mk 1---My Speed Queen is coming tomorrow--I've never owned one but these TLers don't have expensive computer boards to contend with. Look in "Help...Should I cancell Kenmore washer and dryer order?" post to see my model AWS44NW info. Pinktoes (such a cute nick)---I bought locally and they also service Speed Queens. Go to SpeedQueen.com to check on dealers in the Atlanta area. The 2 in my area are both independant stores. Also this is the same store I bought my 1992 GE last model TL made with the top lint filter. All the TL today have the so called self cleaning lint screens which means the lint may one day clog up our drain field. We live in the country and DH dug a separete drain field just for the washing machine and kitchen drain.

Hi Sunny! Come on in, we don't bite (much). I don't know the Whirlpools very well but the Speed Queens have an excellent reputation for reliability and ruggedness as sqfan mentions. I was almost going to get a front loader for myself but decided that the wash times were too short. But you are looking at a top loader so you are OK. Have you done a compare and contrast of the features - cycles, temps, speeds, etc.? Do the doors open the direction they should for your dryer set up, if you care? I'm pretty sure most (even us rabid FL laundyholics) would agree here that all TLs do an adequate job cleaning and would meet your needs, so it comes down to features and reliability. Unless someone else chimes in about the Whirlpool I would also look at the warranty AND future availability of service companies that can come to your home should a unit need work as make or break factors.

@Jen Jobart To be clear, let me say again that my own set-up is a manual, external mixing valve rather than a set-up using the small, in-line electric water heater alternative you asked about. Also my heaterless, 14 y.o. FL washer is not a Speed Queen. That said, the "electric water heater" alternative is actually an after market "plug-n-play" thing rather than something you that you frame or build-in during house construction. What you do during construction is to make sure you have enough 120v circuits and outlets in your LR to be able handle the 1400 watt (or so) load of the heater while running your washing machine. The person I know who has one of these set-ups is running both his FL washer and in-line heater on a single 20 Amp 120v circuit much as you might do with a washer with an on-board heater such as a Miele. For new construction like yours, I might prefer to add another, dedicated circuit and outlet for in-line water heater. The inline external heaters may draw more current than a standard on-board water heater will. The one I've seen first hand was one that used a little Bosch in-line heater like this one: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Bosch-Tronic-Mini-Tank-2-7-Gallon-Lowboy-6-year-Limited-1440-watt-1-Element-Point-of-Use-Electric-Water-Heater/5000622219.  You just hang on it the finished wall above or next to the washer where you can reach it easily and plug it into a regular 120v outlet. Connect the input side to your cold water tap with an off the shelf washing machine hose. The shorter, the better, (Might have to add a hose-thread fitting to the heater's in and out pipes; some heaters come with them, some do not,) Run another hose from the "out"port on the heater to your washer's cold water "in" connection. What I understand you do with a washer like the Speed Queen FL models (which do not have electronic auto temperature control) is (a) choose a cold wash temp on the washing machine so all (or most of) the water flows in through the cold side when it fill for a wash); (b) set your in-line water heater to the warm or hot temperature you want to use (something between 95°F and whatever the unit's top end is which may be 145°F although some models apparently will go higher); (c) give it 15 minutes to heat up; (d) start the wash cycle; and (d) turn it off when the wash fill is done unless you have some reason to want hot rinses. Turn it off when you are done with the washing day or washing session. After all It's an inline, point of use water heater with a small tank and it serves only your washing machine. On the days when you aren't washing, there is no need to use power or keep water heated. Some folks think it sufficient to just skip this extra set-up and equipment if your Speed Queen will be close to the water heater. YMMV, of course, because different people have different laundry and laundering preferences. For an idea of how that might work with a SQ Front-Loader, check out Jeff Caban's experiments in this thread, if you have not already seen it: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5193747/my-last-three-weeks-with-a-fl-speed-queen-afne9bsp113tw01#n=0 

It is often remarked here and at Automatic Washer that one would think that as expensive a washer as the SQ front loaders are, they would still have on-board water heaters. About a decade ago, it was an option. Not lately. FWIW, SQs do not have programmed electronic Automatic Temperature Controls (ATC) and there are work-arounds for controlling water temperature. The SQ FL models use a simple valve system for water temperatures. Except on the Normal/Eco cycle, "hot" is whatever arrives from the water heater, "warm" is 50/50 mix of the hot and cold water feeds, and "cold" is tap temperature from the cold water line. The "Normal/Eco program seems to be designed to be used only for Energy Star ratings and not for regular wash cycles where warm or hot temperatures might be desired. (IIRC, SQ has published that the normal/eco cycle is designed to use 88% to 100% cold water.) The work-around for getting warmer warms and hotter hots is adding a manual-overrride for temperature settings and/or the ATC "autopilot." for washers that have the progammable elecronic kind. This is done either by adding a manual mixing valve to the cold water line (so some or a lot of hot water can be metered in that way) or by inserting a cheap, small, 120v in-line, on-demand water heater between the tap and the washer's cold water input. You set the heater to whatever hot or warm temperature you want for the wash, wait 15 minutes for it to heat up, start your wash and turn the heater off after the first fill. FWIW, as indicated, this also works as a "manual temperature autopilot override" with most heaterless FL washers' electronic ATCs. as well. Many ATCs only control the temperature only by metering the feed through the hot water input line while hot water flowing through the cold input is not controlled at all. That is why, when you see posts here complaining about a new washer running very hot water when set for a cold wash, the first suggested solution is always to check to be sure that the installer hooked the hoses up correctly and did not mistakenly reverse the connection. Now, whether you like such workarounds after paying $1600 for a washer, that's a different question.