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I hate today's washing machines

Newer, water saving washing machines are a friggin joke. Just another example of 'green gone wrong'. Compared to washing machines of yester-year, where laundry was completely submerged in water, the newer water savers are laughable. Not even close to as clean as older machines. And using bleach, you can quickly ruin articles, as bleach needs to be introduced into a tub of water, instead of dispensed into just wet laundry.

Top load or front load?

Off-topic: I thougt I subscribed to this topic.

Washing machines should be reliable at a cost of 400-600 usd, it's no wonder they cost 1500-2500 usd and it's reliable. They're definitely not the top ones from the 80s-90s.View attachment 3792450
I have had this washing machine model for about 15 years and no problems so far, its cost was about 350 USD.

Even 700-800 U.S.D. would be acceptable, if you have more options and the machine will last at least 15 years.
 
I think some of these people who are making these claims that 30 year-old top loaders clean better than the new front loaders need to actually try one of the new ones out because they obviously haven't.

The new front loader I just purchased blows any top loader I've ever had away no-contest. It cleans better, uses less water and energy, it's more quiet, and has a bunch of additional options that put it in an entire different league altogether.

The washer didn't cost 1500-2500 USD either. It was more than $350 though. lol
 
The front loading ones don't use enough water when rinsing. Only if you don't put too much laundrary.
Mine rinses my clothes just fine. There is also an option to do a second rinse if you want to. In addition to that, there are two washing modes. A fast one that uses more water and a longer economy mode that takes longer but uses less water.

Add to that all the different wash modes for the actual load you are doing.

I really like the detergent magazines. You pre-load them and it automatically senses the size of the load, the wash mode you are using, and dispenses the perfect amount of detergent. All you have to do is open the door, throw the laundry in, and hit the start button. No more adding detergent every time you do a load and no more wasting detergent either although there is the provision to add detergent manually too if that's what you want to do.

A magazine load lasts me about 3 months before I have to reload it. I use Sam's Club liquid detergent.

The freakin' dryer is awesome too. The best I've ever had. I like the refresh and the steam options. If you put a load in and forget to take it out, even a couple days later all you have to do is put it on the steam option and press the 15 minute refresh cycle and the clothes come out totally wrinkle-free. Couldn't do that with my old-fashioned top-load dryer I had before this one.
 
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For me a washing machine that dosen't dives at least half of the load in water when turning the tub for the rising dosen't rinse properly.
Proably in U.S.A. you do have machines at which you can set the water level.
I can't find even today some detergents around here.
 
Have had Sears Kenmore washer and dryers my whole life. Great units. About the time machines started getting really fancy with electronics, I got concerned, so I went down to Sears and bought a new pair of the old style - despite mine still working fine after 30 yrs. Turns out Sears all but disappeared a few years later. Still running that set, work perfectly.
 
I love newer front loaders - quieter, cheaper to run, auto detergent dispensing, faster spin so clothes come out much dryer. In Australia we generally dry clothes on a line rather than throw them in a dryer with a lint filter. The worst possible machine is an old top loader that has no filter and having to tumble dry your clothes to get the lint off. Especially when it is 35 celsius outside and you know your clothes could be dry in the same amount of time on the line if they had come from a modern machine.
 
We went through 2 sets of expensive front loader whiz-bang hi-tech washer and dryer machines.... They stunk, literally. I mean, c'mon man, the pedestal was $400 bucks

we played the games...
Run a load with no clothes in it
You have to wipe down the rubber seal
Get a special washing machine cleaner pod
Keep the door open and let it air out
nope, smelly clothes


Finally. after replacing the pump, to no avail, the manufacturer gave us a check for a measly $300 and gave up

We are now so happy with our SPEED QUEEN! Flood fill, mechanical timer, agitator all the way

The only thing is I wish it would fill with water with the lid open.
I've seen those $400 pedestals. I told my wife that even if we had one of those front loaders, I could build a pedestal, with a drawer, for less than $20 in materials. $400 is just stupid. But yeah. we only do top loader. That said, ours has the big agitator in the middle and my wife would prefer one without that.

We got it because they say they clean better than the ones without. But those were made for a world that was just, well, dirtier than the world most of us live in today. Work, play, and everything else was just prone to make clothes dirtier, generally speaking. Personally, I still live in that world, maintaining 32 acres of dirt, rocks, trees, etc. But I didn't before I moved here, other than sweaty spandex from long bike rides in the heat.
 
I love newer front loaders - quieter, cheaper to run, auto detergent dispensing, faster spin so clothes come out much dryer. In Australia we generally dry clothes on a line rather than throw them in a dryer with a lint filter. The worst possible machine is an old top loader that has no filter and having to tumble dry your clothes to get the lint off. Especially when it is 35 celsius outside and you know your clothes could be dry in the same amount of time on the line if they had come from a modern machine.
I've heard that the key to a front loader is to never leave the door completely closed when it's not in use, so it can dry out without growing mold.

And yeah, my wife loves drying clothes on the line. Just seems "fresher".
 
The front loading ones don't use enough water when rinsing. Only if you don't put too much laundrary.
It takes an extra trip to the washer but I found a fix for this on my 8 yo Whirlpool front loader. Not only do I press the Extra Rinse option but after the load is finished, I rotate the selector to: Drain/Spin and also press the Extra Rinse button again. That will fill the drum with significantly more water than normal. If using fabric softener that's when I'll add it to the dispenser.

I've used front-load washers since ~1972 and never noticed a stale soap smell from wet washcloths before getting this Whirlpool eight years ago. It uses so little water that I suspected it wasn't rinsing out the liquid detergents I used. The double extra rinse has helped, but it takes that extra step and time.
 
I've seen those $400 pedestals. I told my wife that even if we had one of those front loaders, I could build a pedestal, with a drawer, for less than $20 in materials. $400 is just stupid.
Yeah the pedestals are expensive. Mine were $250 each and I almost didn't buy them but in the end did. $250 for an empty little cabinet with one drawer.

Sort of like mounting them on Snap-On tool boxes. Well not quite that bad. lol
 
Trough all these are from the '90's, they still use enough water. I don't know who made them - "Privileg" was just a brand of "Quelle". But I don't live in Germany, so finding me an old washing machine like that is very hard... plus, transport. In the '90's and early '000's they bough a lot of old washing machines second-hand in Romania. If you had the money, you could replace some of the parts - health reasons. Some of the old machines could work 10-20 years more, so the investement worth... but I didn't had the money and the brain then.


Oh, I hate the fact that new washing machine have the outer tub from plastic. I don't know how anti-sticky is, but is porous, so not good in long term.
Plus, those sealed tubs. Replacing roller bearings becomes expesnive. So you have to replace it. This produces more waste.
I wonder if newer washing machine are more silent because of the plastic outer tub.
It's a pitty that with electronics you cand have more relaible machines, but the machines don't last too loong (they should last around 15 years, maybe 20), sometimes because of the electronic board.
 
My new washer and dryer came from Whirlpool with a 2 year factory warranty. I opted to add the extended warranty on top of that. Basically it costs about $100 per year (monthly payments). If they break for any reason they will repair them. If they become unable to be repaired or parts are no longer available, they will replace them with equivalent machines brand-new.

Basically it's kind of like the "Car Shield" insurance scams you see on TV except it doesn't appear to be too much of a scam to never have to pay for repair or buy another washer or dryer for the rest of your life for about $8 per month. It's promoted and backed by Whirlpool too. So I basically won't be losing any money unless they never break.

It's worth it to me after the bad experience I had with a Samsung washer and refrigerator. Total loss on both after just a few years. Plus I really-like these new units. The best I have ever had performance-wise.
 
We tried Front Loaders 3 times. A very expensive Neptune - piece of crap - and them two brands of mid-high price. All of them had "stink" problems, and were really time consuming to maintain because of the door seals. And, they just did not clean clothes well. And, both of the last two had way too much "cheap" electronics that failed.

This time we went back to conventional top load with all mechanical controls (SpeedQueen). Simple, effective, easy to use, and hopefully long lasting (steel gears).
 
we have a top loader, but its one of the all digital ones. no agitator, the drum is too deep for my liking.
it works fine.
its damn near silent.
 
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