I would NEVER buy another front loader. I keep the door open, use the clean washer cycle, use powdered detergent, etc. It doesn't smell, but unless I wipe out the gasket after every load mold builds up. It even builds up in the opening where the detergent dispenser sits. Top loader all the way, and I'll just have to bend a little for the dryer. Yes, I'd think they'd look odd side by side.

Design Girl, use chlorine bleach on your kitchen linens and white/cotton socks (and bath linens that are bleach-safe) and you won't have mold. If you refuse to use bleach on clothes, then run a short cycle with bleach and no clothes every couple weeks.

I use liquid detergent, sanitize once a month, leave the door open AND remove the detergent dispenser - that eliminates the mold issue for me.

@dadoes - I do use bleach at least once a week. I still get mold build up where the detergent dispenser slides in, and on the gasket if it is not wiped down. I even now leave the dispenser drawer open unless the machine is running. A total pain in the ass. Looks so bad with the door and dispenser open all the time. Take the dispenser out and shine a flashlight inside. I was disgusted when I say what was in mine. I have a separate laundry room on the first floor, so not even in a basement.

Are they visible to any other parts of the house? Most laundry rooms are designed to be tucked away. If they're not visible, I'd put in what works for you, function-wise, and not worry that it looks odd. There's a reason laundry rooms are also often called utility rooms - this is a space where it seems to me that function should win out over form.

No, it's a separate room off the kitchen that originally was the entry into the garage.

So not visible at all. Excellent point!

Mara S., you should set up your (and hubby's) machines in whatever way fits your needs. A topload washer with a front-load match dryer on a pedestal is perfectly fine. My paternal grandparents had a set-up like that wayyyy back in the late 1960s, although it was a regular dryer. Grandpa built a pedestal base, set the dryer on it.

I've never had to leave the door open on the top loader, however, I did sanitize every so often, especially after washing heavily soiled loads such as kitchen/bath rugs, etc. so I guess that did the trick. I did some research on the "heating" element, which apparently jets out hot very water to sanitize the drum. Seems that would take zero effort. Does anyone have a washer that has a sanitizing feature?

Design Girl,

Your water may be a factor in the problem. My sister has horrible water in her rural subdivision outside her town. It has a private/community water system, residents pay a flat-rate (each house has a septic system). She doesn't have a softener system (some residents have a softener, some don't) and has to regularly soak faucet aerators in vinegar. Her laundry room is a long, somewhat narrow area coming in from the garage. She leaves the FL door fully open and the dispenser drawer pulled out between uses.

Toploaders also get mold in areas of the machine not seen except by disassembly. You want pictures? I have pictures. :-)

@dadoes - I live in the suburban NYC area, so water is not an issue here. Most of the people I speak to have the same problem. My daughter lives outside Boston, same issue. Many people are now going with the top loading Speed Queen. It's like the old Maytags that were so great.

Dadoes,

I wouldn't mind seeing a couple.

Heard a similar discussion recently and someone said the manufacturers are reconsidering FL washers due to the problems people are complaining about. I love the look but don't want the issues they seem to generate.

Of course you can do that. You can buy a top-load washer with its matching dryer (e.g., LG WT7100CW washer + LG DLE7100W dryer) OR purchase the washer with a non-matching dryer (e.g., LG WM3500CW stackable dryer) and its matching pedestal (e.g., LG WDP4W).

(I had a very small laundry closet and didn't want a front-load washer so I bought the GE top-load compact washer and LG compact dryer. They don't match but...big deal).

I grew up with front load washers and have always had them in adulthood. Just leave the door ajar and I’ve never had issues.

dadeos, I want pictures! Not that I don't believe you, just want to see the pictures :) I've had top loaders (will never had a front load washer) for 40 years and for 40 years I've left the top open during non use. Just seems like common sense. I do routine hot washes (DH's work clothes and towels/undies). I DO use liquid detergent and I don't use fabric softener. I'm proud to say my washers have always smelled like a daisy :) My current washer is an HE model (with agi) but I don't use it in any auto modes. I like my clothes to float in water.

Front loaders have been around since the 50’s. 1969 was my first one. It’s all they use in Europe and Asia. The US is the only country that cant quite get the hang of using them.

Many of the units in Europe are combination washers and dryers in one unit which I think is brilliant as the dryer drys out all the water which creates the mold.

DecoEnthusiaste,

As Live_Wire_Oak says, frontloaders are not a new thing, contrary to common belief. The first fully automatic washer on the U.S. market was a frontloader in 1937, produced by Bendix which was a subsidiary of Avco (Aviation Corporation).

wdccruse,

Thanks so much for the suggestions!

I love my Bosch FL washer and dryer 12 yrs old not one service call and at least 2 loads a day. It has the sanitizer cycle that I use for bedding and towels when anyone has been sick I hang a facecloth over the door to keep it slightly open and never get the smell. BTW your clothes last longer , you save water and I would never go back. I do agree all dryers need to be redesigned to sit higher so I think next time I would get the pedestals. I have not used chlorine bleach for 15 yrs just oxyclean my whites look white and they last a lot longer , I also stopped fabric softener about 20 yrs ago and just use a wool ball in the dryer. 1 tblsp of detergent IMO a win win with a FL.

Caution! The newer top-loaders have "improvements" you might not like. They do not allow you to select the water level and the lid locks automatically (no longer able to toss in that errant sock). As Patricia suggested, just leave the door ajar to prevent mold.

Not all top loaders do that. Check out the speed queen

I was reading a few Q&As on pedestals for a front load washer on homedepot.com. One writer claims technicians (based on his/her experience with LG and Samsung products) will not service an appliance on a pedestal, even if under warranty, and that it's the responsibility of the owner to take it down. Days when an appliance can go 15-20 years without a service visit is a by-gone era. I hate the thought of being burdened by such a task in a few short years. Any truth to this?

Design Girl, Speed Queen has two different mechanical designs for their toploaders. The TR3, TR5, and TR7 models, a new design without a transmission introduced in 2018, lock the lid because they don't have a spin brake.

The TC5, a reintroduction of the "old-style" transmission design in approx Sept 2019, does not lock the lid. It's the only current SQ model that doesn't lock. The TC5 doesn't have a water level control. All the cycles fill to approx 1/2 to 2/3 (depending which cycle), with a Deep Wash option that fills a few gallons more.

Mara S, pedestals typically are not an impediment to service. On the other hand, stacking a set can present a problem. The dryer must be removed for almost any type of service on the washer. Servicers may refuse the job IF the machines are installed in a way that makes access difficult, such as placing the machines inside a tight closet or niche.

Hmm. Thank you, dadoes.

In our first home I had our dryer on a pedestal with a top load washer. It was also in a separate room. Loved it.

@chiflipper: Caution! The newer top-loaders have "improvements" you might not like. They do not allow you to select the water level and the lid locks automatically (no longer able to toss in that errant sock)."

The example LG WT7100CW washer allows both. One can check the readily-available owners' manuals for appliance features. No speculation needed.

wdccruise - Not all of them. That's why the Speed Queen is becoming the Maytag yesteryear.

Who cares what it looks like. If the functionality of a dryer on a pedestal sitting next to a top loader is what works best for you, then do it. I'm considering doing the same thing whenever my current 25-year old Maytag dryer bites the dust. I sit on a step stool to load the washer and transfer clothes to the dryer. But a pedestal on the dryer will help me with pulling clothes out of the dryer. I have physical challenges. I have a front loader and will never go back to a top loader. I don't have any issues with mold or bad odors. I wash in hot and warm water as well as sanitize water temps. Never anything in cold. I even use liquid detergent now and have used fabric softener for decades. I just leave the door open ajar and the dispenser drawer pulled out just a bit. I don't even bother to wipe down the gasket. Run th4e clean cycle whenever prompted.

I didn't think I had mold either until I pulled back the rubber gasket and took a look. Then what I found there and inside the detergent dispenser was beyond disgusting. I have always left the door open all the way since it was brand new. Now I also leave the detergent dispenser open and I still get mold. It's impossible to get the mold out of the gasket so I will need to get a new one for about $300. It's difficult to get your arm in the dispenser socket to clean as well. This washer/dryer I was told to be one of the best front loaders by 4 different mom and pop appliance stores (Electrolux) and I 've had 5 service calls in 5 years and my husband and I are empty nesters. My neighbor who got the Speed Queen at the same time as I got my FL has had NO service calls and she has 3 kids. I will not be replacing the gasket and instead will get a new Speed Queen top load washer and dryer. I don't need all this hassle. Photos attached.

MonicaKM_GW, I started a new Laundry Room thread for the dirty toploader pics.

Top load washer with a removable agitator next to a front load dryer on a pedestal sounds like the perfect combination. In a small galley style laundry room thats a walk through to the garage - it‘d be too tight to leave a front load washer door open and who needs all the maintenace they require anyways.