Home Improvement → Re: Fix a hole in washing machine bellows?

I have had front loaders since the mid 90's in both my own house and all of my rent houses. I've never had any issues other than a controller board failure. Front loaders use much less water than front loaders. Here, water is expensive but wastewater is even more expensive. The greatest advantage of a front loader in my mind is the gentleness with which it washes clothes. Stick you hand down in your washer when it is washing and grab a large item. There is quite a bit of force being applied to the cloth. In a front loader, there is just a gentle tumbling action and much less stress. I can stop and open my front loaders at any part of the cycle but I really never need to do "whatever" so rarely do so. Personally I don't know anyone who has had "so many problems" so I have to wonder how many really have problems versus a few who have had problems making a big deal out of them. I wouldn't consider buying anything but a front loader the next time I am in the market.

OP's issue is a perfect example; I have friends who've had similar leaks. A few others whose new washers would never drain properly, leading (in at least one case) to the manufacturer having to do a redesign. And another whose door locked shut and wouldn't unlock; she waited something like three weeks for it to be repaired (this being a very common problem on that model, there was a severe shortage of repair parts, and the repair guy wouldn't even come out to look at it until he had the new part in hand). In the meantime that load of laundry just sat there and festered. So, yeah, there were some real problems here, at least in some of the earlier HE models. These are well-documented on the internet.

As far as force goes, I understand that the wash cycle may be gentler, but it may also be much, much longer (see my other reply). I also have a "gentle" cycle on my old machine which I rarely use unless it's absolutely necessary. And the spin cycles on the newer models are supposed to be more intense and get more water out (leading to much quicker dry times), but spin cycles themselves can be quite damaging to clothes, for various reasons.