[*krista*]

I'm going to buy a washer and dryer, but I don't know if I want front or top loading. Anyone have any input on the pros and cons of either one? TIA!

Oh, and if you have any places in mind to buy one, that would help too. Right now I'm looking at Best Buy and Lowes. My manager swears that Lowes has the better prices in this case, but it doesn't seem so by my online comparison.

ETA: Oh and any brand recommendations would be great too.

[Lash]

I hear front loading saves you so much more on water, detergent, is gentler on clothes and uses less energy
http://www.laundromatfinder.com/front-vs-top.shtml

[lupti]

I have an ASKO (swedish) front loading washer and I LOVE it. It does take longer to wash than a top loader, and I would recommend leaving the door open so it can dry(for about an hour or so after you have finished all of your washing), but I don't have to use very much soap, and even less water. Never thought I would like doing laundry, lol.

[greeneyes]

Girl, I have so just been in your shoes! Our prop manager in Texas told us that the house we were moving into came with a washer/dryer set that was less than two years old, so I left my nice new washer/dryer set back in North Carolina for my renters to use. Yeah, the set here in TX is sooooooo old and nasty. Anyway.

The first thing you've got to figure out is your needs. We cloth diaper so almost all front-loaders were gonna be out for us, except for some of the super-expensive LG and Maytag models. We had the budget to buy a nice set, but forking over close to $6k on a washer/dryer set just wasn't going to happen. Still, I did research the front-loaders just to see if there was anything that would work for us in our price range. My biggest concerns with the FL were just how little water they use to wash (cloth diapers need a LOT of water to circulate in to actually sanitize and get clean) and mold growth. If you buy a FL, keep in mind that at least once a month you will want to run a cycle that has bleach in it (with no clothes) or use something like Affresh.

Pretty much everyone knows the benefits of a FL - uses less water/detergent, can wash more clothes, and is gentler on clothes because it doesn't have an agitator - but I can assure you that you can get those same benefits in a TL as well. Kenmore has the Oasis Elite HE which has 4.7 cu ft capacity, doesn't have an agitator, and is an HE machine. This is the first set we bought and I liked it ok. Turns out the washer was defective so it's hard for me to give an unbiased opinion because I wasn't using a fully-functional machine. Maytag has the Bravos which is also an HE machine, has the super-large capacity, and no agitator. This is what we ended up purchasing the second time around and I LOVE it. At $1200 for the washer and $1100 for the dryer, it's a great value without breaking the bank. We bought this set last weekend and Home Depot was running a sale on them, so with that and our military discount we ended up spending only $645 each on them which was NICE!

The Maytag, well, it's a Maytag. The things run forever and the quality of construction is outstanding. It's also amazingly quiet which is great because I have a second floor laundry room which happens to be right next to Lily's room. I honestly cannot hear the thing running when my laundry room door is shut and because it doesn't have an agitator, it doesn't vibrate either. As it's an HE machine, it uses very little water but it does have an option to run it with more water, which is nice because I can select that for when I wash the diapers.

Hopefully some of that helps you out! Good luck with you search!

Oh, also forgot to mention that something else I really like about the Maytag is that it has a window lid. This is a great option because then I can check on my diapers (or any laundry for that matter) during the rinse cycle to make sure the detergent is all rinsing out without opening the lid. Both the Maytag and the Kenmore have a lid lock feature (pretty much all TLs do now) so you have actually have to stop the machine to unlock the lid and open it, which all takes about two minutes to do. Then the machine has to start back up all over again and that typically adds another couple minutes to the entire cycle. If you do this several times during a rinse cycle, that time can add up. I realize this isn't a huge deal but it is convenient and I like it.

[*krista*]

Wow Kate, I didn't know you couldn't wash cloth diapers in a front loader. I hope to eventually CD when I have kids, so that is definitely something to consider! That helped a lot, thanks for sharing your experiences!

[Adriana's Mommy]

I hear front loading saves you so much more on water, detergent, is gentler on clothes and uses less energy
http://www.laundromatfinder.com/front-vs-top.shtml[/b]

I agree.

Lets just say our LG fronter loader has taken out all the stains out of Adriana's clothes.. we are stain free..

[soImarriedAnerd]

I didn't know you counldn't use FL for cloth diapers either! GOOD TO KNOW!!!!

[Frozendesire]

Dumb question from me but can you add to a load that is already filled with water?

Like I always start my load and then walk away and find a stray sock or whatever and have to throw it in. Can you do that with a front loader? Wouldn't all the water come out? Haha I'm so naive!

[Resi]

Dumb question from me but can you add to a load that is already filled with water?

Like I always start my load and then walk away and find a stray sock or whatever and have to throw it in. Can you do that with a front loader? Wouldn't all the water come out? Haha I'm so naive![/b]

I have a front load washer and dryer. I love them. I have cloth diapers and did a couple loads so far without any problems. You can stop the load by hitting a pause button to throw in other clothes if needed.

Right now I'm looking at Best Buy and Lowes. My manager swears that Lowes has the better prices in this case, but it doesn't seem so by my online comparison.[/b]

IDK but Mike works at Best Buy is all about the front-loaders. We're looking into buying a set and that's all he's willing to consider.

[*Anna*]

We used to have a top loader w & d... now have a front loader ones and I love them!!!

[*krista*]

Alrighty, I did a little research. I think we are going to go with front loading.

It looks like you can wash cloth diapers in front loaders, you just have to do it a little differently. I'm going to make sure that I get a large tub that does not automatically set the water level so that I can get as much water as possible when washing cloth diapers.

The cost benefits are just too hard to pass up, plus it's better for the environment!

[ShannonMVT]

Like you said, I'm pretty sure you can wash cloth diapers with a FL. I sure hope so cause otherwise I'm in trouble! Our house came with a FL.

[lauren in hi]

My mom bought a front-loading washer a few weeks ago & has already had to have a repair person come out. She was asking him & he said the top-loading ones are better...the front-loading ones are so sensitive & I guess they have a lot of electrical problems. I have never had anything but a top-loading myself, so I don't have any personal experience...that's as close as I get. As far as prices--Best Buy had the better deals when we bought our new dryer this summer. DH likes Whirlpool, so that's what we got. But there are a bunch of brands made by the same manufacturer...I just forget which ones!

[*krista*]

The verdict is in... I got a Samsung front loader! I got it online from Best Buy, they had the best prices that I could find. I think it was about $200 less than Lowes.

I can't wait for it to get here. This will be our first washer/dryer set. We've always used the apartment complex's community washer/dryers. I bet I will see a difference, since the ones we use are not that great. I will just be happy that we don't have to lug 10 loads of laundry across the apartment complex every 2 weeks!