There is good information over at the Laundry Forum. Those people are laundry obsessed. But, really nice.

I followed their advice and purchased a Speed Queen. I'm very happy with the unit. I selected the top loader manual, basic no frills version. It does a lovely job. They are incredibly reliable and pretty much trouble free. At least that is my experience.

They are a little difficult to find in that they aren't sold at Lowe's or Home Depot. You have to buy them from an appliance store. Just do a search on their website and you will find a distributor within a reasonable distance.

Speed Queen. We probably have a dozen pairs or more we use personally and commercially. The oldest is 10 years old and goes all day 5 days a week and some in weekends. The rest are various ages. My husband came home the other night and said, I think we will have our first service call on a SQ. Nope, it was another brand that will now be replaced with a SQ. we are very hard on the machines we use in our business. We use TL but they make FL too.

I think it gets clothes really clean and is not hard on the clothes.

The laundry forum does have some good info.

I got the front load Speed Queen last September. Electronic controls, matching dryer. LOVE this thing! I actually like doing laundry since I have it. Wish they made something to fold the laundry too :)

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm going to check out Speed Queen and hope it is sold in Canada. I have also heard a few good comments from friends about LG, but I've also read online reviews that complained about difficulties getting parts and service. I didn't even realize there was a laundry forum! I'll check with them too.

I think Speed Queen is badged as another brand in Canada. You will have to ask about it on the Laundry Forum.

SQ is Huebsch in Canada.

Maytag washers and dryers (some models) have been recommended by Consumer Reports.

I have no love of CR.

Others may.

Meris, I've lost confidence in CR. They have a bias against certain manufacturers. They rarely review anything that I have purchased or am planning to purchase. Most of their reports are skewed to lower price appliances. Their methodologies and data collection methods don't seem to stand up to real world long term usage. I have found GW to be a superior source of information. At GW I can have a discussion about features that are important to me.

I shopped with younger dd for a new w/d for their first home. We decided on Speed Queen, top loader. It's been about 9 months and she loves her set. Her DH works with concrete all day so it takes a beating. No problems so far...

i have a front load Samsung set that I plan to move to my basement and I think I will buy the same SQ set she did for my laundry room in our new build.

If you head over to the laundry room, you'll find that mama pinky has been having a very hard time with her speed queen. She's not recommending it anymore. There's no fool proof brand, and no fool proof source.

Fair enough. I can only tell you that I am delighted with mine. One person's real world, uncompensated experience. I got the manual top load, btw.

Electrolux! Best washer and dryer I've ever used. I'm 67 and have had lots of washer/dryers.

Not one repair in 4 years. Solid, holds large loads, Love everything about them!

Jane

"If you head over to the laundry room, you'll find that mama pinky has been having a very hard time with her speed queen. She's not recommending it anymore."

I think she was having a hard time with her dealer/service. Anyway SQ stepped in and ....

Mamapinky0 gets a new SQ.

If this works out, this is what makes loyal customers to SQ but not the dealer.

Sometimes it is the dealer who steps in and makes the manufacturer do the right thing.

There is a party over at the Laundry Forum. We are all celebrating Mamapinky0's new replacement washer.

I don't buy sets. I prefer front load washers and love my Samsung. However I keep dryers forever. My last one was over 25 or more years old. I went to Sears the night it died and bought a basic hamper doored (made by Whirlpool) one similar to it. It was on clearance. I had service on the washer just a few weeks ago. Our repairman ( a real one, not some service contract "technician") remarked on what a great dryer I'd chosen. Said the ones matching washers with bells and whistles are about as reliable as the new washers today. Meaning six to 8 years instead of 15 to 20. There is not much to break on a basic dryer.

I'm glad fo her! But months of a battle and a ton of time invested. Still no brand is perfect and she had to fight for that.

We recently moved to a new (to us) house, where of course the previous owner had replaced the WD before they sold. It is a Maytag Centennial set (one year old) and I hate it. The clothes are wrinkled and twisted in the washer so my steamer has been getting quite a workout, and the dryer has to be run for 2-3 cycles to dry anything, even on high. I have to plan drying to make sure I am home long enough to to start it again because otherwise it is sitting damp and warm and gets mildewed smelling. I have had the vent cleaned, the vent tubing replaced, cleaned the sensor, and have tried every setting and every level and every size of load. I have done everything suggested in the owner's manual and online. I haven't tried replacing the sensor yet as it is the same story when I use timed dry. I can only conclude that this is a piece of junk and am here looking for something better. I have kids and I don't have time for this kind of nonsense. It's a shame because we left behind a 30-year-old Maytag set that worked like a charm. So this is all to say don't get an HE Maytag !

I have LG front loaders -- 7 or 8 yrs now and very happy with them. My sister had their TL but recently got a new Eletrolux with her new house. She has liked both -- haven't hear too much detail on the new one yet.

If you don't live in a major metropolitan area with lots of choices about where to buy from and who might do repairs, I would look very carefully at the distributor.... some of the brands, including speed Queen, have not paid sufficient attention to their distributors qualifications or lack there of.