Do you have any special laundry considerations?

We are a family of 6, 4 young children 3 of which are in sports. Our current washer and dryer is 4 cu ft. I'd like something a little larger. But can't sacrifice too much in width as 27" is the absolute max.
I was looking at the GE ultra fresh vent system or LG's with the steam clean. I do have a habit of leaving the clothes in the dryer and run wrinkle release daily. And there have been a few occasions I forget to switch the clothes into dryer from washer overnight and end up having to rewash.

Re mismatch: With a large family you might want to hang on to your dryer and upgrade it the next time you replace the washer. Perhaps if the color of the case/exterior enamel matches it would work to keep it? I bet the next washer won't last much beyond 10 years in your busy home.

I recommend Speed Queen if you are interested in an top quality old-school front loader. I have seven children and between the nine of us, have probably washed nearly 10,000 loads in the past 30 years (we had a Whirlpool Gold traditional washer and dryer set that lasted 25 years before replacing them with the Speed Queens in 2016).

I agree that you should save your money and only replace the washer. Replace the dryer when it becomes unrepairable for a nominal cost. You will probably get another 10 years use from it.

I just worry that with 5 cu ft washer and a 4 cu ft dryer I won't be able to dry a full load. And our current dryer is baby blue, as well as we have a new home so lots of people coming through and I'd like them to look nice, but it's something to consider. More importantly I'd like them to work and clean well.
We've narrowed it down to LG 4500, Samsung, and Electrolux EFLS627. Any thoughts on these?

"bsds71: And our current dryer is baby blue, as well as we have a new home so lots of people coming through and I'd like them to look nice, but it's something to consider."

My family had a white washer and harvest gold dryer for 18 years. Initially open-view in the garage, where 99% of visitors arrived for entry into the house. Then in a utility room off the carport when we moved, seen by anyone arriving to the "back door" (which again is 99% of visitors) unless the door to the room was closed. No one ever ran away in horror. :-)

Are you sure your current dryer is 4 cu ft? That's small for a circa 10yo unit. Is it a compact model? The aformentioned circa 1976 harvest gold machine was 6+ cu ft.

Front load (FL) washers have been growing larger than they were a decade ago. Most are several inches deeper and taller than FL models used to be. A few of the largest capacity ones are 29" wide but most are still 27" wide. When replacing a decade old washer, do check your space and the dimensions in the specs. (There is a longish ongoing thread here about not being able to find full-size FL models that are 36" or less tall anymore.)

LG makes some of the least large of the current crop of FL washers. You might want to check out the LG WM4000WMA (which also comes in a "black stainless" finish.) 4.5 cu. ft. drum so somewhat more than your Samsung set from a decade ago. Seems to be pretty readily available even here in darkest Montana. Highly rated for cleaning ability and probable reliability by most product reviewers including Consumer Reports and Wirecutter. Have friends who purchased the last year's iteration, the WM3900hwa. They have been pleased with its performance. These (and the WM4000) have an on-board water heater, recirculation pumps and spray nozzles (called "Turbowash360") which enable very good rinsing as well as relatively speedy cycles. My friends with the predecessor WM3900 models tell me they get large loads of soiled clothing done in less than an hour. These models have been discussed in several recent threads here and also a current one at Automaticwasher.org. Do note that some posters report prior experience with LG products that lead them to say "never buy anything by LG."

Don't recall seeing much discussion here, yet, of the new GE FL models but I think there are a couple of threads on them at AutomaticWasher.org.

Do what you want with a matching dryer. Just donate the old blue dryer if it still works.

Dadoes, you are right our dryer is not 4 cu ft, just the washer. And you're also right that nobody would run away in horror, except myself maybe lol. And I'm excited for a change, there seems to be new features on dryers that are an upgrade from our current. Side note, I read your comment to my husband and he said "sounds like there's some smart people on there...I think you should reconsider the new dryer." He's so silly.

Jwvideo, yes the GE is now out of the running due to its size, same as LG's largest capacity machine. I read a lot about the 4000, the two stores we went to last night I don't believe offered that particular model though. I need to research 4000 vs 4500 models still. I'll check out the other website you linked, thank you!

Go with an LG -- they make excellent front loading washers and dryers, and consistently end up near the top of the ratings for reliability and effectiveness. I had a pair in a previous home that I loved, but had to get a different brand when I needed to switch to a 24" set, and LG doesn't make a vented 24" dryer.

Dryers typically are sized double-ish the cu ft of washers. LG has one 9 cu ft, which is double the 4.5 cu ft washer mentioned above. 8 and 7 cu ft is common. My current dryer is 6.5 cu ft, it can handle a queen-size comforter.

Your husband sounds a lot like my parents. They never replaced an appliance just to match the rest. They had for 20 years an avocado wall oven and cooktop, white refrigerator, stainless steel dishwasher, and stainless exhaust hood (which dates to the mid 1970s and is still in use today).

@bsds71

For FL models with Turbowash360 system, LG also offers a WM4200 model which is similar to the WM4000 and WM4500 models but has a drum that is .5 cu. ft larger than the 4.5 cu ft. one offered on the 4000/4500 models. The 4200 is about 3 inches deeper, though.

If you can wait a month for the Labor Day sales weekend pricing, you may find some good discounts on those models. LG and some other manufacturers often offer steep discounts. For example, over the Memorial Day and July 4th weekends, I saw the WM4000 advertised for $750 at some of the big box stores and online vendors. Most sellers will price match the advertised sales prices.

On immediate availability, it can be hit or miss. A neighbor tells me that none of the local vendors and big box outlets here have the WM4000/4200/4500 immediately to hand, but that she received her WM4000 about ten days after placing her order during the July 4th sales period. Often, you can gauge the current availability of supply --- and your chances of getting a chosen model quickly --- by checking the sites of online vendors like Chicago's abt.com who list the "in stock" items. If the online vendors have them in stock, chances are your local vendors and big box stores can probably get them fairly quickly. FWIW, ABT does currently list the the WM4000 as in stock.

I installed LG WM3900 pair about 9 months ago. I couldn't be happier.

What is your dryer? A 4 cu. ft. dryer would be a portable dryer. YOu did say the washer is 4 cu. ft. My 1993 Maytag dryer is 6.4 cu. ft. If you have a matching Samsung pair, your dryer is probably 7 to 7.4 cu. ft.

Just for clarity did you mean a 4 cu. ft. dryer is a "compact" rather than a "portable" dryer?

AFAIK, drum size in most compact dryers tends to be around 4 cu. ft. The "portable" ones that I've seen, such as the Panda and Magic Chef seem to run around 1.5 to 2.6 cu. ft. I think i've seen some larger ones for RVs, but I can't recall the specifics at the moment. Those seemed to be a generally weird category of appliances.

Read the reviews on Samsung because many people have had a lot of issues with their laundry products.

My parents had an LG front load washer and dryer that lasted 11 years. The appliance repair guy they had out to see if it could be fixed said you’re lucky to get 10 years from washers and dryers now. Overall, they were very good machines. I had the same LG front loading washer and dryer set at a previous home and had to have the dryer repaired after 8 years (I don’t remember what broke) but had no issues with the washer.

At the recommendation of the appliance repair guy, my parents replaced with a Whirlpool Cabrio top loading washer and dryer and have been happy. I currently have the Whirlpool front load washer snd dryer (they came with my current home) and I hate them. I haven’t had any major issues, but every time I brush against the control panel grabbing something from the cabinet over it, I mess up the cycle. I never had that problem with my LG.

We are a family that matches the washer and dryer and while I would never say anything to someone whose washer and dryer don’t match, I’m really thinking “it’s a shame they don’t match” lol. So if your preference is matching, I say go for it. It’ll drive you crazy if you don’t.

Well, darn it, I may have screwed myself. But I went with Samsung again. It is their Flexwash model and granted I did not dig deep(barely touched surface actually) into their reviews, on best buy it had mostly positive reviews. I just really wanted it due to the extra mini washer and dryer. I cannot tell you how many times over the years I had to hand wash a favorite blankie real fast before naptime, or a jersey I forgot to wash a couple hours before a game.

My husband wasn't sold on the feature and wanted to go with LG, but my 5 year old promised him we would make good use of it lol she's very convincing. I just pray it doesn't break down on me in the next couple years or I'll never hear the end of it. I'll update once it arrives and again after I put some use into it.

I have a LG set of washer and dryer that I purchased several years ago and love❣️ No issues.

I just want to thank everyone for their input on this thread. I had the same question as the OP (only, our Samsung set is 21 years old!). It's doing fine, but I want to replace them before one of them fails beyond repair. Plus, my college age daughter needs a set at her rental house. So, she'll get my old Samsung set and I'll get new. I was considering LG vs GE and the comments here have helped sway me toward LG. I'll be watching for the Labor Day sales and daughter will just have to wait a few weeks for the hand me downs.

Speed Queen. Dependable. Not sexy, but they work. That's the appeal.

Function first, looks second. They don't have to match.