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linicx
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Re: [Appliances] How to Choose a Washing Machine?

All Washers, front w/wo pedestal and top load, "walk" when certain conditions are met. It is most often walks during the fastest/highest drum rotation cycle as this is when the machine reaches its greatest vibration. .

The "walk" is generally caused by two or three reasons.
[1] The washer is not level. Level the feet and check it.
[2] The floor is not level, therefore the machine is also not level. [3] The clothes are either not evenly distributed, or the machine was over-loaded.
fartness (banned)
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Will clothes get cleaner on a HE washer? I don't see any issues of cleanliness on my top loading washer. Do I load the HE washer to the top? Might go to HD today and have a look.
PrntRhd
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Fairfield, CA

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The Cabrio style impeller is easier on the clothes than the old style paddle agitator from years ago. Top load HE vs front load HE is not a huge difference in my experience.
Less water, less detergent, better extraction of the dirt and water.
XXXXXXXXXXX1
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join:2006-01-11
Beverly Hills, CA

XXXXXXXXXXX1

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said by PrntRhd:

The Cabrio style impeller is easier on the clothes than the old style paddle agitator from years ago...Less water, less detergent, better extraction of the dirt and water.

+1
scross
join:2002-09-13
USA

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I can add another vote here for the Whirlpool Cabrio line. We've had ours for over a year now, and after some initial skepticism concerning the lack of an agitator and limited water usage, we quickly came to love it. We bought the washer and dryer as a set, and while the wash cycles are generally longer the dryer cycle is usually shorter than what we had before with our old Maytag set. BTW, we never even considered buying a front-loader after the truly horrendous experience that a friend of ours had with hers.

You may find the following recent thread helpful.

»[Appliances] Any good standard top loading washing machines left?

linicx
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H E = high efficiency. These washers use less water and less soap than the old standard 1 cup soap to 40 gallons of water.

Anytime you stuff the maximum of clothes in any washer you risk cleaning and rinsing clother properly. clean wash. In my opinion the top load washer uses more water, more soap, and causes clothes that are frequently washed to wear out faster.

The only way clothes clean is to move it move it through soap and water. In most washers of the past clothed moved back and forth by a paddle called an agitator, or up and down such as the Frigidare 'jumping jack'.

Over a 65 year period I used most types of US washers from the home wringer/washer to the home front load, and the laundromat. I have had hard water, iron water, softened hot water, and softened hot/cold water. I used sodium chloride pellets and sodium potassium pellets in city sewer and septic systems. Each needs a different treatment. I have not used the top loading, no agitator washer. Quite frankly I cannot imagine stuffing 30 dirty beach towels in a washer and expect it to be clean. Why? Volume and weight. Fabric needs adequate water and space to move. Density of fabric does make a difference. Blue jeans are dense, so are towels. A pillow case is not, neither is underwear. Hot water is not needed to clean clothes well, but a good wash cycle is.

Because I am on a septic system and not on city water I do use
hot/cold softened with potassium chloride pellets, and natural soap in a Kenmore front loader made by Electrolux. While potassium will not harm he environment there is a downside. Front loaders, if not properly treated smell like last years garbage.

This is because water was left inside the seal to to mold. it is NOT the washer. The cure is cheap. Use a towel to absorb the water in the seal. End of problem. Pull out the soap dispenser from time to time, rinse and allow it to dry.

Regardless of the washer/dryer there still needs to be some space between the clothes and the top in tub/drum for maximum wash and dry. My personal preference is 4-6 inches depending upon they type of fabric being washed. My six year old 100% cotton T-shirts are just as white as the new ones.

Lurch77
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join:2001-11-22
Green Bay, WI

Lurch77

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As I said earlier, this thread has turned out to be very informative. Many viewpoints, facts, and opinions. As of now I have managed to resuscitate our old machine again.
[Appliances] Washer - Intermittently Not Draining)
So we are not in a critical position to get a new machine ASAP. Now we can take our time to do more research. But it is inevitable. If only for the advanced efficiency with our high water cost.

SparkChaser
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join:2000-06-06
Downingtown, PA

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said by Lurch77:

As I said earlier, this thread has turned out to be very informative. Many viewpoints, facts, and opinions.

agree, between this and my thread »[Appliances] Any good standard top loading washing machines left? There is a lot of good information.

The HE uprights appear to run along the other reviews. It may very well be that there is a learning curve on how to use it
c4junk
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join:2004-05-08
Orlando, FL

c4junk

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As in the thread above I will put in my vote for Speed Queen- still made tough with a good warranty.
They make top and front load units- I have an old top loader for has to be 12-15 years and going strong.
scross
join:2002-09-13
USA

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said by Lurch77:

As of now I have managed to resuscitate our old machine again.

Since you've bought yourself some time here, if you can keep your old unit(s) going for a while longer the Thanksgiving season is often the best time to find good sales prices, and you can sometimes find excellent prices on or around Black Friday.

Booost
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said by PrntRhd:

The Cabrio style impeller is easier on the clothes than the old style paddle agitator from years ago.

My non-scientific impression is that the Cabrio is actually rougher on clothes, because it's constantly rubbing against the clothes as compared to a conventional washer where the impeller contacts the clothes only as they rotate through the water.

The other two disadvantages of my HE washer:

1. Because it uses less water, certain fabrics have detergent residue on them and I need to rinse them again.

2. The 'Hot' setting does not use just the hot water tap. It mixes-in cold water to reduce the temperature. This means that the hot setting is not hot enough to kill odor-causing bacteria.
kes601
join:2007-04-14
Virginia Beach, VA

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We bought a GE a few months back and are happy with it. Is very quiet even though it has an agitator (although anything would be quieter than the previous Maytag we had). It's actually labeled HE as well. Sold at Lowes and Home Depot, however we bought from a local hhgregg store:

»www.hhgregg.com/ge-3-9-c ··· N4250DWS
PrntRhd
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said by Booost :

My non-scientific impression is that the Cabrio is actually rougher on clothes, because it's constantly rubbing against the clothes as compared to a conventional washer where the impeller contacts the clothes only as they rotate through the water.

But the clothes move across the impeller 5 inches or so when the impeller cycles, so the same spots are not rubbed, it "rolls" the clothes. The agitator has a coating preventing snags.
You should use much less detergent (the first or second line on the measure, not a full measure)
Bacteria will not survive a regular cycle, the detergent assures that they release into the water, the high speed spin removes them down the drain.
Most spots seen after washing are actually blobs from concentrated fabric softener. Use less softener and dilute with hot water.
The reason they don't use scalding hot water is to prevent shrinking the fabric.

»top-load-washing-machine ··· iew.html

Booost
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Booost

Anon

I'm already using less than 1/4 capfull (first line) of detergent. I don't use fabric softener.

My smelly socks disagree with your comment about bacteria. I wash the socks in cold water and they smell. Hot water, no smell. It used to be better with the 135 degree water from the tap.

Lurch77
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join:2001-11-22
Green Bay, WI

Lurch77

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I've been using only cold water for my washing nearly all my life. I've never had an is due with odor from not using hot. Though this is with our old non-HE washer.

linicx
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linicx

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You don't normally have odor in top loaders unless you have water issues like iron . The front loader issue with odor is caused by water standing inside the rubber door seal. Use paper towels to soak up the extra water or a hand towel and forget it.

The washer I have works a lot like what you see in the laundromat. there is no need for an impeller or agitator as the drum is on its side. Clothes wash one direction for a time, and then the direction is reversed, and then it is reversed a third time. What I particularly like is I can see the clothes, the water and the soap.

A laundromat owner taught me this 40 years ago. You don't need to a lot of soap suds; you need good cleaning action. He also said an abundance of soap suds indicates too much soap, which means it harder to rinse the soap out of your clothes, and costs more. My HE uses 17 gallons of water per wash per load. It does use less on small loads. I guess I've had it 6-7 years with no problems.

Soap can be an issue. If you start with X and only use X you become accustomed to the amount of soap you need. When you use Y the soap dispenser that comes it will be different and the amount of soap will be different too. Sometimes this is good and sometimes not depending on the soap. Some concentrates are really hard to rinse out in cool water. For me, clothes that are not properly rinsed will feel rough and itchy on bare skin.

If you are curious as to whether or not you use too much soap run your washer through a short cycle and watch it. You will know by what you see.

BillRoland
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Not to get too far off topic here but when I was searching for a washer to buy, I had a lot of concern about the "odor" stories I kept reading. I've had a front load HE washer for 4 or 5 years now and I never have had, and still don't have, any odor. I never soak anything up, but, I do leave the door cracked open a bit after each load and run the cleaning cycle once every couple of months; not so much because I see any reason to, but because the manual says do it every month and I try to follow recommendations.

linicx
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linicx

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You may have a different model or a different type of sealing system. Mine is a little older and removing water that collected in the seal during the wash cycle was a common issue with that model washer. It's clean water. I use 3-4 sheets of paper towel once I am done washing for the day. It is not a big deal.

Beezel
join:2008-12-15
Las Vegas, NV

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said by BillRoland:

Not to get too far off topic here but when I was searching for a washer to buy, I had a lot of concern about the "odor" stories I kept reading. I've had a front load HE washer for 4 or 5 years now and I never have had, and still don't have, any odor. I never soak anything up, but, I do leave the door cracked open a bit after each load.

Leaving the door cracked, that is the key to a front loader.
My Whirlpool has a drain hole in the seal to let water drain back into the tub. Out of the 5 years I have had mine, I never had odor problems. Used the clean cycle once a year.

treetop1000
join:2003-11-07
Lexington, KY

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Get them. I bought the matched set from Lowes and I've am thrilled with them. only thing I dont like is that damn "job done" beeper. Somebody here in the house keeps turning it "on" and then ignoring it when it goes off. I hate that. If you are going to want a signal, then complete the task and show up at the machine when they are done, not two days later when you need a clean blouse.
XXXXXXXXXXX1
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Here is a video I found showing proper use of a HE Top Loader. Fast forward to 1:05 for how to properly load it. I suspect that's where most people don't follow the instructions and just pile the clothes in, resulting in poor washing performance.

»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· dNzvWZ4M

Lurch77
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Green Bay, WI

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Lurch77

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Bringing an old one back to the top, as an update. After the washer broke down again recently (another coupler, and it chewed up the transmission shaft) I broke down myself and decided to buy new. We went back and forth on standard and high efficient models. And I reviewed this thread again. I kept coming back to the reliability concerns with so many of the modern machines, and the inability for me to easily work on them because of all the sensors and electronics.

We decided on a new Speed Queen AWN412. »www.speedqueen.com/home/ ··· x?id=344 It's as pricey as a modern high efficiency, but you trade off all the fancy bells and whistles for heavy duty build quality and rock like simplicity. The thing is all mechanical switches, relays, etc. No electronics. Metal transmission gears, belt drive, stainless tub. It's almost literally "built like they used to be." We've used it some and are impressed so far.

The only problem is my self diagnosed OCD kicking in every time I walk into the laundry room. Since I just rebuilt the Whirlpool dryer we had (pulleys, belt, tensioner, felt seal, etc), we did not replace it. So the washer and dryer are not a matching set. And it drives me nuts. I think it is a matter of time before I end up with a Speed Queen dryer.




Edit: Maybe I got it just in time? I read in a review of this machine that the gov'ment will be outlawing standard efficiency washers like this in 2017. Is that true?
fartness (banned)
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I know what you mean about the OCD. I recently bought a new washer but kept my perfectly functioning dryer. It's like a radio station that plays 80's and today. The new washer can have more clothing put into it than my old one. If I fill it up all the way, then my dryer can't handle the load, so maybe I should have bought the matching set.

Lurch77
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Green Bay, WI

Lurch77

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I would have bought the matching dryer, but these things aren't cheap. The set was going to be $1500-ish. I could do that if I needed to. But when the current dryer is working fine it's hard to justify.
fartness (banned)
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Same. The dryer would have been another $600 or so. Couldn't justify it when my current dryer worked fine. I'll just have to remember to not load the washer to its maximum capacity.

cowboyro
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I know this will get a bashing, but I would only get a steam washing machine. I've had them in Europe and NOTHING COMES CLOSE. As far as water and energy savings go, you're talking about pennies difference. Not worth it IMHO.
doechsli
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Louisville, KY

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Just as a piece of information. GE just sold it's appliance manufacturing business (pending regulatory approval) to Electrolux.

pjsutton
join:2013-06-25
Kempton, PA

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We've had a matching Maytag Bravos set for the past 3 years and love it. It's an HE top loader, and our model has a clear glass lid.

The clothes get very clean, and I have done some pretty large loads. They do tend to take longer than a non-HE machine, but that's because they now by law have to use less water than previously.

I run the cleaning cycle with Affresh cleaner tablets everytime the light comes on, and we have never gotten the smell that HE-washer owners tend to complain about.

The dryer is nothing special, it gets the job done. Not much has changed with dryers. We just got it so they would match, our old dryer was still working fine.
Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL

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said by Lurch77:

We would like a top load washer.

AJ Madison has a large selection of top load washers (86) at this website:
»www.ajmadison.com/b.php/ ··· 94846358
Unfortunately the list does not provide an option to segregate by type, which washers have a conventional agitator and which have a high technology agitator.

Lurch77
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Lurch77

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Thanks. I did reference that site during my research. We did buy a new washer yesterday (see my post with the picture attached 6 or 7 above this one).