Front vs. Top Loaders - Which is better?
Emily H
10 years ago
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jmdrouin
9 years agoacantonioc
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Which LG washer WM3360 front loader or LG WT5101 top loader..
Comments (4)"Cleans just as well, far less likely to have problems." Nunyabiz1, can you tell the OP how you know it cleans just as well? You've never owned a FL machine before. @twray, I have no personal experience with LG - although the LG WM3885 was my runner up choice when I purchased earlier this year (and I researched for approx 9 months). I went with the Miele W4842/T9822. My parents own the LG2140 and love them. I think between the two you are considering they "might" perform similar. FWIW, the 3360 didn't rank very high on CR for performance. Not all machines are created equal. Having said that it seemed to have good reviews. I started using FL machines almost 11 years ago and would never go back to any TL format. I have a preference for FL machines. For the most part they clean and rinse better than other options. They are also more gentle on your clothes (CR ranks the 5101 as "fair" for gentleness). I personally would never consider an HE TL. One only needs to consider "how" the laundry is moved through the drum to understand how it might be less gentle on items than FL. However, your personal preference for doing laundry should be your deciding factor here. They are two very different units. Do you have a preference for how you do laundry? Not sure if you're married to the 3360. I might consider other LG FL over that one. I'm a fan of the WM3885 although I know it costs more than the one you are considering. The WM3875 is also excellent and less $$ than the 3885. Good luck and let us know what you end up with and how you like it!...See MoreWasher Recommendatrions - Top Loader vs Front Loader
Comments (12)Shawn1972ut: "Front loader complaints of smell, long cycle times, inefficient rinses, poor electronic components, and failure rates at less than 5 yrs concerns me. " It is necessary to separate issues of front loader vs. top loader from issues of generations -- both generations of people and generations of manufacturing. The numbers would be difficult to aggregate, but, with a fair degree of certainty, it can be said that a majority of the automatic washing machines ever made have been front loaders. Front loading automatics have been around since the 1930s, but top-loading machines did not lose their mangles (those wringer arms that you see atop older top-loading washing machines) -- that is, they did not become automatic, until after World War II. Like tail fins on automobiles, top loading automatic washing machines became all the fad in the United States in the 1950s, but never caught on elsewhere in the world. In the United States, though, some consumers mistakenly think of top-loaders as "traditional." There is a high correlation between those who refer to top loaders as "traditional" and those who simply do not know what they are talking about. A couple of generations of housewives (that is not sexist, just the way society was organized), brought up on the post-WWII top loading machines, were educated to think that you need at least 40 gallons of water to wash a load of laundry. And that much water required at least a cup of laundry detergent; and if one cup is good, aren't two cups even better? When those consumers encountered later generation water-conserving front-loading washers, they continued to use their two cups of detergent per load, and that detergent overload is the source of a lot of the negative comments you see about front loading machines. Now, getting to your question, there are two kinds of "features" in washing machines. One kind of feature is choice of materials and construction techniques. Speed Queen washing machines are rightly often praised for construction quality largely because of choice of metal bearings in place of nylon bearings, heavier gauge steel where it counts, etc. The other kind of features are multiple selectable cycles, programability, LED screens, etc. You pays your money and you takes your choice. Personal opinion: one of the better "features" is a dimpled stainless steel drum. When a washing machine's drum spins for water extraction, fibers of the laundry inside the drum are drawn through the water drainage holes in the drum, and that accelerates fabric wear. Miele pioneered the "honeycomb" drum, with the drainage holes positioned in small domes in the drum surface to minimize the fabric pull-through. Samsung rather blatantly copied that feature in its "diamond" drum. So far as I am aware, no other maker has followed Miele and Samsung down that road. Our family, starting with my mother, has owned only four washing machines in over 75 years; they all have been front-loading washing machines. The first three lasted, on average, over 20 years each in moderately hard use. We purchased the fourth machine a few years back, and the deciding factor in our purchase was the dimpled drum design; we selected a Samsung over a Miele for price considerations. HTH....See More4.9 cu ft top loader vs 4.3-4.5 front loader on hot water usage?
Comments (15)M J, Frontloaders are much superior washing performance to the HE "impeller" toploaders. Washing a comforter or other large/bulky items in those is an exercise in futility, there's no way the impeller can overcome gravity to entice the item to roll over for thorough washing. A frontloader by design lifts and rolls the items over through the wash (and rinse) water. As others have said, stay away from washing everything in cold water. Even a designated "Cold Wash" cycle. While it's true that many machines nowadays add some hot or warm water to the fill on a Cold setting so the water in the tub is minimum 60°F to 70°F, using cold exclusively for everything has a large chance of causing mold/residue/odor in the machine, as well as shortening the service life of it. I recently repaired a Samsung frontloader that was destroyed by bad laundry habits in 4 years 11 months. Liquid fabric softener was used on every load to large doses and too much cold washing led to waxy residue on the exterior of the drum (where clothes don't rub on it) that corroded the drum support. The drum broke loose during spin and wore a gash in the outer tub. The machine has an onboard water heater with 1) a Sanitize cycle that heats to 150°F, a Heavy cycle that heats to 115°F, and a tub cleaning cycle that heats to 140°F. Regular use of any/all of those cycles would have kept the waxy residue from accumulating. I tested the designated Normal cycle and a couple others on it, and with 130°F+ input temp from my water heater, I got 80°F on Warm and 92°F on Hot. Consider the difference between 80°F (which is less the body temp) and 115°F or 140°F regards to dissolving waxy residue or greasy laundry soils ... and it becomes clear why washing primarily or more-often-than-not in cold water is not a good thing. One may not see residue insidethe drum where the clothes rub but it accumulates where the clothes (and you) can't reach ... on the outside of the drum and on the inside of outer tub....See MoreWashing Machines : Front Loader vs Top Loader?
Comments (53)FL vs TL debate will continue LOL I am 60 years old and always used a TL until recently. When after two ddeliveries of Speed Queens proved to be lemons...I decided to take the leap and buy a Whirlpool Duet FL. ..lets back up a bit....I had a routine in my TL'ers...I always added boiling water after the load was started and filled with hot..for whites, bedding, bath, and kitchen towels by dumping soup pots of boiling water into the machine to boost the temp...that started to really become a chore for this old carcuss to cart those heavy pots, I started dreaming of a FL'er with a onboard heater. The more I thought about it the more desirable it sounded..BUT I was concerned about low water levels, HE detergent, and reports of mold....but this heater was really getting my attention. ..than the good folks in the Laundry forum started nudging me towards a FL...I was scared, understand laundry is my thing..I enjoy laundry and all the challenges it can present...so I gave up my ocean of water for a heater...I can now choose between cold (I dont use cold) to hot, and I am talking 154+F...and everything inbetween......no more pots of boiling water. My textiles are clean, stain free, soft, fluffy and so fresh smelling, with much less work on my part. As far as moldy machines..it only takes a few seconds to wipe out the door seal and leave the door open when not in use. The use of hot water at lead t for your whites and bedding will also keep the machine clean. I won't go back to a TL'er....my whites have never been more white....See Morejmdrouin
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