Hi, we are looking to purchase a new washing machine and I am considering a front loader as they are meant to use a lot less water. Just wondering if anyone has one, what are your thought on it and what brand would you recommend?
We have a Maytag front loader 6kg and i use it about 3 times a week. I've had this one for nearly 4 years and it's very reliable. The wash can take a long time (depending on which one can be 2 hrs) but takes care of the clothes and yes, uses much less water. I often use the quick wash option to freshen up very lightly soiled clothes and it can be as short as 30 mins if required.
I'm from the UK and you only ever see front loaders for sale there. I'm actually still surprised that people buy top loaders in Australia with the concern for water shortages here.
Something i came across a couple of years ago is that fabric conditioner can actually damage the machines and since we stopped using it I can't say i've really noticed much difference in the clothes apart from the nice smell we used to get!
Heard just recently that you can buy a top loader but similar to a front loader.
I like my top loader as it is quicker, can use less water if I want (has 5 water levels) and if I need to place something in the machine while it is going I can.
Two of my brothers have front loaders and love them.
DD has an indest (something like that) and it shakes quite a bit but saying that haven't heard if it still does that since they moved.
I have a front loader and love it. My clothes get washed so much better than they did with my top loader.
The only things I don't like are: bending down to put things in/take things out and once it's started to fill with water it's too late if you forgot something. If you remember just before it fills with water then you have to turn it off & unplug it and plug it back in to release the door lock to open it.
We got a new front loader just a couple of months ago. Uses far less water and power than our old one. It also has a feature that allows the door to be opened at some stages during the cycle.
We got a Miele and it was expensive, but sooooo worth it. Altho we started out looking at the bottom of the range ones and got kinda sold on a space-agey one that has a light inside and everything. Lucky DP had a bonus cheque that month!
we have a whirlpool frontloader and I love it. Like Jennifer's you are able to pause the machine during certain stages and the door will unlock after a minute or so. The cycle I use takes about the same amount of time as our old machine, and has a couple of different rinse options which I like, as I use the intensive rinse to wash DD's clothes.
It was very affordable when we got it as The Good Guys were having a 15% off sale anyway, plus we got $150 back from the government for buying a 'water saving' machine, plus Whirlpool sent us a year's supply (8 boxes) of washing powder - we've only used half of it and it's probably about 8 or 9 months since we bought it.
i second the Miele, they are the best on the market, but also the most expensive, but as with most things you get what you pay for...
i love my front loader, it uses way less water and has heaps of different cycles, although with our miele i always use the short cycle cos anything more than an hour seems too long for me...
speaking of washing, i am amazed at how many loads i seem to do a week, i might keep a log and see actually how many it is, it feels like i'm doing about 15 loads but that couldn't possibly be right? there's only two adults and a toddler at the moment, but we seem to use so many towels and clothes... hmmmmmm.
Personally, I hate the damn things. I'll never buy a front loader after living at my parents' when DD1 was a newborn (mum has a front loader).
It takes FOREVER to do a load, even on the quick cycle. And it's so damn TINY (DH and I have, like, an 8kg I think?? It's huge, does two doonas + sheet sets in ONE LOAD!) - and DH and I go through a LOT of washing, especially with the kids, so a smaller washing machine did not work out for us at all. At one point we were doing FIVE loads of laundry a day and STILL falling behind because we just couldn't cram everything we needed to into one load of laundry. I don't know, maybe you can get bigger ones, but that and the slowpoke 'quick wash' cycle just really put me off ever considering one when the time comes to replace our washing machine.
Oh, and mum's front loader was just propped up on a low crate so I just about broke my poor back every time I put washing in or pulled it out, it was sooo low.
My experience was the same as Glamourcide. The cycle took so long, up to 2 and a half hours - I know they had short cycles but with all the vomity clothes we had (DS would chuck over himself and us, so it wasn't just baby clothes) I wanted them washed properly - and I assume that the longer wash cycle is because it uses less water. I always felt funny about using the short cycle - I never felt like my clothes had been cleaned properly. (Mine was an LG which I discovered later did have the longest wash cycle of all machines on the market at the time ).
I also had problems with colour run even though I was careful with water temperature and I always separate my whites etc - I presume because the clothes were soaking in water for so much longer?
Couldn't keep up with the washing either so I cracked it and got a top loader...8.5kg Fisher & Paykel, 40 minute wash cycle unless you use one of the special settings, say for fruit stains (which I looooove) it has eco water settings and still qualified for the government water saver rebate at the time.
F&P now do a top loader that uses front loader technology (less water, you use front loader powder, no agitator, it's basically an upright front loader) and wash cycle is no more than an hour. That will be what I get next.
I have the 8.5kg F&P, and absolutely love it!! It's a top loader with front loader technology (as curly has mentioned). It's a brilliant machine. Cycles are relatively short (well compared to front loaders), it has an endless number of wash options. I've had probably for about a year now and can't fault it.
we have a front loader whirlpool 7.5kg whilst it does a fantastic job on our clothes and is really gentle it would have to be the loudest washer i have ever heard...sounds like a jet plane taking off therefore i dont use it when dd is asleep also its just the right hight atm that she can reach the knob and change the setting which stops the machine until you press start again. I know some of them have kiddy lock we just didnt get that one because we didnt think that far in advanced lol.
I wouldnt buy another one i would buy one of the toploaders the other girls have mentioned that are just as water saving as a frontloader.
I love my front loader now I have one that works! Do not buy an Electrolux! We have had 2 replacements and the second one just died a few weeks out of warranty (extended) and they wouldn't do anything for us...don't have the energy for a fight at the moment so have given up and just bought a new F&P 8.5 kg...which is sooooooooooooooooooooooooo much better!
While some top loaders have improved in their water usage, they are still not as water efficient as front loaders. The NSW govt offers a $150 rebate for all washing machines that have a 4.5 star or higher (I think) water usage rating. There aren't any top loaders that qualify for this rebate.
Front loaders do rate better in terms of wash quality, but yes, often they take a bit longer.
Front loaders are gentler on your clothes.
Front loaders last longer (on average) than top loaders.
Front loaders use less washing powder/detergent than top loaders.
Ours is super-quiet, but like any machine, that is going to vary from one brand/make to another. Top loaders are actually more likely to be noisy, since the spin involved vibrates the machine more (compared to a front loader).
Yes, you have to bend down to load/unload your washing. But if you've got a large top loader you often have to lean all the way into it to dislodge the last sock anyway, and that was never easy for me!
Sorry girls, we just upgraded our top loader (with which I never had a problem and did love) to a front loader and we would never go back. For both environmental reasons and because it's a better machine.
I got a front loader at the start of they year and I am happily adjusted to it. It was a bit of a learning curve and I was a bit miffed about it to start off lol. I have a Bosch
What I like about it:
I went from a 5kg top loader to a 7kg front loader. I can do much bigger loads at a time now so the fact that the cycles are longer doesn't bug me as much because I'm not really behind at the end of the day.
About the wash lengths. I use mostly the cotton setting with cold water and it takes just over an hour. The same cycle using 50 degrees takes 1.5 hours so by cutting out the hot water reduces the wash time dramatically. For grotty stuff I can use a longer cycle. It also has 15 or 30 min cycles that are for smaller loads ie can't wash 10 towels on the 15 min load but can chuck in a pair of jeans or a couple of t-shirts.
I can fit a QS doona in it.
It is much much gentler on my clothes. They aren't pilling at all (the salesman told me that and I thought he was pulling my leg. You don't get any way near as much lint. Most times I check the lint filter it's empty.
If a tissue gets in the wash it doesn't end up all through the wash as much as it does with a top loader. The g-force pushes it to the front and it collects in the rubber ring that seals the door.
It heats the water to 90 degrees for some cycles and I can throw DH's greasy working on the car clothes in it and they come out brilliantly. I don't need to rely on the HWS to supply it with hot water.
It uses much less water and less powder per load.
It's very quiet compared with the old clanger I used to have. I'm comparing a 15yo machine so that factor may have changed lol.
It spins and then tumbles slowly and spins again up to 1200 revs so the clothes are spun dry but not as creased.
Bending over to load/unload it doesn't bother me because I ended up bending over to get to the bottom of the top loader anyway. I squat down and give my butt a workout at the same time
What I don't like about it is that the same thing that makes tissues gravitate to the front can also result in baby socks getting stuck in the rubber ring. That annoys me!
Also that door locking and not being able to chuck in extras but that makes me more vigilant in sorting everything out before hand.
Gee bit of an epic I must be converted lol.
Last edited by ~Raven~; October 19th, 2009 at 06:47 PM.
I love my front loader. My clothes are cleaner, and it holds as much as my old top loader. The top loader was 8kg and this is 7.5 but I don't notice the difference. The jet taking off is gentler on the ears than my old clunker and I can do hotter washes. I do use the longest cycle for nappies, which is 3 hours and 15 minutes but I usually try to do that when I am going to be out for most of it, or I set the timer to do a delayed start so that it finishes when I am going to get home.
I wash everything in it, except our huge blanket that fills the bath tub when I am washing it. I wash pillows and everything in it. I can fit pillows and a doona in 1 load, but that blanket is the only thing I can't get through the door.
I bought a second hand Bosche off a collegue who was moving overseas - that was 4 years ago and it was 3 years old at the time - still running like a dream - even does the cloth nappies beautifully There is a 'quickwash' cycle option which I use all the time so it's just as fast as a top laoder. The only downside of a front loader is when you find that piece of laundry you forgot to put injust after hitting 'start' ....too bad, have to wait til next time!
FRONT LOAD WASHING MACHINE, Your thouhts please
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