning more water is rung out of the clothes. And because some clothes are not meant to be spun at that maximum speed one can select lower spin speeds or wash with no spin. In addition this washer implements dynamic balancing meaning an almost vibration free spin and very quiet operation.

Finally you have the ability to delay the start your wash to allow you to begin washing at a more suitable time and there is a warning tone to tell you that the wash is complete albeit not too loud of one.