New laundry closet - front loader or top loader??

bojana2012

6 years ago

The front to back dimension of our new laundry closet is approx 38" but there's a trap plumbing valve that sticks out 2.5" from the back wall, so we only have 35.5" to work with. I'd prefer to buy a front loader bc the city is going to start metering our water in the next couple of years, I feel that the physics of how front loaders wash is more efficient, plus consumer reports rates them well, plus we can get a new LG 3670 for about $500. The 3670 is 31.75" front to back and so we can only leave it open a couple of inches (no more than 3.5") using one of these handy gadgets https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013JLEDZE/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I1ODAPHTFQZ51L&colid=I9WEY4VOT35W&psc=0

My hesitation has to do with whether this opening will be enough to keep mold and mildew from developing inside the washer. We plan to use a HE detergent and in small amounts so it doesn't build up inside the machine. We plan to use the tub wash cycle once a month or more. We will dry out the rubber gasket around the door and can even dry out the inside of the tub after each use, and can remove the soap tray after each use to let it air out. But most people I know who don't have problems with their front loaders leave the door open all the way all the time when not in use...

HELP! I would love to hear about your experiences...especially if you're someone who has followed all the precautions with front loaders highlighted in the preceding paragraph. Thank you!

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Comments (6)

ifoco
6 years ago
bojana

I can't speak to the LG model but I had a Frigidaire front loader for 15 yrs and then a Speed Queen Front loader for 2 or 3 years. I have always left the door ajar and the soap dispenser slightly out. Periodically I would wash the rubber gasket as dirt seems to accumulate as well as the soap dispenser. Other than that nothing else. I think it's common sense to leave the door ajar or you will get mold or mildew smells which can be hard to get rid of.

Inga
enduring
6 years ago
I leave my door ajar. It will hold any position I put it in, not all brands do this. The amazon product you link would not be useful to me. I always dry the boot. I always take the soap drawer out to dry over night. I clean it periodically. I might wip out the receptacle for the drawer with a micro fiber towel. When laundry is done for the week and appliance dried out overnight I put it back together. I never seal the door though, just nearly closed. I never have mold. I also use exclusively temps from 104f to 190f. Rare occasion do I use cold water. Silk would be an example of cold.
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Thank-you, AKchicago, for actual information. I don't mind being disagreed with or set right, just don't find name calling particularly useful. I only piped up to begin with because I've never suffered from the bugaboos that seem to be attributed to top loaders and know that there are some reasons that some people might prefer them. I think the newer front loaders must be more sophisticated than any I've used myself, however. What you've said about the newer top loaders having the function designed out of them makes sense, as well. Mine is nine years old. What I said about ease on the back was for a machine that's the same height--work surface height--as mine. I use the top of my washer and a front loader would have to be raised. Also I'm a fiber artist, so I have other reasons for preferring a top loader, but that's a whole other story that's not applicable to this forum. For the record, I don't get clothes wound around the agitator or a tug of war (I think my machine is self-balancing or something), I have very old, much washed clothes that don't show the kind of overall wear that you're talking about (as opposed to elbow wear, and the like). And my clothes come very clean without fuss. I've had occasion to run clothes through on rinse only and don't get clouds or suds from detergent left in the cloth. This is why I've been so bemused!! My one problem--the reason I started investigating the "cleaner clothes" idea, and front loaders in general--has been hand towels that seem to get gunky with hand soap, but that's the mild detergent not the machine. When I did them during the remodel in my mother's top loader, using her supermarket powder (Tide? All? Something that hurts my skin to touch it...) they came out just fine. So now I add a little Oxyclean to the towels and they're nice and white. I don't use much detergent. I (and some of the friends in the survey) use 7th Generation free and clear, which is the same stuff for either kind of machine. I just checked the label. I use approx. their recommendation for HE (approx. because I'm not compulsive about the measure). It sounds like you would also use less detergent in your Miele ("smaller and smaller amounts"), and Petra said so too, so that does explain the discrepancy in my little survey--the others were probably just using the recommended amount, when, with all else equal, they could have used less. Questions: I know there are some European models (and maybe others as well) that let you set the water temperature by number and heat their own water. That's a definite plus! Is that a normal feature in the ones they sell here? Can you also set the water quantity for more than the sensor thinks is optimum?
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I just purchased a Speed Queen AWN 412 top loader. 3 year parts & labor, 5 year motor & 10 year transmission guarantee. Uses about 25% less water than the old TL's. Lot less lint than my old Whirlpool TL. I even washed sweat pants w/ jeans & there was very little lint on the sweat pants. Higher spin speed than the old Whirlpool. Several water level settings, so the water level is more customizeable compared to just 3 choices w/ the Whirlpool. Because it uses less water, I can wash an X-Lg load without running out of hot water from my 40 gal H2O heater, unlike the Whirlpool. 'Hot' water ended up being warm--our 'cold' water is very cold so the incoming cold water in the tank diluted the 'hot'. So far, I like this washer a lot. Chose a TL because the SQ has no electronic controls to flash error codes, because I'm familiar w/ the TL's and do most of my own repairs, our clothes get very dirty & I like to stop the washer & let them soak in plenty of water and, for less dirty clothes that I don't need to soak, the load is finished in much less time than a FL. Yet another reason was because my local Craigslist is loaded w/ non-working front loaders for sale. That was telling me something, something that has been confirmed by appliance repair people. Oh, and Speed Queen is made in the USA, right here in Wisconsin. Think it was the transmission that went out on the Whirlpool. (Plastic parts in the tranny.) SQ is all metal & has only 6 moving parts in the transmission w/ confidence to offer a 10 year warranty on it. If you're shopping 'used' Speed Queens, make sure to get a newer one mfg'd by Alliance Laundry systems. You don't want a Raytheon one from what I've read. HTH
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twebbz
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I would strongly recommend a front loader with a heating element. I use the high temp sanitize mode for towels. With a previous machine I was unable to get rid of undesirable odors unless I used liquid bleach. (Use half of your usual detergent amount.) Also, wipe down the door gasket area and always leave the door ajar a few inches. Mine will stay open at any position, most do. My machine has a tub clean cycle, I run it once a month using an automatic dishwasher detergent pod. I never have problems with foul machine odors. BTW, I find the combination of regular Tide He liquid and BIZ powder give me the cleanest laundry. You will find as I did that using small amounts of detergent just because it's a front loader will not give you clean laundry. Use the recommended amount on the detergent or additive package. Also, I always set the machine for an extra rinse and may do a separate rinse/spin or two afterwards depending on the load. (South Florida with hard water.)
rococogurl
6 years ago
Have had 4 front loader sets in the last 15 years without any mold issues whatsoever.
jwvideo
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Seems to me that "whether this opening will be enough to keep mold and mildew from developing inside the washer" will be affected by bojana's local climate and water chemistry. Also affected by how diligently you follow your proposed cleaning and low-dose detergent regime, and by whether the laundry closet will have solid-panel doors (that will be closed tight) versus louvered doors that allow for ventilation.

I can say that I and many neighbors with FL machines have never run into any odor etc. problems with our washing machines despite being less than diligent about keeping doors wide open or opening (let alone removing) the dispenser drawers, or running cleaning cycles, much less ever wiping down gaskets or interiors.

But then, our town has a rather dry Northern Rockies climate. Even closed basements and closets are rarely dank, here.

Our town's water chemistry is benign. We all have learned to reduce HE detergent dosages from the recommended levels. Around here, it seems that the recommended dosages are designed for top loaders using much greater amounts of diluting water than our FL machines use.

Almost everybody I know does some hot wash cycles every week (heating the water either with an on-board heater as twebzz recommended or simply by having the machine close to a water heater). Nobody I know here seems to use chemical fabric softeners but almost everybody does a load with some bleach every week.

Only a few folks hereabouts seem to have laundry closets; all the ones I have seen here have had louvered doors.

FWIW, four of my friends and neighbors have and have been satisfied with the LG model bojana is considering.
ci_lantro
6 years ago
Excellent points, JW.

I live in a wet climate and have a running battle with mold, mildew, algae and rust outside. Mold, mildew, rust & corrosion inside. Laundry in the basement. Dehumidifier runs 3 seasons of the year. Other family members use the washer. Don't want to discourage this. At the same time, they are not what you would call 'easily trainable'. And it might be days before I found one of their boo-boos--the door left closed, seal not wiped down... For these reasons (and others), I would never consider a front load washer.

New laundry closet - front loader or top loader??

Comments (6)

ifoco

enduring

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