I'm sorry but your request is much too broad and covers too many areas to really get a good response. Everyone has opinions and experiences are quite varied even with the same brand and model. I suggest you start reading through the pages and view threads that apply to your current needs. Use the seach function to find postings on specific brands and models. I think you will find this much more beneficial. Good luck.

By "fill" I was referring to filling with clothes - a traditional agitator-type top loader is rougher on clothes when the water level is set for a partial fill. The vanes usually are usually largest at the bottom and will just violently shred your clothes, especially at the faster agitation speed. The worst in my experience were late-'80s and '90s Whirlpool (and related brands) that had an agitator that couldn't twist very far in either direction, and tried to make up for it by agitating very fast (most of them would automatically slow down to the "gentle" speed partway through the cycle, even if the regular or heavy-duty cycle was selected, but by then the damage was done). It was particularly bad in their apartment-size 24" wide washers, which had a small tub that didn't leave much room for the clothes to tumble; large items like pants or bed linens were particularly at risk. Other manufacturers of that era, like Maytag and Speed Queen, had a 180 to 210 degree arc to the agitation that allowed it to twist back and forth more slowly and still move water through the clothes. Actually, the only top-load washer with an impeller plate (not sure if that's the right term) I've used, an 8 year old Haier, is substantially rougher on clothes when washed or rinsed with anything but a full water fill; but the plate spins faster than most recent HE top loaders and it doesn't have a recycling waterfall or a spinning drum to help with washing so the rotating plate is the only mechanism for moving water. I'm guessing the new large-tub top loaders are more gentle.

Never close the door completely, dry the rubber seal and wipe the window. I also turn my detergent drawer upside down and empty any water left in it and sometimes I'll leave it on top of the washer to dry completely but usually just dump the water and put it back in the drawer and leave it cracked a little bit. The idea is to let air into the machine. They are air tight and that is the reason for the smell if left closed all the time. I passed on LG because there were just too many unhappy stories of people who had a problem and had lousy experiences with their customer service. I have very much enjoyed my GE pair and have on order now a Whirlpool duet pair. The reason is because I got a small set in the GE when I first moved into front loader machines and it is too small to get large loads done and I can't even think about doing a king size mattress pad or comforter. It's been an excellent set but there were other reasons I wanted to go with the Whirlpool this time. One of the neatest things with the Whirlpool is that it has a "fan fresh" feature that blows air into the machine to dry it and circulate air. If you forget your laundry for two days no problem with the fan feature. You can also completely wash and dry small items just in the washer. The fan feature in the washer allows you to wash and dry your favorite nighty and undies all in one fell swoop. I run almost every day and I have a bit of laundry regularly of just certain delicate items such as running stretch leggings or shorts and shirts that I could do with this feature and not have to wait until I have a full load. The Duet also has a "Load and Go" feature which allows you to load 12 loads worth of detergent at a time in a cartridge and it dispenses it for you so you don't even have to mess with measuring detergent except every two weeks or so. But one of the biggies for me is that it spins at 1400 rpm which should get the clothes spun pretty dry before going into the dryer. I have used a couple of new top loading washers of late in vacation condos and at my mom's in her brand new set and what I notice with the top loaders is that they don't wring out the clothes very well. They are also so cheap feeling and they are not the machines our moms enjoyed for 20 years before going on the fritz. Be sure to get a water heating feature on whatever machine you chose. You won't have to depend on tap hot water to do all the work because the washer has it's own heating element. Of course many of them have the same features but I have not seen all of the features I want on one machine like the Duet. I don't have it yet it's on order and I will get it in November. I got the Chrome Shadow color and am wondering if I did the right thing there. It cost more than plain white and maybe I will change that before they arrive. Can anyone give me some feedback on that? I'd really like to have the Black Diamond but I don't want to spring for the extra money to get it. It seems dumb to pay big bucks for the exact same machine mechanically and have to pay $200 or $300 each for a special color. Right now I noticed that Costco has the Duet for a great buy, you might want to check it out. They sell the washer dryer pair with the pedestals and a two year extended warranty, free delivery, install, needed parts and haul away for as much as you would pay for just the washer and dryer at other places. I would love to take advantage of that great deal but I wanted to take advantage of Home Depot's 24 month free financing that I received for having my credit card with them for one year. Not to mention Home Depot is right down the street from me and I didn't want to hassle with some third party delivery service at Costco even though it was included in the price. I didn't need the pedestals either so I went with Home Depot.

Well ... As the saying goes "The old grey mare ain't what she used to be".. The same goes for top loading washing machines, the ones with agitators. There are new "Government" regulations and the new top loaders do NOT fill up like the old ones used to. I forget exactly what the limit is, something like 14" of water. That seems like it would be hard on clothes and you would have to break the loads up into smaller ones. I have Samsung from loaders and I am very pleased with them. Someone here said theirs takes 2 hours to wash a load... I have never used a cycle that took that long. Mine has a "quick wash" cycle and you can choose from light, normal and heavy. The light takes about 27 minutes, the heavy is 33 minutes. I have not found anything that does not get perfectly clean on the 33 minute cycle. At any point during the wash I can "pause" it, open the door and add additional clothes. Also, if it doesn't have quite as much water as you think it should, or want all you do is push pause, when the door unlocks open it, then shut it and push the continue button and it adds more water, you can do this as many times as you want. I rarely add more water unless it is a bigger, bulkier load such as my mattress pad. Picking a new washer is a huge headache....