I briefly owned a Bosch FLer that caused vibration problems. My laundry room is on the first floor, over a basement. The placement is such that the two rear legs are directly above the main support beam in the house. As it turns out, my floor is too flexible for a Fler. As I was unwilling to spend the kind of money that would be needed to fix this and still look good, I returned it and got the Whirlpool Cabrio HE. So far I love it, I have not had any problems with the laundry, and there are no vibrations even on high speed spin. I was afraid to get this at first because of stories I have read, but I am so glad I tried it. My salesman wanted me to try the Duet FLer to see what would happen, and said he would change it out again if that caused vibrations, but I was getting really tired of waiting for deliveries and pick-ups (my first front loader had a problem and had to be replaced). Good luck, let us know what you decide and how it works out for you. Just make sure that the store you purchase at is willing to exchange if there is a vibration problem, and that they will not charge you for restocking or delivery of another machine.

When you said "I was hoping you would all pipe in and say, "oh- buy the xyz!" ;)" did you mean that you actually thought most people here would agree on one machine?! I can't even imagine that! Everyone here has their own favorite, and some people get quite upset if you disparage their machine. But you can definitely get good advice, and you can learn a lot here! In the end, after you sort through all the advice you get here, from friends, and from sales people, you are going to have to make the final decision yourself. Just go with what you think will fit your lifestyle best, then cross your fingers! As you can plainly see just by searching on a few machines here, some people love and some people hate the exact same machines. I guess it really is a very personal thing. But as a former sales person (diamond consultant) I can tell you that the most important thing is to go to a store that you know will stand behind their merchandise, and find a good salesperson who will do anything they need to in order to make you happy. If you get a machine you end up not liking, you need to be able to exchange it for a different machine, and they should not place any restrictions on the exchange. My Lowes is great. Make sure yours will treat you the same. I got free delivery and removal of the old machine (three times!), no restocking charge for the return, and no rule or monetary limit on the exchange. You should have one month from the time of delivery, although a week will probably be long enough. Unless you have never done laundry, even if you get a front loader you should be able to figure it out in a week. And make sure they level the machine properly, or do it yourself after they leave. My Lowes guys were really just delivery men, not installers. And if you get any type of HE machine, or one with a lot of computerized components, get the warranty. At about $100.00 for five years coverage at Lowes, the piece of mind is worth it! Especially if you do have a problem. Some parts are very expensive. Good Luck with your purchase! I hope you will let us know what you decide on and how it works out for you.

Thanks, Kate's. I will definitely get the pads for next washer. And will look into barn mats. Thanks We have two as well. Now the downstairs Duet sport is displaying "Sd" ...think pump needs to be cleaned... has never been done....why would they put behind panel needing to be lifted and Unscrewed! Never ends... may need TWO Washers!

I find it hard to offer up or encourage mediocre or substandard. I understand there is a lot of information and circumstances that effect a design; but when that information and circumstances is not made known, it is next to impossible to give valid advice and assumptions have to be made. I assume people are here asking questions to improve what they have to the highest degree possible, and I point out areas I see that could be improved or I offer a conceptual solution to improve what they have knowing full well there may be extenuating circumstances that lead them to what they have. I see many times people are under the impression that they can not afford the services of an architect, where in reality it is that they can not afford the one architect they talked to or are relying on hearsay. There are architects out there for just about any budget. There is most of the time a big difference between architects and house designers and the like. That is something even the people at Houzz can't figure out. Perhaps the lack of plans offered up for review here on Houzz is a result of people realizing that the best way to have the home they need and want is to sit down with an architect and get to know each other. The architect can discover their needs and wants, walk the site with them, discuss at length the dreams and possibilities of what their home can be. The owner can ask questions and see their home develop before their eyes in the form of sketches and scribbles; a personal/professional interaction that creates home. Perhaps I am being overly optimistic.