The only comment I can make is that SQ offers a longer warranty on the electronic control model. Therefore they must have more confidence in the electronic vs the mechanical. Don't know on ease of service or cost of parts.

SQ frontloaders are easier mechanicals than the TLs.

I bought the electronic FL and matching drier.. Im real happy with them except that I put liquid detergent in the washer when I was supposed to use one tea spoon to one table spoon of powder.

ReRod, I saw a post elsewhere that may be yours about the liquid detergent issue. Various servicers and dealers have their opinions about detergent usage, type and amount ... but I highly doubt SQ has a restriction on liquid vs. powder. The user instruction manual would state so if there is a restriction, and there'd likely be a warning advisory on the detergent drawer.

Powder detergents typically are less concentrated than liquids so 1 teaspoon, or even 1 tablespoon is not enough for a full load. 1 tablespoon may be sufficient for a small load. You want enough enzymes and cleaning agents in the wash water to handle stains and soils.

Liquids can be high as 6x concentrated, in which case teaspoon and tablespoon measuring comes into play.

My dealer said this information came from a SQ factory rep.. They said liquid detergent will leave a
residue that will make my front load stink.. Also, I should use only
between a tea spoon and table spoon of dry powder detergent.

I guess I will have to call speed queen, because all this "he said she said" has me wondering..

If enough detergent isnt used gunk will build up on washer parts causing mold also.

Here's a pic of a scum-line on a toploader agitator, caused by insufficient detergent combined with hard water. Same thing can of course happen on a frontloader. Clothes tumbing in the drum will rub it off of the interior but the scum will accumulate on outside of the drum and inside of the outer tub, and around the door boot.

I appreciate the answers but what credentials do you have? Is that your agitator and did you keep records of how soiled and with what, and how much detergent was used and what temperature dadoes?

I will lean towards what the speed queen factory reps recommended to my dealer.

I worked for a Whirlpool dealer in my younger days, and have some years of experience in appliance repair, primarily washers & dryers. The picture was taken on my patio last week. The machine of question belongs to my neighbor, used at one of his rental properties. I completely disassembled and refurbed it five years ago, it was absolutely pristine. The 3rd tenant is at the house. I check the machines between tenants. I don't know intimate details of her laundry habits but I do know: There are teens in the household, lots of laundry. She uses Tide pods, which have dosage instructions oriented toward frontloaders (1 pod small loads, 2 pods medium/larger loads, 3 pods largest loads/heavy soil). The machine of question is a standard deep-fill toploader so reasonably requires more detergent comparatively to low-water frontloaders. She has mentioned using bleach on whites, and that she likes the notably hot water at the house. The (city) water at the house is notably hard, there's mineral residue on the machine's fill spray-flume and dried onto the detergent, bleach, and softener dispensers that are flushed by water flow ... and of course the scum-line on the agitator and around top of the basket.

A long-time servicer I know advises that skimping on detergent and excess rinsing is a factor in early failure of bearing/seals, especially in hard water areas. Detergents have ingredients to sequester mineral content. Insufficient detergent leaves mineral content to dry in the residual water left where seals meet drive shafts, which accumulates and grinds on the seal over time. He sells SQ and other brands. Says machines that come in to be serviced or are trashed for failed bearings are typically from customers who either skimp on detergent and/or habitually run extra rinses.

Best of luck with your SQ, you made a good choice. It should last 25 years with minimal repairs.

OK. You know what your talking about dadoes.. No sense in giving away my liquid Tide HE just to switch to powder.

In your opinion.. How much liquid Tide HE should I use per large load in my SQ FL?

Frankly, I have no idea how to judge by the visible suds while washing.

And speaking about powder.. How much Tide powder for a large load after I use all my liquid?

One more question.. Iv been adding 1/4 cup of white vinegar per load when my old Maytag's were running. Is that a good practice to keep everything clean?

I would not add the vinegar during the main wash cycle..vinegar can act as a mild Laundry Sour in which it can neutrilize carbonates which in turn can affect cleaning ability. If you want to use the vinegar I'd recommend it be used in the rinse. As far as how much detergent to use it can be different for everyone depending on water hardness ect...it will be trial and error at first. Detergent is not formulated to be suds free so you should see some suds if you expect to actually clean the clothes, yet not so many that you can't see the clothing. Watch the rinse..if your last rinse isn't clear than consider you may have used too much.

The water should be reasonably clear but a few bubbles in the last rinse isn't objectionable.

Liquid detergents, considering the higher concentration, can be more difficult to dose than powders. A half-tablespoon variance can be the difference between oversudsing or not on a small load and/or light soil. Powders are more forgiving in my experience. I've used much as 5 or 6 tablespoons of Tide HE powder on a full load when test-running a frontloader.

I asked the top guy at the appliance barn where I bought my SQ and this is what he said..

Soap
usage has been a big deal for us ever since the front loaders became a
big deal back in the late 90s! These washers just use so much less water
than the old top loaders that it is very important for the machines
that less soap is used. For a long time we have been recommending 1-2
tablespoons of detergent but Speed Queen is now recommending that only
HE detergent be used and that only 1-2 tea spoons is all that is needed
even for the largest of load sizes. In these machines you don’t want to see any suds at all!
If you see any suds you have too much detergent. Soap manufacturers are
most interested in selling more soap! They want you to fill the cap up
and dump it in! We feel people have been using way too much detergent in
their machines for a long, long time.

My
family has used a high efficiency machine for 6 years now and we have
only ever used 1-2 teaspoons of powder detergent. We have never had
problems of soap residue or any type of odors building up in the machine
and our clothes come out well cleaned. I too work out in the garage on
my vehicles and motorcycles getting greasy and oil stained!

The
problems we have seen in the front loads over time often stem from over
soaping and especially with liquid detergent. Liquid detergent is made
up of lard/animal fats and is a sticky substance that builds up over
time inside the machines. We have taken front load washers apart that
have had too much liquid detergent and fabric softener used in them over
time and the inner tub is coated in a thick black sludge that can only
be cleaned off by power washing it and then reassembled. We also have
found that the liquid detergent is what mold and mildew grow on and
cause staining/discoloring to the door gasket and bad odors in the
machine itself.

The
biggest key with front load washers is not to over soap. I would try to
get by with as little as possible that still seems to be cleaning. 1-2
teaspoons is all I would start with and would not go over 1-2
tablespoons. In the case of these machines less is better and more is
worse. If you prefer liquid detergent we are fine with that, we just
believe that makes it all the more critical to be careful with how much
you use. Also if you use liquid detergent we recommend cleaning the unit
about once a month with a product called Affresh washer cleaner. It is a
bleach compound tablet that foams up inside the washer and cleans it
out. I would recommend using a long heavy duty cycle on hot water with 1
tablet and be sure to run the machine empty.

Hope that helps! If you have any other questions let me know!

Thanks,

Tony

1-2 teaspoons..no way would I use such a small amount not only will my clothes not be clean but neither will my washer.

I have a TL SQ manual that does say they recommend HE detergent and to follow dosing instructions on detergent label.

Last summer SQ told me to use enough detergent in my SQ TL to form a small layer of suds.

HE detergent does not mean suds free. If you really want to know if that 1-2 teaspoons of detergent is enough than stop the washer and feel the water it should feel slippery, if it doesn't than enough detergent wasnt added to condition the water in order to clean the clothes.

If SQ says there should be no suds at all than perhaps they can recommend a suds free detergent.

From the SQ literature...

NOTE: The normal level of suds should be below center of the door.

Besides all that's already been said, you need more detergent if your water is hard.

My Iowa City water isn't hard since they built a new plant in 04. I removed my softener with no issues..

I washed a load last night with one teaspoon of liquid tide HE and didn't notice anything except that the cloths felt more loose. More like only the fabric with nothing else in them. They smelled like nothing since Im using unscented tide and I prefer to smell like my GIO cologne.

I feel I don't need more than a table spoon max. And two teaspoons will be used for most loads.

Good luck and thanks for all the suggestions!

I use the measuring cup provided in the detergent box. I fill the cup to about 1/2 of the lowest mark. That is about 2 Tbs of liquid and about 1/8 cup of powder. Never have had any problems so fa (6 years)r. I use bleach or the sanitary cycle for whites (sometimes chlorine and sometimes Oxyclean. Oh, and it is a Samsung front loader/

The amount of detergent used depends on the hardness of the water. One can use about half the amount of detergent in SOFT water. That being said, hard water doesn't allow all the detergent to be rinsed out of a laundry load. If you have hard water, get a water softener. If in a rental, one can rent a water softener rather than buy one.

Hard water generally rinses better than soft water due to the mineral content cutting sudsing.

Back to root question - easier to service. A SQ TLW has a much more complicated transmission vs a SQ FL.

To turn the drum on the SQ FLW, you have a variable speed motor, a variable speed controller (often referred to as a VFD or Variable Frequency Drive), a motor pulley, a belt, and a basket pulley.

On a TLW, you have many parts including a 2 or 3 speed induction motor, a belt, a transmission input shaft, which has a gear on the end, that contacts a gear with a pin, the pin contacts a "rack" with a groove to provide the agitation, the rack contacts a gear attached to the upper transmission shaft, which grasps a drive bell, that then engages the agitator to turn it. In addition to all of these parts you have thrust bearings and radial bearing to support the load and a helix/brake assy to rotate the basket for spin when the shaft turns the opposite direction. Lots of parts, lots of complexity, but the same transmission since more or less 1994.

Both are very reliable, if they weren't there would not be too many unattended laundries in laundromats, college dorms, and apartment buildings out there using these products.

I've taken these apart down to the transmission of a TLW, there are a few tricks to getting the agitator off the drive bell, but for somebody mechanically inclined, they are not that difficult. U-tube has a wealth of information to take either apart if failure does occur. FLW is really easy, no press fit shaft, so no bearing pullers involved to dismount the shaft. The bearings are pressed into an aluminum housing, but are not that difficult to dismount. LH thread at basket is the only thing to look out for.

Both products will probably last a decade or two or three in the average homeowners house. And if they do fail, parts are out there literally forever to support the installed base in the commercial markets. Certain manufacturers will discontinue parts as early as 11 years out and you are SOL for repairing your unit, regardless of your mechanical or electrical aptitude.

Best of luck.

Laundryvet

I bought a new SQ AWN 432 last summer...9 months later it was returned for a full refund after I think 8 parts were replaced and was still broken..however this IMHO was the service techs fault. He didn't know what the problem was so kept throwing parts at it. In the end SQ jumped in and made sure I was refunded and offered me a 25% discount on another one...I declined the offer. IF I was in the market for a new TL I would probably choose a SQ IF I could find a different dealer and service tech in my area.